Brett Saunders

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Brett Saunders
Born (1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 62)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Career history
1980–1981Berwick Bandits
1982–1992Edinburgh Monarchs
1993Middlesbrough Bears
1993Sheffield Tigers
Team honours
1980Knockout Cup

Brett Gavin Saunders (born 9 November 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Saunders, born in Sydney, began his British leagues career riding for Berwick Bandits[3] during the 1980 National League season, although he did make an early season appearance for the Nottingham Outlaws.[4] His debut season ended well after he participated in the Knockout Cup final and contributed to the winning side.[5]

The following season he nearly won a second consecutive knockout cup with Berwick, reaching the final but losing to rivals Edinburgh Monarchs.[6] In 1982, he then joined Edinburgh[7] and improved his season average to 7.03.[8]

Saunders became a regular with Edinburgh and also emerged as a fan's favourite, improving his season average to 7.46 by the end of the 1985 season.[9] By 1988, he was starting his seventh consecutive season with the club and was rewarded with the captaincy[2][10] and in 1989 he recorded a 8.24 career best average for the season.[8]

After eleven years with the Scottish club he rode one final season in 1993, riding for Sheffield Tigers and Middlesbrough Bears on loan respectively.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Farewell to Eddie". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  3. ^ "1980 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Outlaws face Italians on their first visit". Long Eaton Advertiser. 3 April 1980. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. ^ "1981 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Scottish cap for Graham". St. Andrews Citizen. 19 March 1982. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ a b "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Brett Saunders". WWOS backup. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Saunders misses World test". Edinburgh Evening News. 5 April 1988. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Speedway". Daily Record. 17 March 1993. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.