Melvyn Roy Taylor (born 26 April 1961) is a former speedway rider from England.

Speedway career

Taylor started his career at

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 ...

in 1977 before riding in the top tier of British Speedway for

King's Lynn 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 199 ...

and

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 1978. In 1980, he reached the Commonwealth final, which formed part of the

1980 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1980 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 35th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. With the defending Ivan Mauger failing to qualify for a World Final for the first time since 1966, an ...

. He reached the final of the 1980 British Speedway Championship and the

1981 British Speedway Championship The 1981 British Speedway Championship was the 21st edition of the British Speedway Championship. The Final took place on 3 June at Brandon Stadium, Brandon in Coventry, England. The Championship was won by Steve Bastable, who beat Kenny Carter an ...

, finishing 9th and 12th respectively. In 1984, he was signed by

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British Motorcycle speedway, 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 Speed ...

who bought him from King's Lynn for £12,000. The Oxford team had returned to the

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 ...

and the other signings to start as the top five riders for the season were Hans Nielsen for a record £30,000,

Simon Wigg Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.Rogers, G.(2005 ...

for £25,000,

Marvyn Cox Marvyn Cox (born 11 July 1964 in Whitstable, Kent) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Cox was twice a winner of the German Individual Championship in 1993 and 1995, when he raced under a German licence. At retirement, he had earned 25 inter ...

for £15,000 and Jens Rasmussen, with Ian Clark and Nigel Sparshott at 6 & 7. After a mid table finish in 1984 he was part of the Oxford team that won the league and cup double during a 1985 British League season. Taylor did not compete in the cup final because he left the team in late August to rejoin Mildenhall. In 1987, he won the National League Pairs, partnering

Dave Jessup David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953) is an English former motorcycle speedway rider. He was a world championship runner-up, world pairs champion, world cup winner and British champion. He earned 97 international caps for the England national ...

for the Mildenhall, during the 1987 National League season. He also won the Fours Championship with Mildenhall, during the 1987 season. After spells at

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30 ...

and

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 ...

he returned to Mildenhall for one final season in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Melvyn 1961 births Living people British speedway riders Ipswich Witches riders King's Lynn Stars riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Reading Racers riders Rye House Rockets riders