Peter Craven
Encyclopedia
Peter Theodore Craven was an English motorcycle racer. He was a finalist in each FIM
Speedway World Championship
from 1954 to 1963 and he won the title twice (in 1955 and 1962). He was British Champion
in 1962-63.
and had four sisters and an older brother, Brian. He also had a twin brother who died at an early age. He got his first racing experience when he started participating in cycle speedway
.
, but after just one lap he hit the fence again. Despite this, he was included as a reserve in the team's away match against the Leicester Hunters
.
He made eight league appearances for the Liverpool Chads in Division II during 1951, scoring eight points. and he was with the Chads when they finished thirteenth in Division Two. He also rode for the Fleetwood Flyers
. The next year, he made 10 league appearances equally divided between Manchester’s Belle Vue
and the Liverpool Chads.
Craven made his Belle Vue debut on 17 May 1952 when he scored two points in a race against the visiting Norwich Stars
. That season, he made four more league appearances for Belle Vue, but he only managed to score one point in those races combined.
In 1953, Peter became a regular Aces rider and scored 70 points in 12 matches, but the British Army
required his services, and he missed several matches.
He continued racing for Belle Vue during his national service
. During 1954 he made 24 league appearances and top-scored for his club. He qualified for his first Wembley World final and scored one point more than the brilliant Swedish rider Ove Fundin
. About this time as a young man he owned his Jowett Jupiter
road car which still exists. In 1955, on his second try, Peter sensationally won the first of his two FIM World Championships at Wembley.
In 1958, Peter captained the English team against Sweden in Sweden, finishing top scorer; he also top-scored in the five-test series against Australasia.
In 1959 he took on Ove Fundin and won the Golden Helmet Match Race Championship, the Champions of Champions Cup at Poole
; the Northern Cup at Belle Vue; the Internationale Derby at Ipswich
; the Pride of the East at Norwich; the Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy at New Cross; the Champagne Derby again at Belle Vue, the CTS Trophy at Norwich and the Pride of the Midlands at Leicester.
In 1960 Peter came third in the World Championship final staged at Wembley when Ove Fundin beat Ronnie Moore into second place after a thrilling run off, all three riders having scored an equal number of points after their five rides. During 1961 he captained the Lions on a tour to Austria. He came third in the first F.I.M. Internationale individual championship meeting at the Harringay Stadium and was second in the British Final at Wembley.
on 20 September 1963. While taking evasive action to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter who suffered engine
failure, Peter hit a fence. The unconscious Craven was rushed to hospital where his family remained at his bedside until he died at 21:10 on Tuesday 24 September 1963.
There are allegations made that Peter Craven had started ten yards behind the other riders by way of a handicap. However Peter was actually at the tapes with the other riders but allowed the others to pull away ahead of him to make the racing more exciting. Every year there is a Peter Craven Memorial meeting held at Belle Vue
in honour of his memory.
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....
Speedway World Championship
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...
from 1954 to 1963 and he won the title twice (in 1955 and 1962). He was British Champion
British Speedway Championship
The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. It has been open in the past to riders from British dominions and was dominated in its early years by riders from...
in 1962-63.
Personal life
Craven was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and had four sisters and an older brother, Brian. He also had a twin brother who died at an early age. He got his first racing experience when he started participating in cycle speedway
Cycle speedway
Cycle speedway is a form of bicycle racing on short oval dirt tracks, usually outdoors, occasionally indoors, typically 70-90 metres long. Like motorcycle speedway, riders use machines without brakes or multiple gears but, unlike motor speedway, the object is not to slide bikes round the...
.
Career
Peter Craven got his first taste of motorcycle speedway racing in 1949 at the Stanley Park Stadium. He visited the stadium a day after his sixteenth birthday and drove a few laps on his brother's bike, before hitting the safety fence and sustaining a concussion. He was later given another chance to show his abilities to the Liverpool ChadsLiverpool Chads
Liverpool Chads are a defunct motorcycle speedway team who were based at the Stanley Stadium in Prescot Road, Fairfield, Liverpool, England.-History:...
, but after just one lap he hit the fence again. Despite this, he was included as a reserve in the team's away match against the Leicester Hunters
Leicester Hunters
The Leicester Hunters were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1948 until 1962.-History:Speedway had operated before the war at both Leicester Stadium and the Leicester Super track. Speedway was proposed to return to Leicester in 1948 at Leicester Stadium, led by A. D...
.
