Sergey Alexandrovich Darkin (born 18 June 1973[1][2]) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Uzbekistan, who was a two time Russian Champion.[3][4] He earned 17 caps for the Russia national speedway team.[5]
 | |
| Born | 18 June 1973 Fergana, Uzbekistan |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Russian/Uzbek |
| Career history | |
| Russia | |
| 1992–2005, 2009–2011, 2014–2017 | Togliatti |
| 2006–2007 | Balakovo |
| 2008, 2012–2013 | Salavat |
| Poland | |
| 1996, 1999 | Ostrów |
| 1997 | Rybnik |
| 1998 | Kraków |
| 2000 | Rzeszów |
| 2001 | Grudziądz |
| 2002-2003 | Tarnów |
| 2006, 2008 | Daugavpils |
| 2007 | Gniezno |
| 2009 | Miskolc |
| 2010 | Lublin |
| Great Britain | |
| 2001 | Eastbourne Eagles |
| 2004 | Coventry Bees |
| 2005 | Arena Essex |
| 2007 | Poole Pirates |
| 2011 | Leicester Lions |
| 2011 | Swindon Robins |
| Individual honours | |
| 2000, 2002 | Russian Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 1996 | World Cup silver |
Biography
editBorn in Fergana, Uzbekistan, Darkin has been a regular member of the Russian World Team Cup squad.[6] He was Russian individual champion in 2000 and 2002.[6] In 1996, Darkin won a silver medal at the Speedway World Team Cup held on 15 September at the Rhein-Main Arena in Diedenbergen.[7]
After riding in the UK for Eastbourne Eagles in 2001,[8] he joined Coventry Bees in the middle of the 2004 season, riding in 15 matches in the Elite League and scoring 111 points at an average of 6.68.[9] He also rode for Arena Essex in 2005 and Poole Pirates in 2007.[10] In September 2005 he suffered serious head injuries in a crash at Togliatti in the European Club Team Champions Cup and was able to return to racing the following year.[10]
He rode for KMZ Lublin in the Polish league, Togliatti in Russia, and signed for Leicester Lions for the 2011 British season, leaving mid-season.[6] He subsequently rode for Swindon Robins in the Elite League.[11]
Career record
editBritish leagues
edit| Year | Team | League | Matches | Rides | Points | Bonus | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Eastbourne Eagles | Elite | ||||||
| 2004 | Coventry Bees | Elite | 15 | 73 | 111 | 11 | 122 | 6.68 |
| 2005 | Arena Essex | Elite | 16 | 68 | 87 | 14 | 101 | 5.94 |
| 2007 | Poole Pirates | Elite | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2011 | Leicester Lions | Premier | 21 | 96 | 156 | 10 | 166 | 6.92 |
| 2011 | Swindon Robins | Elite | 8 | 32 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 3.63 |
References
edit- ^ Świat Żużla, No 1 (74) / 2008, pages 44-45, ISSN 1429-3285
- ^ Świat Żużla, No 2 (75) / 2008, page 24, ISSN 1429-3285
- ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Darkin, Sergey". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sergey Darkin Archived 2011-03-21 at the Wayback Machine", Leicester Speedway, retrieved 2011-03-27
- ^ "World Team Cup final". Shropshire Star. 16 September 1996. Retrieved 6 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Russians are coming to Eagles". Mid Sussex Times. 13 September 2001. Retrieved 6 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Bamford, Robert (2005) Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2005, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-3396-2, p. 40-42, 365
- ^ a b "Riders - D: Sergey Darkin", speedwaygb.co, retrieved 2011-10-02
- ^ "Speedway: Swindon Robins sign Sergey Darkin as reserve", BBC, 1 August 2011, retrieved 2011-10-02