Jim Airey
Encyclopedia
James Sydney "Jim" Airey (born 19 August 1941 in Earlwood, New South Wales
, Australia
) is a former international motorcycle speedway
rider who rode in the 1971 World Final
in Göteborg, Sweden
and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland
.
in 1966 before going on to win the Australian Championship
in 1968, also held at the Showground which was his home track.
Airey became known as the "King of the Royale" as he was near unbeatable on the 509m Sydney Showground track (the Showground was known as the "Royale"). At one stage during the late 1960s Airey won a record 33 consecutive scratch races at the Showground.
He followed up his 1968 Australian Championship by winning both the 1969 and 1970 championships, again all held at the Sydney Showground. He won his fourth and last title in 1972 at Rowley Park
in Adelaide
During this time he also won the NSW championship in 1969, 1970, 1971 before winning his last championship in 1974.
Jim Airey was one of the few speedway riders who didn't have a major crash in his career. His secret was known to be that he never rode faster than he needed to, giving himself margin for error. He chose to retire after winning his last NSW Championship
1974 aged just thirty-three.
for the Sunderland Saints
for eight meetings in 1964 before moving to the Wolverhampton Wolves
for the remainder of 1964 and 1965. After not competing in England
during the 1966 season, Airey returned to Wolverhampton for 1967 and 1968. He then signed with the Sheffield Tigers
for 1969 and remained with the team until 1971 before retiring from the British Leagues and returning full time to Australia.
during his career, often captaining the team in matches held in Australia against visiting national teams yet his greatest international success came as a member of the Great Britain speedway team at Wrocław in Poland
. Great Britain, containing Jim Airey from Australia, Ivan Mauger
, Barry Briggs
and Ronnie Moore
from New Zealand
and Ray Wilson
, who was the only rider from Great Britain
, easily won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup scoring 37 points to defeat the Soviet Union
on 22 and host nation Poland
who finished on 19 points.
Airey also qualified for his only World Championship Final
in 1971
held in Göteborg, Sweden
. He finished 8th on 8 points after a win, two 2nd places and a 3rd place.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) is a former international motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
rider who rode in the 1971 World Final
1971 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1971 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 10, 1971 Göteborg, UlleviNote : Vladimir Gordeev was disqualified after illegal additives were found in his fuel.-Heat by Heat Classification:...
in Göteborg, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Australia
Jim Airey started racing Speedway in the early-1960s, quickly establishing himself as a star rider and winning his first NSW Solo Championship at the Sydney ShowgroundSydney Showground Speedway
Sydney Showground Speedway, originally known as the Speedway Royal and later the Speedway Royale but often referred to as just The Royale or The Showground, was a dirt Dirt track racing venue at the old Sydney Showground used from 1926 until 1996....
in 1966 before going on to win the Australian Championship
Individual Speedway Australian Championship
The Australian Individual Speedway Championship is a Motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion...
in 1968, also held at the Showground which was his home track.
Airey became known as the "King of the Royale" as he was near unbeatable on the 509m Sydney Showground track (the Showground was known as the "Royale"). At one stage during the late 1960s Airey won a record 33 consecutive scratch races at the Showground.
He followed up his 1968 Australian Championship by winning both the 1969 and 1970 championships, again all held at the Sydney Showground. He won his fourth and last title in 1972 at Rowley Park
Rowley park speedway
Rowley Park Speedway is a former Dirt track racing venue that was located on Torrens Road in Brompton, South Australia, The speedway was named after Mr Enoch Procter Rowley, an English-born Dentist who moved to Adelaide from Kalgoorlie in 1908 where he had forged a reputation as being Western...
in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
During this time he also won the NSW championship in 1969, 1970, 1971 before winning his last championship in 1974.
Jim Airey was one of the few speedway riders who didn't have a major crash in his career. His secret was known to be that he never rode faster than he needed to, giving himself margin for error. He chose to retire after winning his last NSW Championship
New South Wales Individual Speedway Championship
The New South Wales Individual Speedway Championship is a Motorcycle speedway championship held annually in New South Wales to determine the NSW State champion...
1974 aged just thirty-three.
England
Airey rode successfully in the Speedway National LeagueSpeedway National League
The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...
for the Sunderland Saints
Sunderland Stars
The Sunderland Stars were a motorcycle speedway team who raced at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium from 1971 until 1974 in the National League when Len Silver acted as promoter on behalf of Allied Presentations Ltd....
for eight meetings in 1964 before moving to the Wolverhampton Wolves
Wolverhampton Wolves
The Wolverhampton Wolves are a British Speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and have signed a new deal with owner Dave Parry for the 2008 season onwards. The team is managed by Peter Adams and the promoter of the club is Chris Van...
for the remainder of 1964 and 1965. After not competing in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the 1966 season, Airey returned to Wolverhampton for 1967 and 1968. He then signed with the Sheffield Tigers
Sheffield Tigers
The Sheffield 'Window Centre' Tigers are a speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British Premier League and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium which is the fastest track in British speedway...
for 1969 and remained with the team until 1971 before retiring from the British Leagues and returning full time to Australia.
International
Jim Airey rode in numerous Test Matches for AustraliaAustralia national speedway team
Australia are one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former rider, three time Australian Champion and 1994 World #3 Craig Boyce and captained by three time Speedway World Champion Jason Crump...
during his career, often captaining the team in matches held in Australia against visiting national teams yet his greatest international success came as a member of the Great Britain speedway team at Wrocław in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Great Britain, containing Jim Airey from Australia, Ivan Mauger
Ivan Mauger
Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE, is a retired motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships, a feat only equalled by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden...
, Barry Briggs
Barry Briggs
Barry Briggs MBE from Christchurch, New Zealand is a former Speedway rider.He won the World Individual Championship title four times - in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966. He appeared in a record 17 consecutive World Individual finals , and a record 18 in all, during which he scored a record 201 points...
and Ronnie Moore
Ronnie Moore (speedway rider)
Ronnie Moore MBE is a former international Speedway rider. His family moved to New Zealand when he was still a child and although Moore was born in Australia, he has always considered himself to be a New Zealander....
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Ray Wilson
Ray Wilson (speedway rider)
Ray Wilson is a former international speedway rider who was World Pairs Champion in 1972 and British Speedway Champion in 1973, was also England Team Captain for 5years in the early 1970s. He was the first Englishman to record a maximum score in a World Team Cup Final...
, who was the only rider from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, easily won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup scoring 37 points to defeat the Soviet Union
Russia national speedway team
Russia are an international speedway team who compete in the major international competition, the Speedway World Cup. They are managed by Andrey Savin and the current captain is Rybnik's Denis Gizatullin.- 2009 Squad :* Denis Gizatullin* Grigory Laguta...
on 22 and host nation Poland
Poland national speedway team
The Poland national speedway team is the national motorcycle speedway team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Motor Union . The team is one of the major teams in international speedway and they won the Team World Championship nine times . The team has won 1971 Speedway World Pairs...
who finished on 19 points.
Airey also qualified for his only World Championship Final
Speedway World Championship
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world. Today, it is organised as a series of Speedway Grand Prix events, where points are awarded according to performance in the event and tallied up at the end of each...
in 1971
1971 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1971 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 10, 1971 Göteborg, UlleviNote : Vladimir Gordeev was disqualified after illegal additives were found in his fuel.-Heat by Heat Classification:...
held in Göteborg, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He finished 8th on 8 points after a win, two 2nd places and a 3rd place.
World Final Appearances
- 19711971 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1971 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 10, 1971 Göteborg, UlleviNote : Vladimir Gordeev was disqualified after illegal additives were found in his fuel.-Heat by Heat Classification:...
–
Göteborg, UlleviUlleviUllevi is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The stadium was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then Ullevi has also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 2006 European Championships in Athletics, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1983 and 1990, the UEFA Euro 1992...
– 8th – 8pts
Speedway World Team Cup
- 1971 -
Wrocław, Olympic Stadium - Great Britain (Ray WilsonRay Wilson (speedway rider)Ray Wilson is a former international speedway rider who was World Pairs Champion in 1972 and British Speedway Champion in 1973, was also England Team Captain for 5years in the early 1970s. He was the first Englishman to record a maximum score in a World Team Cup Final...
/ Ivan MaugerIvan MaugerIvan Mauger, OBE, MBE, is a retired motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships, a feat only equalled by Tony Rickardsson of Sweden...
/ Jim AireyJim AireyJames Sydney "Jim" Airey is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the 1971 World Final in Göteborg, Sweden and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland.-Australia:Jim Airey started racing Speedway in the early-1960s,...
/ Barry BriggsBarry BriggsBarry Briggs MBE from Christchurch, New Zealand is a former Speedway rider.He won the World Individual Championship title four times - in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966. He appeared in a record 17 consecutive World Individual finals , and a record 18 in all, during which he scored a record 201 points...
/ Ronnie MooreRonnie Moore (speedway rider)Ronnie Moore MBE is a former international Speedway rider. His family moved to New Zealand when he was still a child and although Moore was born in Australia, he has always considered himself to be a New Zealander....
) - Winner - 37pts