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 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 sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area inclu ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, Johnston signed for the

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers 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. The Tigers traditionally hold their race ...

for the 1992 British League Division Two season. He left Sheffield to join the

Long Eaton Invaders Long Eaton motorcycle speedway teams operated from 1950 until 1997 in Long Eaton, England. Teams have raced at the Long Eaton Stadium as the Long Eaton Archers, Long Eaton Rangers, Nottingham Outlaws and the Long Eaton Invaders. The Invaders ret ...

for the 1993 season. While at Long Eaton, Johnston began to put in notable performances including winning the

Western Australian Individual Speedway Championship The Western Australian Individual Speedway Championship is a Motorcycle speedway championship held annually in Western Australia to determine the WA State champion. The event is organised by the Speedway Motorcycle Club of WA and is sanctioned by ...

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 Ma ...

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

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British 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 7.30pm (first ...

for 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 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, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 200 ...

recruited him the following season to ride at

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a greyhound racing and speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley. Races were historically held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening with afternoon BAGS (Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service) racing o ...

for the

1998 Elite League speedway season The 1998 Elite League speedway season was the 64th season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom and the second year known as the Elite League, governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Pro ...

and he would spend five consecutive seasons with them including helping them win the

2001 Elite League speedway season The 2001 Elite League speedway season was the 67th season of top division of speedway in the United Kingdom and in 2001 was governed by the Speedway Control Board (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). ...

. Johnston went on to win a third Western Australian Individual Speedway Championship and represented the

Australia speedway team Australia is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The current team is managed by former rider Mark Lemon, and captained by 2012 World Champion Chris ...

in two

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old World Team Cup which ran from 1960 until 2000. The last edi ...

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 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

. 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 speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). Season sum ...

. This forced a move to the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Souther ...

, 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 Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

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

Somerset Rebels The Somerset Rebels were a British speedway team based in Highbridge, Somerset. Founded in 2000, the club competed in the British SGB Championship until 2019. Their home track was located at the Oak Tree Arena. History The club's stadium, Th ...

in 2009 before retiring.

Speedway Grand Prix results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Steve 1971 births Living people People from Kalgoorlie Australian speedway riders Belle Vue Aces riders Birmingham Brummies riders Coventry Bees riders Ipswich Witches riders 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