John Cook (speedway Rider)
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John Kenneth Cook (born December 18, 1958, in
Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
) is an American 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. He was represented the
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
in three
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 ...
finals and earned 49 caps for the
United States national speedway team The United States national speedway team are an international motorcycle speedway team governed by the American Motorcyclist Association. They compete in the major international speedway competitions, including the Speedway World Cup and Speedw ...
.


Career

Cook is mainly remembered for his spell at 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 ...
teams from 1981 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1986 where he walked out on the club mid-season on both occasions. Cook first rode in Britain for the
Hull Vikings The Hull Vikings were a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team from Kingston upon Hull, Hull, England, who operated from 1971 to 2005, primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park. History Origins, 1940s and Hull An ...
, when he competed in the
1980 British League season The 1980 British League season was the 46th season of the top tier of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and the 16th season known as the British League. Summary The league comprised 17 teams - one fewer than the previous season. Exet ...
. His first spell at Ipswich began the following season in 1981 after a record £35,000 deal which included fellow American
Dennis Sigalos Arthur Dennis Sigalos (born August 16, 1959) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 52 caps for the United States national speedway team. Career Born in Garden Grove, California, Sigalos was a rising star in ...
. The pair helped the Witches win the Knockout Cup. In August 1982 he walked out of match and returned to America. In 1984 Cook returned to Ipswich and contributed significantly to the team's league and cup double season and won a bronze medal in the
1984 Speedway World Team Cup The 1984 Speedway World Team Cup was the 25th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. The final took place at the Stadion Alfreda Smoczyka, in Leszno, Poland. Denmark easily won their fourth title, wi ...
. His career took off in 1985 as he reached the final of the
1985 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1985 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 40th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. Odsal Stadium, the new home of international speedway in England after the demise of the Wembley Sta ...
and won a silver medal at the
1985 Speedway World Team Cup The 1985 Speedway World Team Cup was the 26th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. The final took place at the Veterans Memorial Stadium (Long Beach), in California, United States. Denmark won their ...
. After an unsuccessful 1986 season when he walked out on Ipswich again he joined
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 ...
for the 1987 season and participated in his second world final during the
1987 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1987 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 42nd edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. It was contested for the one and only time over two days in the Netherlands. The scores from both me ...
. He also won a second bronze medal at the
1987 Speedway World Team Cup The 1987 Speedway World Team Cup was the 28th edition of the FIM Speedway World Team Cup to determine the team world champions. Denmark won two legs and therefore won their fifth consecutive title (and seventh in total) moving to just one title ...
in
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. Cook was a showman and continued in this vein for the whole of his career, whilst not always riding in the British League, he was a regular rider in the Swedish League with
Indianerna Indianerna (the Indians) are a Swedish motorcycle speedway team based in Kumla, Sweden. The club's official name is Kumla MSK and it was founded in 1936 which makes the club one of the oldest motorsport clubs in Sweden. They are two times Swedi ...
where he attained Swedish
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
in the early 1990s and in fact was the Swedish Champion in 1992 winning all of his rides. He is also attributed with introducing Jet Ski watercraft to Australia, New Zealand and Europe where he became the first European Champion in closed course competition. During a speedway hiatus, he also competed as an American Expert Jet Ski racer and was ranked #4 in the World while racing underpowered craft. Cook continued to ride well into his 40s and almost qualified for the
Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first ...
Series for 2002, only failing at the 2001 Intercontinental Final stage. Cook surfaced again on the international Speedway front in 2006 where he was indeed a member of the
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
squad for the
2006 Speedway World Cup The 2006 Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the 6th FIM Speedway World Cup season. The Final took place on 22 July 2006 in the Smallmead Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. The tournament was won by Denmark (45 pts) and they beat Sweden (37 pts ...
, however he was not required to ride in the actual competition. In October 2006 Cook suffered a serious motocross accident while racing at Washougal Washington in which he hurt his back quite badly and had to have metal rods inserted. The rods were later removed as Cook began to make a recovery but he has had to retire from racing and remains retired in his longtime home of Sacramento, California.


World final appearances


Individual World Championship

*
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 ...
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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 ...
- 7th - 9pts *
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 ...
- 8th - 15pts


World Team Cup

*
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
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Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...
,
Alfred Smoczyk Stadium Alfred Smoczyk Stadium () is a stadium in Leszno, Poland. It is currently used for speedway matches and is the home stadium of Unia Leszno. The stadium has a capacity of 16,700 people. The stadium is located on ''ulica Strzelecka 7''. Histor ...
(with
Shawn Moran Shawn Moran (born November 19, 1961, in Lakewood, California) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers. He earned 74 caps for the United ...
/ Kelly Moran /
Lance King Lance King (born November 23, 1962) is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter known for his work in progressive and power metal. He has performed with bands including Balance of Power, Pyramaze, and Gemini, and founded Nightmare Reco ...
/
Bobby Schwartz Robert Benjamin Schwartz (born August 10, 1956) is an American professional motorcycle speedway rider. He became Speedway World Pairs Championship, World Pairs Champion with Bruce Penhall in 1981 Speedway World Pairs Championship, 1981 and Denni ...
) – 3rd – 20pts (2) *
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 Shawn Moran / Bobby Schwartz / Lance King /
Sam Ermolenko Guy Allen Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. During his career he was known as Sam Ermolenko. In 1993, he won the Speedway World Championship. Career Early career After originally ...
) – 2nd – 35pts (1) *
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 ...
-
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 Shawn Moran / Rick Miller / Kelly Moran) - 3rd - 93pts (6)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, John Living people 1958 births American speedway riders Ipswich Witches riders Poole Pirates riders King's Lynn Stars riders American expatriate speedway riders in England Hull Vikings riders People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles