Steven Paul Johnston (born 12 October 1971) is former international

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 from Australia.

Career

Born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, Johnston signed for the

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...

for the 1992 British League Division Two season. He left Sheffield to join the Long Eaton Invaders for the 1993 season. While at Long Eaton, Johnston began to put in notable performances including winning the Western Australian Individual Speedway Championship in 1993 and 1996 at 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 ...

and being the European Grasstrack Champion in 1996. In 1997, he rode for

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 ...

in the 1997 Elite League speedway season and averaged nearly 8. Steve Johnston speedway riding for Oxford in 2007

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 ...

recruited him the following season to ride at

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway, speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley, Oxford, Cowley. As of 2024, Greyhound races are held on Monday, Friday and Saturday ...

for the 1998 Elite League speedway season and he would spend five consecutive seasons with them including helping them win the Elite League championship. Johnston went on to win a third Western Australian Individual Speedway Championship and represented the

Australia 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 ...

in two

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is a motorcycle speedway event for national teams held in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old Speedway World Team Cup, World Team Cup which ...

finals in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. After the 2002 season with Oxford, Johnston became a journeyman rider by appearing for a different club every year from 2003 to 2010. However, he did have a very successful season in 2007. Initially he was due to ride the whole season on his return to Oxford but after a couple of months Oxford withdrew from the

2007 Elite League speedway season The 2007 Elite League speedway season was the 73rd season of the top division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA ...

. This forced a move to the

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 ...

, where he won the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and Knockout Cup double. Johnston earned a testimonial meeting at Coventry in June 2008, while riding for Ipswich and he had one season at

Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset, Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tr ...

in 2009 and a successful season in 2010 for

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British Motorcycle speedway, speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League (1929–31), Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of Britis ...

in 2010 before retiring. He was part of the Birmingham four who won the

Premier League Four-Team Championship The SGB Championship Fours formerly the Premier League Four-Team Championship is a contest between teams competing in the second tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. Teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The ...

, on 15 August 2010, at the

East of England Arena The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of E ...

Speedway Grand Prix results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Steve 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Kalgoorlie Australian speedway riders Belle Vue Aces riders Birmingham Brummies riders Coventry Bees riders Ipswich Witches riders Australian expatriate speedway riders in England Lakeside Hammers riders Long Eaton Invaders riders Oxford Cheetahs riders Sheffield Tigers riders Somerset Rebels riders Swindon Robins riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Sportsmen from Western Australia