Kyle Richard Hughes (born 15 June 1989) 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.

Biography

Born in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, Hughes' first experience of speedway was at the training track at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in 1999.2011 Rider Index: H
, speedwaygb.co, retrieved 2011-12-06 After gaining experience in second-half rides at

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, he was part of the

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975, who last raced in the National Development League during 2023. History 1970s The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with Bernie Kla ...

team that won the Conference League in 2004. He won the title again in 2005, this time with Oxford's academy team. He signed for

Plymouth Devils The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. The team competed during various seasons from 1932 to 1969, before reforming after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006. In 2021, the club successfully applied to join t ...

in the Conference League and Sheffield Tigers in the Premier in 2008, before a spell with

Rye House Rockets The Rye House Rockets were a motorcycle speedway, speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018. History Origins & 1930s Rye House began life in 1934, host ...

which saw him win the National League Rider of the Year award and finish fourth in the British Under 21 Championship in 2010, but also suffering a broken

collarbone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

which required a metal plate to be fitted.Somerset Rebels rider Kyle Hughes can resume racing
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 28 February 2011, retrieved 2011-12-06 Hughes represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at Under-21 level, in a test match against Australasia in 2009. He returned to Plymouth in 2011, after starting the season with

Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset, Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tr ...

.Rye House speedway star Hughes fourth in British U21 Final
, ''Welwyn Hatfield Times'', 18 April 2010, retrieved 2011-12-06 He played a major part in Plymouth's first ever away win in the Premier League, scoring 11 points in the win at

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 July 2011 he won the FAST Golden Hammer tournament at Monmore Green, but was forced to miss part of the season through injury after breaking his other collarbone on 12 August. In March 2012 he was signed by Leicester Lions as a temporary replacement for the injured Simon Nielsen. He was subsequently loaned to

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

Isle of Wight Islanders The Isle of Wight Warriors (formerly Isle of Wight Islanders) are a motorcycle speedway team from England. They last competed in the 2019 National Development League and ride their home meetings at the Smallbrook Stadium. Since leaving the Br ...

, scoring a five ride paid maximum in his first match. In August, after blowing several engines during the season he announced his retirement from the sport for financial reasons."End of the road", ''

Speedway Star Speedway Star is a national motorcycle speedway magazine. The magazine is published every week of the year and the emphasis of the publication is on British speedway but also features international speedway from around the world. The magazine is ...

'', 1 September 2012, p. 44 His retirement proved to be short-lived as he signed to ride for

Stoke Potters The Stoke Potters previously the Hanley Potters were a British speedway team. As Hanley Potters they raced at the Sun Street Stadium from 1929 to 1963 and as Stoke, the team raced at Loomer Road Stadium in Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1973 to ...

in 2013. In 2016, after signing for

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British motorcycle speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England. They were founded in 1929 and are two times champions of Britain in 1995 and 2000. The team last raced on 31 July 2021. Hist ...

he broke his leg during the first match of the season but would return later in the season for

Family

Hughes is the cousin of

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player Stephen Lee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Kyle 1989 births Living people English motorcycle racers Sportspeople from Bath, Somerset British speedway riders Eastbourne Eagles riders King's Lynn Stars riders Leicester Lions riders Plymouth Devils riders Rye House Cobras riders Rye House Rockets riders Sheffield Tigers riders Stoke Potters riders