Russell Wade "Rusty" Harrison (born 11 October 1981 in
Elizabeth,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
)
[
] is an Australian
speedway rider.
Career summary
Harrison won the Australian Under-16 Championship in 1995 in
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
and again in 1997 at his home track in Adelaide (
Sidewinders Speedway), before going on to be the
Australian Under-21 Champion in 2001, winning again at home in Adelaide, this time at the
Gillman Speedway.
[
] In 2002 he was third in the Australian Under-21 Championship at Gillman behind winner
Travis McGowan and second placed
Cameron Woodward.
[
] Harrison also won the
South Australian Championship in 2003 Gillman. As of 2015, Harrison's 2003 win was the last time a South Australian born rider has won the SA Championship (Adelaide based, but
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
born
Rory Schlein
Rory Robert Schlein (born 1 September 1984) is an Australian speedway rider.
Career
Born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Schlein, lived in the southern Adelaide suburb of Hallett Cove and won the Australian Under-16 Championship at the Nort ...
would win the title from 2004-2007).
Harrison made his debut in British speedway in 2001 riding for
Glasgow Tigers. In 2001 he joined
Workington Comets where he stayed for three seasons, before moving to
Edinburgh Monarchs in 2005.
[
] In 2005 he also rode as a Reserve for
Belle Vue Aces in the
Elite League at number seven.
[
] He moved back to Workington in 2006 after apparently refusing to take his last two rides for Edinburgh during rain soaked meeting against
Rye House Rockets on 7 July 2006,
[
] before riding for Stoke Potters in 2007.
[
][
]
In September 2007, Harrison decided to retire from speedway after being affected by the serious injuries suffered by team-mate
Garry Stead. This followed a poor run of form when he had already decided to stop riding that season, saying, "I just haven't got going at all and I feel I have been letting too many people down" said the Australian. You are a danger to yourself and others when your head is not right and it's best that I stand down now before anything else happens."
[
]
However, in early 2008 the
King's Lynn Stars signed Harrison for the 2008 season. He rode for Glasgow Tigers and
Birmingham Brummies in 2009, and rode for
Workington Comets between 2010 and 2012. He quit the Comets in June 2012 due to family and work commitments, but towards the end of 2012 signed for the Comets again to ride in 2013.
Comets Hero Rusty Agrees Stunning Speedway Return
, '' Times & Star'', 7 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Russell Wade
1981 births
Living people
Australian speedway riders
Sportspeople from Adelaide
Glasgow Tigers riders
Workington Comets riders
Edinburgh Monarchs riders
Stoke Potters riders
Belle Vue Aces riders
King's Lynn Stars riders