Simon Antony Wigg (15 October 1960 – 15 November 2000) was an English

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in t ...

and longtrack rider. He won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

in 1989.Rogers, G.(2005). ''Wiggy!: Simon Wigg in His Own Words ''. He earned 57 international caps for the

England national speedway team The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by th ...

Education

After relocating with his family several times as a child, he gained a scholarship to

Woodbridge School Woodbridge School is a private day and boarding school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September ...

in Suffolk, where he and his brother began their interest in motorcycle racing, attending

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 ...

meetings at Foxhall and riding in grasstrack competitions.

Career

Wigg was born in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

.Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). ''1986 Speedway Yearbook''. Spotsdata. Simon Wigg
(obit.), ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 22 November 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2019 In 1980, he joined his first speedway club,

Weymouth Wildcats The Weymouth Wildcats were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Weymouth, England, who raced in the National League. The Wildcats won the first Conference League Championship in their history in 2008 after winning the Conference League ...

, and in 1982, Wigg won the British League Division Two Pairs Championship with Martin Yeates with the sea-side town club. After joining

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, west of Birmingham. The town was known for the manufacture of chains in the first half of the twentiet ...

in 1983, he won the treble of league, Knockout Cup and Midland Cup. 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 Cradley Heath Heathens for £25,000. 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,

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, Melvyn Taylor for £12,000 and Jens Rasmussen, with Ian Clark and Nigel Sparshott at 6 & 7. It was in 1984 that he qualified for his first World Final. 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. Also in 1985, he became the second British World Longtrack Champion (Michael Lee was the first in 1981) and went on to win the title a further four times. He was the most successful British grasstrack and longtrack rider ever. Wigg while riding in Oxford, met his wife to be, Charlie, and after a few years together they had two children. In 1986, Wigg was part of the Oxford team that won a second consecutive league and cup double during the 1986 British League season. 1988 saw him become British Speedway Champion and he retained the title the following year. 1989 also saw him captain the

Great Britain speedway team The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen (speedway rider), Oliver Allen and Sim ...

when they won the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

. In 1989, he won the Commonwealth Final and then finished runner-up to his Cheetahs teammate Hans Nielsen in the World Final at the Olympiastadion in Munich. His team Oxford also won the league title in the 1989 British League season. He rode in the Polish League for Unia Tarnów in 1992 (10 matches, CMA 9.89),

Unia Leszno Unia Leszno are a motorcycle speedway team established on 8 May 1938 and based in Leszno, Poland. The team's home track is at the Stadion Alfreda Smoczyka. They compete in the Ekstraliga (speedway), Ekstraliga (the highest division) and are Pol ...

(1994, 2 matches, 6.80), Stal Rzeszów (1997, 1 match, 11.00) and Falubaz Zielona Góra (1998, 1 match, 6.40). In 1993, he joined

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain. History Origins and 1920s The firs ...

for the season. In October 1996, during the Speedway Grand Prix Qualification he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 1997 Grand Prix. During his career, Wigg was a frequent visitor to Australia and always enjoyed success on the larger Showground tracks down under such as the

Brisbane Exhibition Ground The Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is a multi-purpose venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia. Established in 1875, it hosts more than 250 events each year, the largest being the Royal Queen ...

, the Wayville Showground in Adelaide, the

Claremont Speedway The Claremont Speedway was a racing circuit in the grounds of the Claremont Showground in the suburb of Claremont in Western Australia's capital city of Perth. The speedway held its first meeting on 14 May 1927, and its final meeting on 31 M ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and the Melbourne Showgrounds. During his time riding in both Australia and New Zealand, Wigg won the Australian Long track Grand Prix in 1990, 1994 and 1995, as well as the New Zealand Long track Grand Prix in 1994. Wigg was also famous for his bright green leathers and bikes, being nicknamed "The Lean Green Racing Machine". He rode in 65 meetings for England.

Death

After suffering

epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

s in November 1998 and January 1999, which were originally attributed to head trauma from racing crashes,Longmore, Andrew (1999)
Speedway: The Interview Simon Wigg: Tracks of a speed star's tears
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 28 March 1999. Retrieved 22 August 2019 he was diagnosed with a

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

, and had surgery to remove it in May 1999.Speedway: Tumour shock for Wigg
, ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid ''The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 by MP Fra ...

'', 19 April 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2019 After recovering, he moved with his family to

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, but after falling ill again in February 2000, returned to the UK for further surgery after discovering that the tumour had regrown. Wigg died on 15 November 2000 at the age of 40.

