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Paul Thorp

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Paul Thorp
Thorp riding for the Hull Vikings in 2005
Born (1964-09-09) 9 September 1964 (age 60)
Macclesfield, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1980–1983Birmingham Brummies
1981Scunthorpe Scorpions
1981, 2006Workington Comets
1982–1983Berwick Bandits
1984–1985Wolverhampton Wolves
1984–1986Stoke Potters
1986–1988, 1997Belle Vue Aces
1989–1992, 1994Bradford Dukes
1993Newcastle Diamonds
1995–1996, 1998–2005Hull Vikings
Individual honours
1986National League Riders Champion
Team honours
1989World Team Cup Winner
1991, 1992Knockout Cup
1994British League Premiership Winner
1990British League Gold Cup Winner
1991Inter League Cup Winner
2004Premier League Champion
2001, 2004Premier League KO Cup Winner
2000Premier Trophy
2004Young Shield Winner
2002Premiership Winner

Paul Thorp (born 9 September 1964 in Macclesfield, Cheshire,[1]) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.[2] He earned 31 international caps for the England national speedway team.[3]

Career

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Thorp began his racing career riding a few matches for Birmingham Brummies in the top league, during the 1980 British League season and would spend four seasons in total with the club but failed to make an impact with them.[4] He did however make an impact with Berwick Bandits in the National League averaging 6.47 and 6.20 in his two seasons with the club.[5]

In 1984 and 1985, he doubled up with Wolverhampton Wolves and Stoke Potters but it was the 1986 season that propelled Thorp's career forward. He won the National League Riders' Championship, held on 30 August at Brandon Stadium[6] and averaged 10.44 with Stoke (second in the league averages behind Dave Jessup.[7] He also reached the first of his six British Speedway Championship finals.

From 1987 to 1988, he rode for Belle Vue Aces before joining Bradford Dukes in 1989. He was selected by England for the 1989 Speedway World Team Cup and went on to win a gold medal for his country.[8] He rode five seasons for Bradford with one season for Newcastle Diamonds splitting the spell.[3] He won two consecutive Knockout Cups with Bradford in 1991 and 1992 and achiveved his greatest individual feat when finishing sixth in the 1991 Individual Speedway World Championship.[9]

Thorp continued to ride for many seasons, primarily for Hull Vikings and always maintained a strong average and won a league title, two knockout Cups and a Young Shield with them. His final season in 2006 with Workington Comets was his 27th year in speedway.[4][10]

World final appearances

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Individual World Championship

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World Team Cup

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References

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  1. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
  2. ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Paul Thorp". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. ^ "What a double". Cambridge Daily News. 1 September 1986. Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ Bamford, Reg (2004). Speedway Yearbook. Tempus Publishing, Stroud. ISBN 978-0-7524-2955-7.
  9. ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Comets star Thorp in horror crash at Rye House". Whitehaven News. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
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