He made eight league appearances for the Liverpool Chads in Division II during 1951, scoring eight points. and he was with the Chads when they finished thirteenth in Division Two. He also rode for the Fleetwood Flyers
Fleetwood Flyers
Fleetwood Flyers were a speedway team in Fleetwood, England which operated from 1948 until 1952. Home meetings were raced at Highbury Stadium stadium, Park Avenue in Fleetwood.-Seasons:...
. The next year, he made 10 league appearances equally divided between Manchester’s Belle Vue
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
and the Liverpool Chads.
Craven made his Belle Vue debut on 17 May 1952 when he scored two points in a race against the visiting Norwich Stars
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. That season, he made four more league appearances for Belle Vue, but he only managed to score one point in those races combined.
In 1953, Peter became a regular Aces rider and scored 70 points in 12 matches, but the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
required his services, and he missed several matches.
He continued racing for Belle Vue during his national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
. During 1954 he made 24 league appearances and top-scored for his club. He qualified for his first Wembley World final and scored one point more than the brilliant Swedish rider Ove Fundin
Ove Fundin
Ove Fundin is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship five times...
. About this time as a young man he owned his Jowett Jupiter
Jowett Jupiter
The Jowett Jupiter was a British car made by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford from 1950 to 1954. Following the launch of the all new Jowett Javelin and its successes in competition Jowett decided to use its power train in a sports car for export in the hope of increasing their inadequate...
road car which still exists. In 1955, on his second try, Peter sensationally won the first of his two FIM World Championships at Wembley.
In 1958, Peter captained the English team against Sweden in Sweden, finishing top scorer; he also top-scored in the five-test series against Australasia.
In 1959 he took on Ove Fundin and won the Golden Helmet Match Race Championship, the Champions of Champions Cup at Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
; the Northern Cup at Belle Vue; the Internationale Derby at Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
; the Pride of the East at Norwich; the Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy at New Cross; the Champagne Derby again at Belle Vue, the CTS Trophy at Norwich and the Pride of the Midlands at Leicester.
In 1960 Peter came third in the World Championship final staged at Wembley when Ove Fundin beat Ronnie Moore into second place after a thrilling run off, all three riders having scored an equal number of points after their five rides. During 1961 he captained the Lions on a tour to Austria. He came third in the first F.I.M. Internationale individual championship meeting at the Harringay Stadium and was second in the British Final at Wembley.
World final appearances
- 19541954 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1954 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1954 London, Wembley Stadium...
-
United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 15th - 3pts - 19551955 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1955 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - Winner - 13pts - 19561956 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1956 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 22, 1956 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 11pts + 2pts - 19571957 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1958 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*21 September 1957 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 3rd - 11pts + 3pts - 19581958 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1958 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 20, 1958 London, Wembley Stadium*Referee: E. G. Cope-Classification:...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 11pts + 2pts - 19591959 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1959 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 19, 1959 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 9th - 7pts - 19601960 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1960 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 8, 1960 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 3rd - 14pts + 1pt - 19611961 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1961 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1961 Malmö, Malmö Stadion...
-
Sweden MalmöMalmöMalmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Malmö StadionMalmö StadionMalmö Stadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden which is currently the home of Swedish football Division 4 club IFK Malmö and athletics club MAI...
- 10th - 6pts - 19621962 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1962 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 8, 1962 London, Wembley Stadium*Referee: C. H. King-Classification:...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - Winner - 14pts - 19631963 Individual Speedway World ChampionshipThe 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 14, 1963 London, Wembley Stadium...
- United Kingdom LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Wembley Stadium - 10th - 6pts
Death
1962 was another good year for Peter. He followed his three British Championship victories by carrying off his second World Individual Championship at Wembley in front of 62,000 fans. But in 1963 he died as a result of a freak racing accident at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank StadiumMeadowbank Stadium
Meadowbank Stadium is a multi-purpose sports facility located at Meadowbank, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It hosted the Commonwealth Games of 1970 and 1986.-Layout:...
on 20 September 1963. While taking evasive action to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter who suffered engine
Motorcycle engine
A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle.Motorcycle engines may be two-stroke or four-stroke, reciprocating or Wankel, single-cylinder or multicylinder , or single-rotor or twin-rotor . The engine typically drives the rear wheel, but some small bikes such as the Velosolex have a...
failure, Peter hit a fence. The unconscious Craven was rushed to hospital where his family remained at his bedside until he died at 21:10 on Tuesday 24 September 1963.
There are allegations made that Peter Craven had started ten yards behind the other riders by way of a handicap. However Peter was actually at the tapes with the other riders but allowed the others to pull away ahead of him to make the racing more exciting. Every year there is a Peter Craven Memorial meeting held at Belle Vue
Belle Vue Aces
The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
in honour of his memory.