Graham W Plant (born 15 December 1949) is a former

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. He won the Second Division Riders Championship in 1968. He earned five international caps for the

England national speedway team The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by th ...

and one cap for the Great Britain team.

Biography

Born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Graham Plant is the son of former speedway rider

Wilf Plant Wilfred Graham Plant (28 August 1914 – May 2001) was a British motorcycle speedway rider. Career Born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Plant gained his early racing experience in grasstrack.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway 19 ...

, and began racing in his teens, initially in

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performanc ...

and

sidecar racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on Race track, circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag r ...

.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 90-91 After practicing at

King's Lynn Stadium King's Lynn Stadium, also known as the Adrian Flux Arena and previously as the Norfolk Arena, is a short oval stadium situated to the south of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It currently hosts BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Car Racing, Banger racing, ...

, he had his first speedway races in second half events at

Long Eaton Speedway Long Eaton motorcycle speedway teams operated from 1950 until 1997 in Long Eaton, England. Teams have raced at the Long Eaton Stadium as the Long Eaton Archers, Long Eaton Rangers, Nottingham Outlaws and the Long Eaton Invaders. The team briefly ...

in 1967. In 1968, he joined second division Middlesbrough Teessiders on loan from

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium (or Hydroscand Arena for sponsorsh ...

, and impressive performances (he averaged 8.54 over the season) also led to appearances in the first division for the Lions. Aged just 19, he won the

British League Division Two Riders Championship The British League Division Two Riders Championship was a motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders from each club (with the highest average points) competing in the second tier of British speedway. History The championship was inaug ...

, held at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in Hackney Wick, London, England. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west side ...

on 27 September 1968. In 1969, he rode full-time for the Lions, averaging 6.21 over the season, including one full maximum score. Also in 1969, he won the British Under 21 Championship.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 175 By 1971 he was one of the Lions' top riders, averaging 8.78 over the season, and he represented England in international competition and finished third in the Rhodesian Open Championship. In 1972 he moved to

Newport Wasps Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based at Somerton Park and then the Hayley Stadium in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, from 1964 to 2012. The Wasps logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City ...

, where he stayed for two seasons before moving on to

Halifax Dukes The Halifax Dukes were a speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whos ...

, where he stayed until 1979, although he made no appearances in 1978 and only rode in only a handful of matches in 1979, before retiring. This was partly due to his problems associated to a broken leg suffered in 1976. He returned in 1980 with

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

team the Milton Keynes Knights where he raced in 1980 and 1981, when his season was cut short after a loss of form and a falling-out with the team management.Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 246, 249 He returned briefly for the Knights in 1983, before retiring for the final time.Oakes, Peter (1981) ''1981 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 252

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plant, Graham 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Leicester British speedway riders Leicester Lions riders Middlesbrough Bears riders Newport Wasps riders Halifax Dukes riders