Lee Stewart Richardson (25 April 1979 – 13 May 2012) was a British 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.

Career

Richardson made his British debut for 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 ...

in 1995. Richardson 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 senior and under-21 level and featured in several

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

tournaments. Richardson was World Under 21 champion in 1999. In October 2002, during the

Speedway Grand Prix Qualification The Speedway Grand Prix Challenge or Speedway Grand Prix Qualification is an annual speedway qualifying tournament to determine the qualifiers for the Speedway Grand Prix, which is the World Championship of speedway. History From 1995 the In ...

he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2003 Grand Prix. He won the

Elite League Riders' Championship The Elite League Riders' Championship is a 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 ...

, held at

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 ...

on 18 October 2003. He was also a fully fledged

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

rider for four seasons from 2003 until 2006. Richardson joined the

Lakeside Hammers The Lakeside Hammers (formerly the Arena-Essex Hammers) were a speedway team who raced in the British league system from 1984 to 2018, most recently racing in the SGB Championship in 2018. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham H ...

for the 2009 season.

Death

On 13 May 2012, Richardson died of internal bleeding in a

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

hospital following a collision with a safety fence during a Polish League match.

Family

Richardson's mother Julie was a presenter for ScreenSport Television. His father

Colin Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), Thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

is a former rider. His uncle Steve Weatherley, another rider, was paralysed in a crash with Vic Harding whilst racing in a meeting at the

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 ...

(Harding later died in hospital).

Speedway Grand Prix results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Lee Stewart 1979 births 2012 deaths British speedway riders Sportspeople from Hastings Coventry Bees riders Poole Pirates riders Reading Racers riders Swindon Robins riders Lakeside Hammers riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sport deaths in Poland Filmed deaths in motorsport

Career

Death

Family

Speedway Grand Prix results

See also

References