John Charles Titman (born 26 January 1951) is an Australian 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 who was Australian Champion in 1977.

Biography

Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Titman initially worked as a mechanic, making his speedway debut at the

Brisbane Exhibition Ground The Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is a multi-purpose venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia. Established in 1875, it hosts more than 250 events each year, the largest being the Royal Queen ...

in April 1968.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 136-7 He made his

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

debut with

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 ...

in 1972, and also made his international debut for Australia that year against the British Lions. In 1973 he averaged 6.92 from 38 matches, and became a regular member of the Australian team. In 1973 he finished in 7th place (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 ...

) in the Australian qualifying round of the World Pairs championship. He also raced in Poland and New Zealand. He moved on to the

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History Origins & 1920s Speedway began at the County Ground in 1929, ...

in 1975. Titman won the

Australian Solo Championship The Australian Individual Speedway Championship historically known as the Australian Solo Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion. It is organised by Motorcycling Australia ...

in 1977 on his home track, the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. He also finished runner-up in the Australian championship to

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 ...

in 1975 at the

Sydney Showground Speedway Sydney Showground Speedway, originally known as the Speedway Royal and later the Speedway Royale but often referred to as just The Royale or The Showground, was a motorcycle speedway track, which was located at the old Sydney Showground (Moor ...

, and again in

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 ...

at the Pioneer Park Speedway in

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

behind fellow Queenslander Troy Butler. He signed for the

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 ...

in 1978, becoming club captain in 1979.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 179 After falling to third in the Lions averages in 1981 and being stripped of the captaincy, he was transfer listed at the end of the season, and moved on to the Hackney Hawks in 1982.Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio Publications, , p. 173 He moved on again in 1984 to 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 ...

, and this was his final season in British speedway. During his career, Titman made the World Final on two occasions, finishing 8th in 1978 and 9th in 1979. Titman also rode in longtrack speedway, reaching the world final in 1983 and 1984. After returning home at the end of 1984, Titman continued to ride, captaining the Australian national team for a further three years. In 2022, he was inducted into the Speedway Australia's Hall of Fame.

Career record

All figures relate to the British League.

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

- 9th - 7pts *

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

Silesian Stadium The Silesian Stadium (; Polish: ) is a sport stadium located on the premises of Silesian Park in Chorzów, Poland. The stadium has a fully covered capacity of 54,378, after refurbishment completed in October 2017. The stadium hosted many Poland ...

- 12th - 5pts

World Pairs Championship

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

) - 4th - 19pts (6)

World Longtrack Championship

Finalist * 1983

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many c ...

9pts (11th) * 1984 Herxheim 11pts (10th)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Titman, John 1951 births Living people Australian speedway riders Exeter Falcons riders Hackney Hawks riders Halifax Dukes riders Australian expatriate speedway riders in England Leicester Lions riders Wimbledon Dons riders Motorcycle racers from Brisbane Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders