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Gordon McGregor (speedway rider)

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British speedway rider

Gordon McGregor
Born28 November 1921 (1921-11-28)
Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland
Died29 September 2001(2001-09-29) (aged 79)
NationalityBritish (Scottish)
Career history
1947–1950, 1967Glasgow Tigers
1951–1954Motherwell/Lanarkshire Eagles
1955–1956Leicester Hunters
1957–1962Oxford Cheetahs
1963–1966Belle Vue Aces
1967Long Eaton Archers
1969King's Lynn Starlets
1970Doncaster Dragons
1971Birmingham Brummies
Team honours
1963National League

James Ramsay Gordon McGregor (28 November 1921 – 29 September 2001) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Scotland.

Career

McGregor started racing in the British leagues during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Two season, when riding for the Glasgow Tigers but struggled to achieve a decent average during the first two seasons with the club.

During the 1949 season, he improved significantly, almost doubling his average and in 1950 he helped his team finish runner-up in the league table. Despite a last successful season with the Tigers he switched to the Motherwell Eagles for the 1952 season. He would spend the next four years in Motherwell (becoming captain) before asking for a transfer in 1954. He moved south to join the Leicester Hunters for the 1955 Speedway National League Division Two season. During this period he was consistently averaging over 8 and was a heat leader for his team.

In 1957, he rode for the first time in the highest league of British Speedway with the Oxford Cheetahs. The step up made little difference as he continued to impress as a heat leader and averaged 8.31 in 1959. After six years with Oxford, he still had no silverware to his name but this changed when he joined the Belle Vue Aces in 1963. In his first season with the Manchester club he was a league champion. He remained with Belle Vue on the formation of the new British League in 1965.

During this period McGregor was winning international caps and won 19 England national speedway team caps; Scottish riders competed for England at the time.

After the 1967 season, he only made a handful of appearances over the next five years from 1967 to 1971, with the exception of a full season with Doncaster Dragons in 1970.

References

  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022, James Ramsay Gordon McGregor" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. "At Last They Have Own Challanger". Daily Mirror. 24 May 1949. Retrieved 10 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Eagles' riders shaped well in practice spins last week". Motherwell Times. 2 April 1954. Retrieved 10 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Team changes". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 26 March 1963. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Gordon McGregor". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
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