Jeremy Doncaster (born 16 June 1961 in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

, England) is a former international

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, who won the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

with England.

Speedway career

Doncaster began riding for the

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...

during the 1982 British League season. He quickly built up his average and became a heat leader for the Suffolk club. He was instrumental in helping Ipswich seal the league and cup double during the

1984 British League season The 1984 British League season was the 50th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 20th known as the British League. Team changes Three teams dropped out and four teams replaced them. Midland's clubs Birmin ...

. His good form continued and by 1985 was considered one of the league's leading riders, during 1986 he recorded a 10.38 average. Ipswich dropped down to the second tier National League in 1988, resulting in Doncaster joining the

Reading Racers Reading Racers were a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished. His ...

, where he topped the team averages. In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, he top scored 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 ...

with 13 points. He also finished in third place in the 1989 World Final. Doncaster finished equal on 12 points with countryman

Simon Wigg Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(2005 ...

who defeated him in a run-off for second place. He also rode in the Swedish League for

Bysarna Bysarna were a Swedish motorcycle speedway team based at the Visby#Sports, Gamla Speedway Track, in Galgberget, Visby, Galgberget, north of Visby on the island of Gotland in Sweden. They were four times Swedish Speedway Team Championship, league ...

. He had also twice won the Golden Helmet of Pardubice (CZE) in 1989 and 1990. He experienced more success, this time with Reading, when the team won the league and cup double during the

1990 British League season The 1990 British League season was the 56th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the 26th known as the British League. Summary Reading Racers won the league for the first time since 1980. The domination of speedway i ...

and the league title during the 1992 British League season. In 1994, he rejoined Ipswich and despite being considered a veteran he continued to compete as a heat leader from 1994 to 1996. After 1997, his average had dropped to around the six mark and he took a break from conventional speedway to concentrate on longtrack. He returned to race for Ipswich for three more seasons from 2000 to 2002 and was considered an Ipswich legend when he retired. At retirement he had earned 52 international caps for England.

World Final appearances

Individual World Championship

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

–

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

– 6th – 20pts *

–

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

– 3rd – 12pts + 2pts *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

–

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

– 15th – 2pts

World Team Cup

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

–

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

Kelvin Tatum Kelvin Martin Tatum Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 8 February 1964) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned 65 international caps for the England national speedway team. Career Tatum atte ...

/ Richard Knight / John Davis) – 3rd – 13pts (6) *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

–

Vojens Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center and

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

(with

Neil Evitts Neil Clive Evitts (born 25 September 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a former English international motorcycle speedway rider. He was the 1986 British champion and earned 27 international caps for the England national speedway team. Career ...

/ Kelvin Tatum /

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capp ...

Marvyn Cox Marvyn Cox (born 11 July 1964 in Whitstable, Kent) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Cox was twice a winner of the German Individual Championship in 1993 and 1995, when he raced under a German licence. At retirement, he had earned 25 inter ...

) – 3rd – 81pts (10) *

–

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

, Fredericia Speedway,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturd ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Marketa Stadium (with Kelvin Tatum / Simon Wigg /

Simon Cross Simon James Cross (born 31 May 1965 in Hereford, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who spent most of his career with the Cradley Heathens. Career Cross began his British leagues speedway career riding for the Oxford Cheetahs dur ...

/ Marvyn Cox) – 2nd – 101pts (24) *

– Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Kelvin Tatum / Paul Thorp / Simon Wigg / Simon Cross) – Winner – 48pts (13)

World Longtrack Championship

Finalist * 1984 Herxheim 11th – 7pts * 1985

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

9th – 9pts * 1995

Scheeßel Scheeßel (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Scheeßl'') is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Wümme, approx. 10 km northeast of Rotenburg, 45 km east of Bremen, and 70 km sou ...

11th – 9pts Grand-Prix Years * 1997 54pts – 10th (Five Rounds) * 1999 42pts – 11th (Five Rounds) * 2001 0pts – 21st (One Round)

European Grasstrack Championship

* 1982

Damme Damme () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (Bruges). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerk ...

Winner * 1983 Nandlastadt 5th

British Grasstrack Championship

500cc * 1980 – Third * 1988 – Third * 1991 – Second * 1992 – Third * 1996 – Third 250cc * 1979 – Second * 1980 – First

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doncaster, Jeremy 1961 births Living people British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Ipswich Witches riders Reading Racers riders Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders 20th-century English sportsmen