Mark Roysten Gregory Loram (born 12 January 1971) is a British 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 ...
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
British Speedway Championship
The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders.
The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion.
History
Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the S ...
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
,
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
and
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
) he rode for King's Lynn as a heat leader and reached a second World U21 final in 1992, losing to Leigh Adams in a run-off for the title.
1994 to 1999
By 1994 he was competing with the world's best riders and reached the final of the 1994 Individual Speedway World Championship, where he finished in 8th place. The following season in 1995 he moved to
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, ...
from King's Lynn and took part in the 1995 Speedway Grand Prix (the new version of the World Championship).
In 1997, he became British champion, won the Danish Grand Prix in
Vojens
Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Bradford Dukes
The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated primarily from the Odsal Stadium in Odsal, Bradford until their closure in 1997.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. The Bradford speedway team p ...
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 ...
history to win a GP whilst being entered as a wild card and won the
Swedish Grand Prix
The Swedish Grand Prix () was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp ( Gislaved Municipality), about from Jönköping, in Småland, Sweden. The first race to hold ...
in
Linköping
Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
. He also became British champion for the second time.
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
despite not winning any of the Grand Prix meetings held that year, the only rider to ever do so. However he was the only rider to reach the semi-finals in all six meetings which along with runner-up placings in the opening two rounds in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
as well as a third in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
in Round 4 gave him enough points to secure his first and only world title. Loram scored 102 points over the six rounds to defeat
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
champion Billy Hamill on 95 and defending championTony Rickardsson on 94. Loram's win saw him become the 7th British rider to win speedway's ultimate individual prize. He would remain a Grand Prix rider until the end of the 2004 season.
Loram won a third
British Speedway Championship
The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders.
The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion.
History
Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the S ...
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 ...
the following year. After two seasons with Eastbourne he joined the Arena Essex Hammers for 2004 and 2005 seasons.
In March 2007, Loram broke his thigh and dislocated his arm whilst riding in the opening fixture of the Elite League season for the Ipswich Witches. This ended his involvement in the sport for 2007, and he was unable to ride in 2008 and 2009. On 17 December 2009, Loram officially announced his retirement from speedway.
World Final Appearances
*
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
-
Vojens
Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center - 8th - 9ptsBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.