Lewis William C. Blackbird (born 21 February 1987) 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

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, Lewis is the son of

Carl Blackbird Carl Ivan Blackbird (born 26 March 1965) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England and Great Britain. Speedway career Blackbird rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1981–1993, riding for various clubs. In 1984, he won t ...

and nephew of

Mark Blackbird Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a curren ...

and Paul Blackbird, all former riders.Rider Index
, speedwaygb.co, retrieved 2012-07-08 Before taking up speedway, he rode in

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

from the age of fourteen. After one appearance for

Sittingbourne Crusaders The Sittingbourne Crusaders formerly the Iwade Kent Crusaders were a British speedway team based in Iwade, Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames ...

in 2006 and two for

Oxford Lions The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 2001 ...

in 2007, he competed in mini-bike racing in 2008, winning the 88cc British Championship.Lewis Blackbird
", mildenhallfentigers.co, retrieved 2012-07-08 In 2010 he bought a speedway bike and returned to the sport. He was signed to ride for

King's Lynn Young 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 1996 ...

National League team in 2011, but transferred to

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 ...

before the season started. He was part of the team that won the National League Knock Out Cup in 2011. He more than doubled his starting average in 2011, also making several guest appearances in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and rode in the Midland Development League for Long Eaton Invaders.Lewis Blackbird
, longeatoninvaders.co.uk, retrieved 2012-07-08 He started the 2012 season as the Fen Tigers team captain.We can take Fours title says Tigers captain
", ''Newmarket Journal'', 8 July 2012, retrieved 2012-07-08 His good form continued in 2012, although a dislocated shoulder sustained in a fall at King's Lynn in May kept him out for a few weeks.Blackbird ready to fly back into action early
", ''Newmarket Journal'', 24 May 2012, retrieved 2012-07-08 An injury to Simon Nielsen in June 2012 saw Blackbird guest again in the Premier League for

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 ...

, going on to be declared in the team for the remainder of the season in July.Lewis Blackbird replaces Simon Nielsen at Leicester Lions
,

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 June 2012, retrieved 2012-07-08 In July 2012, with

Cameron Heeps Cameron Andrew George Heeps (born 27 October 1995) is an Australian speedway rider. Career He began his British career riding for the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in 2011, winning the Knockout Cup. He won the National League Pairs Championship wit ...

he won the National League Pairs Championship for Mildenhall.Butt, Randall (2012) "On-Song Tigers", ''

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 ...

'', 28 July 2012, p. 26-7 With Mildenhall he also won the National League title, the National League Knock Out Cup, the National League Fours, and the National League Trophy in 2012. He re-signed with Leicester for the 2013 Premier League season and shortly afterwards also signed to ride for Dudley Heathens in the National League in 2013. In May 2013, Blackbird moved to

Scunthorpe Scorpions The Scunthorpe Scorpions are a motorcycle speedway team in the British SGB Championship. They have raced at various times since 1971, at three different venues. History Origins and 1970s Speedway in Scunthorpe began on 3 May 1971 at the ...

from Leicester but went on to win the National League Fours again but this time with Dudley. In 2014, he rode for his home town team

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

in the Premier League and

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 ...

in the Elite League. He stayed with the Panthers in 2015 and rode for

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They were champions of the United Kingdom five times and raced at Monmore Green Stadium from 1928 to 2023. History 1928–1930 Speedway (known ...

in the Elite League. On 20 August 2015, after the latest of several crashed during the season, Blackbird announced his retirement from the sport with immediate effect.Lewis Blackbird announces speedway retirement
, ''Express & Star'', 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbird, Lewis 1987 births Living people English motorcycle racers British speedway riders Leicester Lions riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Cradley Heathens riders Scunthorpe Scorpions riders Peterborough Panthers riders Eastbourne Eagles riders