Norman Bernard Clay (27 May 1922 – 21 January 1950) was an Australian

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. He earned two international caps for the

Australia national speedway team The Australia national speedway team is one of the leading teams in international motorcycle speedway, with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The team are five times champions of the world having won the sports p ...

. Clay was killed in arguably speedway's worst crash on 20 January 1950, which also saw fellow Australian Ray Duggan lose his life.

Biography

Clay, born in Sydney, Australia, raced in Australia during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the Inter-District League Premiership, riding for Eastern Suburbs and after the war signed to ride for influential promoter

Johnnie Hoskins Jack Stark Hoskins MBE (16 April 1892 Waitara, New Zealand – 5 April 1987 Kent, England) was the most significant promoter of speedway and stock car racing in the United Kingdom. He is considered by some to have invented motorcycle speedway. ...

. However, it was not until 1948 that he was one of three Australian riders brought over to race in British speedway by the

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, ...

manager Frank Buckland for the 1948 season, the others being Hugh Geddes and

Keith Gurtner Keith Frank Gurtner (21 September 1921 – 21 April 1997) was an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He was the champion of Queensland a record equalling seven times in 1974 and earned 26 international caps for the Australia national speedwa ...

. Clay had gained a significant reputation in Australia and he began his British leagues career riding for Exeter during the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three season. He was an instant hit, recording a 8.73 average from 51 matches and this helped Exeter win the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three. The following season he remained with Exeter for the 1949 Speedway National League Division Three campaign and set an impressive 9.77 average from 42 matches, the fourth highest in the entire division. He also became the club captain and equalled the track record of 76 seconds at the

County Ground Stadium The County Ground Stadium, also previously known as the Devon County Athletic Ground, was a rugby union, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Exeter, Devon. It was one of two separate venues in Exeter known as the County Ground, along wit ...

Family and death

On 20 January 1950, Clay and fellow Australian Ray Duggan were both killed at the

Sydney Sports Ground The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a stadium and dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was sur ...

after a crash in heat 8. Clay was leading the race but caught a deep grove throwing him off the bike, which started a chain reaction. Duggan ran into him and fell on his head before a third rider Donald Lawson hit Duggan's bike. All three were take to St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney but Duggan was pronounced dead on arrival and Clay died the following morning. Lawson suffered serious facial injuries. His older brother Sidney Clay was a speedway rider and mechanic and drowned in 1939 after being swept out to sea while fishing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Norman 1922 births 1950 deaths Australian speedway riders Exeter Falcons riders

Biography

Family and death

See also

References