Charles Richard May (born 8 May 1944 in Southampton, England) was a motorcycle speedway rider that rode for Reading Racers and Poole Pirates between 1969 and 1977.[1]
 Richard May, speedway rider. | |
| Born | 8 May 1944 Southampton, England |
|---|---|
| Career history | |
| 1969–1973, 1975 | Reading Racers |
| 1974, 1976–1977 | Poole Pirates |
| Team honours | |
| 1973 | British League |
| 1972 | Spring Gold Cup |
Career
edit"Dickie" May was the Southern Centre 350cc Solo Grasstrack champion in 1967.[2][3] In 1970 he was part of the Young England side that faced a Young Sweden side in the Division 2 Test Series tour[4][5] In 1971 he won the Golden Helmet from Ken McKinlay.[6]
May joined Reading Racers in 1969 and spent five seasons with them,[7] culminating in winning the 1973 British League, along with regular riders Anders Michanek, Dag Lövaas, Geoff Curtis, Mick Bell and Bernie Leigh.[8][9] He also rode for Poole Pirates.[10] While riding for the Pirates he competed in the preliminary round of the British Qualifiers of the 1974 Individual Speedway World Championship and was the leading bonus point scorer that year for Poole.[11]
Speedway writer Arnie Gibbons (author of Tears and Glory ISBN 9780955845505) wrote in the Speedway Plus article "We had Joy, We Had Fun" that after a meet on 5 October 1970, May had become his first speedway hero after scoring a 12 point full maximum which helped the Reading Racers beat Eastbourne.[12]
References
edit- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Southern Centre Championships (350cc) - Grasstrack GB". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "My motorbike was used by speedway hero - get reading". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "A Tribute To Tommy Jansson His Race Heat Details For Great Britain - Robert Browne" (PDF). Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Young England v Young Sweden 27 July 1970 - defunctspeedway.co.uk". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Gibbons.A Tears and Glory ISBN 9780955845505
- ^ "Speedway stars at touring centre". Reading Evening Post. 7 September 1972. Retrieved 28 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway Star Clark.R p.14 March 2015". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "Season 1973 - Speedwaygb.co.uk" (PDF). Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Lawson, K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
- ^ "All Time Points Scorers - poole speedway". Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "We had Joy, We had Fun by Gibbons, A. - Speedwayplus.com". Retrieved 31 October 2018.