World Longtrack Championship record

Five Times Champion Final * 1982

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

5pts (13th) * 1983

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many c ...

11pts (7th) * 1985

22pts (Champion) * 1987

Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Mühldorf (district), district Mühldorf on the river Inn (river), Inn. It is located at , and had a population of ab ...

21pts (Second) * 1988

Scheeßel Scheeßel (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Scheeßl'') is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Wümme, approx. 10 km northeast of Rotenburg, 45 km east of Bremen, and 70 km sou ...

21pts (8th) * 1989

38pts (Champion) * 1990 Herxheim 37pts (Champion) * 1991

10pts (9th) * 1992 Pfarrkirchen 0pts (19th) * 1993

22pts (Champion) * 1994

25pts (Champion) * 1995

20pts (Second) * ''After run-off with

Kelvin Tatum Kelvin Martin Tatum Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 8 February 1964) is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned 65 international caps for the England national speedway team. Career Tatum atte ...

'' * 1996 Herxheim 11pts (7th) Grand Years 1998 Four G.P. 40pts (10th)

World Speedway final appearances

World Championship

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

- 6th - 9pts *

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Vojens Vojens () is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,424 (1 January 2025).Speedway Center - 6th - 9pts *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

- 2nd - 12pts + 3pts

World Pairs Championship

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Pocking Pocking (; ) is a town in the Passau (district), district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austria, Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the area of Poc ...

, Rottalstadion (with Jeremy Doncaster) - 7th - 23pts (11) *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

, Svítkov Stadion (with

) - 2nd - 44pts (20)

World Team Cup

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

Alfred Smoczyk Stadium Alfred Smoczyk Stadium () is a stadium in Leszno, Poland. It is currently used for speedway matches and is the home stadium of Unia Leszno. The stadium has a capacity of 16,700 people. The stadium is located on ''ulica Strzelecka 7''. Histor ...

(with

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capp ...

/ Peter Collins /

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

/ Neil Collins) - 2nd - 24pts (9) *

- Gothenburg, Ullevi, Vojens, Speedway Center and

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

(with Kelvin Tatum /

Neil Evitts Neil Clive Evitts (born 25 September 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a former English international motorcycle speedway rider. He was the 1986 British champion and earned 27 international caps for the England national speedway team. Career ...

/ Jeremy Doncaster / Chris Morton /

) - 3rd - 81pts (24) *

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

, Fredericia Speedway,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Brandon Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturd ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Marketa Stadium (with Kelvin Tatum / Jeremy Doncaster / Simon Cross / Marvyn Cox) - 2nd - 101pts (29) *

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Veterans Memorial Stadium (with Simon Cross / Kelvin Tatum / Chris Morton /

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968) is a British former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. Career Havelock's father was speedway rider Brian Havelock. Gary Havelock first competed in grasstrack racing, winning the British ...

) - 4th - 22pts (0) *

- Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Jeremy Doncaster / Kelvin Tatum / Paul Thorp / Simon Cross) - Winner - 48pts (11) *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, Svítkov Stadion (with Kelvin Tatum / Jeremy Doncaster / Marvyn Cox / Gary Havelock) - 2nd - 34pts (8)

Speedway Grand Prix results

British Grasstrack Championship Record

*1981 - British 500cc Grasstrack @

Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote '' A Sentimental Journey''. History The villag ...

Clyst St. Mary Clyst St Mary is a small village and civil parish east of Exeter on the main roads to Exmouth and Sidmouth in East Devon. The name comes from the Celtic languages, Celtic word clyst meaning 'clear stream'. The village is a major part of the e ...

& Uckington *1982 - British Masters Grasstrack @ Condover &

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

*1983 - British Masters Grasstrack @ Clyst St George & Long Marston *1985 - British Masters Grasstrack @ Eaton *1989 - British Masters Grasstrack @ Chetton &

Winterbourne Gunner Winterbourne Gunner is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Winterbourne, in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Salisbury. The village is near the River Bourne and the A338 road, and is close to Winterbourne Dauntsey. ...

*1990 - British Masters Grasstrack @ Sturminster Marshall & Chetton

References

External links

A tribute to Simon Wigg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigg, Simon 1960 births 2000 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers British Speedway Championship winners Birmingham Brummies riders Bradford Dukes riders Cradley Heathens riders Exeter Falcons riders Hackney Kestrels riders King's Lynn Stars riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Sportspeople from Aylesbury People educated at Woodbridge School Deaths from brain cancer in the United Kingdom Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship riders People educated at John Hampden Grammar School 20th-century English sportsmen