Phil Clarke
Clarke in 1951
Born30 June 1922 (1922-06-30)
Norwich, England
Died6 October 2010(2010-10-06) (aged 88)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1947-1959Norwich Stars
Individual honours
1955Speedway World Championship finalist
Team honours
1950, 1951National League Division II Champion
1955National Trophy Winner
1951National Trophy (Div 2) Winner
1951Southern Shield Winner

Philip Charles Clarke (30 June 1922 - 6 October 2010) was an English motorcycle speedway rider.[1][2]

Speedway career

Clarke was a leading speedway rider in the 1950s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.[3][4]

He first rode in the UK leagues during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Two, after joining the Norwich Stars and would soon establish himself as a regular at the club.[5] He was their leading rider in 1950 when the club won the league title and was also instrumental in helping Norwich win the league and cup double in 1951.[6]

He followed the team when they moved up to the top tier of British Speedway in 1952.[7][8] His performance in the home leg of the final of the 1955 National Trophy effectively won the trophy for Norwich.[9]

By 1957, he had become the chairman of the Speedway Riders' Association.[10]

At retirement he had earned 5 international caps for the England national speedway team.[2]

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

References

  1. ↑ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "World Speedway finals" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Former Norwich speedway captain dies". Evening News24. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "1951 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Phil Clarke". Speedway Museum. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Last night's speedway". The People. 18 September 1955. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Speedway rider crashes". The People. 15 September 1957. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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