Garry David Middleton (born 19 July 1948

Corowa Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. It is the largest town in the Federation Counci ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

- 23 November 1994) was an Australian

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider.

Career

He first came to Britain in 1967 and rode for a short time with the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...

and the

King's Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" was adopted from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 199 ...

before getting a permanent ride with the

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London from 1929 until 1991. The team were seven times champions of Britain. History Origins The speedway track opened ...

. He stayed with the Dons for the 1968 season, but in 1969 he moved to the

Hackney Hawks Hackney Speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until 1996. The team raced under various names, known as Hackney Wick Wolves, Hackney Hawks, Hackney Kestrels and London Lions. History Origins & 1 ...

. He rode for the

Hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

from 1969 until 1971. In 1972, he moved to the

Oxford Rebels The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 2001 ...

following a contract dispute with promoter

Len Silver Leonard George Silver (2 February 1932 – 13 October 2024) was an English motorcycle speedway rider and promoter. He has also served as the Team Manager for the England and Great Britain national speedway team during two separate spells in 197 ...

. Middleton also raced as an International rider for Australia. After a season with

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain. History Origins and 1920s The firs ...

in 1973, the Midlands club were unable to locate him for the 1974 season. In 1975 he re-signed for King's Lynn despite efforts from another of his former clubs Coventry to sign him.

Middleton incidents

He was nicknamed 'Cass the Gas' as he was a real showman and made his feelings known about a variety of subjects. In 1969, he was involved in an incident with

Roy Trigg Roy Richard Trigg (born 29 April 1943, in Morden, Surrey)Fenn, C.(2003). ''Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 31 international caps for the England nati ...

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, west of Birmingham. The town was known for the manufacture of chains in the first half of the twentiet ...

. Garry tried to forcefully dive under Roy but Roy saw him and slowed down, leaving Middleton to shoot straight past him into the safety fence. Middleton then went into the pits into his toolbox and pulled out a handgun. He had to be dragged from the pits to avoid further trouble. He nursed a broken shoulder during the 1969 season and was involved in several high profile incidents. In 1971, in a meeting against then

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Ole Olsen, Olsen was riding so well that he was unbeaten, passing people almost for fun. In the second half of the meeting, Middleton, to entertain the crowd, jokingly strapped two broom handles to his handlebar to stop Olsen passing him. The match referee did not share his sense of humour and fined him.

World Final appearances

World Team Cup

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

- London,

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

(with

John Boulger John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. Boulger won a record nine South Australian Championships (a record jointly held with Jack Young), as well as two Australian So ...

Phil Crump Philip John Crump (born 9 February 1952 in Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. who attained third place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup with Australia in the same ...

Billy Sanders William Robert Sanders (9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985Oakes, P (1982). ''Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook''. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ) was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and wa ...

Phil Herne Philip Edwin Herne (born 27 March 1955)Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 173 is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who won the World Team Cup in 1976. Biography Born in Ballina, New South Wa ...

) - Winner - 31pts (0)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Garry 1948 births 1994 deaths Australian speedway riders Sportsmen from New South Wales Hackney Hawks riders Wimbledon Dons riders Coventry Bees riders Belle Vue Aces riders Newcastle Diamonds riders King's Lynn Stars riders Australian expatriate speedway riders in England Oxford Cheetahs riders Birmingham Brummies riders Leicester Lions riders 20th-century Australian sportsmen