Geoffrey Edwin Bennett (24 February 1924 – 24 June 2014) was a

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 from England.

Biography

Bennett, born in Birmingham, was recruited by Tiger Stevenson of the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...

, after Bennett had ridden on continental tracks and had been demobbed from the British Army in 1947. He began his British leagues career riding for Birmingham and then Cradley Heath Cubs during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Three season, where he topped the team's averages. The following year in 1948, he rode for Birmingham, improving his average to 7.91 and winning the National Trophy (tier 2) with the team. The team moved up to the top league in 1949. He also reached the Championship round of the 1949 Individual Speedway World Championship. In 1950, he was a heat leader for the Brummies and rode 49 times for them during the season, averaging 8.19 and again reached the Championship round of the

1950 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1950 Individual Speedway World Championship was the fifth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. The title was won by Welshman Freddie Williams with the pivotal heat being the heat against Austra ...

. The 1951 season started well, with Bennett being named the new Birmingham captain but then in April, he broke his leg racing at the Chapelizod Sports Stadium in Dublin and he would miss the entire season. The following season he was named captain again for Birmingham but after just a few matches he injured his knee and it was clear that he had not fully recovered from his injuries. He returned to Cradley Heath on loan in division 2 for the season. He remained on Birmingham's books for both the 1953 and 1954 seasons but only rode a few matches after changing his mind several times about retiring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Geoff 1924 births 2014 deaths British speedway riders Birmingham Brummies riders Cradley Heathens riders