| Leigh Adams | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australia | |
| Date of birth | 28 April 1971 | |
| Place of birth | Mildura, Australia | |
| Current club information | ||
| Career status | Retired | |
| Career history | ||
| Great Britain Swindon Robins Oxford Cheetahs King's Lynn Stars London Lions Arena-Essex Hammers Poole Pirates Poland Lublin WTS Wrocław Unia Leszno Sweden Elit Vetlanda Indianerna Masarna Lejonen |
1990-1992, 1997-1998, 2004-2010 2001-2002 1999-2000 1996 1993-1995 1989, 2003 1991-1992, 1994-1995 1993 1996-2010 1995-1996 1998-1999 2000-2008 2009 |
|
| Speedway Grand Prix statistics | ||
| 2009 Number | ||
| Starts | 105[1] | |
| Podiums | 15 (8-2-5) | |
| Finalist | 20 time | |
| Winner | 8 times | |
| Individual honours | ||
| World Under-21 Champion Australian Champion Scandinavian Grand Prix Winner Slovenian Grand Prix Winner Swedish Grand Prix Winner Latvian Grand Prix Winner European Grand Prix Winner Australian Under-21 Champion Golden Helmet of Pardubice Elite League Riders' Championship Victorian State Champion Australian Under-16 Champion |
1992 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 2002, 2007, 2008 2003 2004, 2007 2007 2008 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 2009 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 1994, 1995 1986 |
|
| Team honours | ||
| World Cup Winner Elite League Champion Elite League KO Cup Winner Elite League Pairs Winner British League Cup Winner Elite Shield Winner Ekstraliga Champion Australian Pairs Champion |
1999, 2001, 2002 2001, 2003 2003 2004, 2005 2003 2008 2007 1992 |
|
Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Australia)[2] is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion.[3] He also won a record 10 Australia Solo Championships, four Australian Under-21 Championships, the 1992 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship and was the 1986 Australian Under-16 Champion.
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Leigh Adams, a product of junior speedway in his home town of Mildura, started racing in 1984, quickly proved himself as one of Australia's best junior solo riders. He won the Australian Under-16 Championship in 1986 at the age of 15 before joining the senior ranks in 1987. He would win the first of four Australian Under-21 Championships in 1988, going on to win again in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Adams won the Australian Solo Championship in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and finally 2009. He won his first national title at the North Arm Speedway in Adelaide with a 15 point maximum from his 5 rides and his tenth and last championship also in Adelaide at Gillman Speedway after dominating the three-round championship with 15 wins from 15 rides.
Adams won his first Victorian State Championship in 1989 in only his third season of senior riding, beating 13 time champion Phil Crump at the Olympic Park Speedway in Mildura. He would also win the Victorian title in 1990, 1992, 1992, 1994 and 1995.
In 1992 Leigh Adams became the first rider to win both the Australian senior and Under-21 championships in the same season.
Leigh first came to England in 1988 and completed four matches for Poole in the National Junior League.[4] Adams had originally been recommended to Poole their by Australian team manager Neil Street, and it was Poole he subsequently joined for their National League Championship winning season of 1989, when he rode alongside riders such as Craig Boyce and Alun Rossiter.[5]
To further his career, Leigh then moved up a league to join Swindon for the 1990 season. He made his Robins’ debut when scoring 8+2 points from six rides against Oxford in a Gold Cup match at Blunsdon on 24 March.[4] Adams won the first of his nine Australian national titles in 1992, and also captured the World Under-21 Championship after beating Mark Loram in a race-off at Pfaffenhofen, Germany.[2] With Swindon relegated to the British League Division Two after the 1992 season, Leigh moved on to spend three years with Arena Essex (1993–95), followed by a single season at London in 1996. He then returned to Swindon in 1997 and recorded a 9.96 average in the inaugural season of the Elite League.[4] Adams was again back with the Robins in 1998 but with Swindon again dropping down a league in 1999, he left and signed for the King's Lynn Stars. Adams remained at King’s Lynn for the 2000 campaign and topped the Elite League riders averages, finishing the season on 10.24.[5]
In 2001, Adams signed for Oxford and won the Elite League Championship.[2] He remained with Oxford in 2002 and the 2003 season saw Adams register a 9.97 league average back with Poole in a year which the Pirates won the treble; winning the League Championship, the Knock-Out Cup and the British League Cup. The year also saw him awarded a testimonial, which took place at Swindon.[4]
Adams returned to Swindon in 2004 and again finished top of the Elite League averages on 10.94 and partnered Charlie Gjedde to victory in the Elite League Pairs Championship.[4] In 2005, Adams partnered new Swindon signing Lee Richardson to the Elite League Pairs Championship at Peterborough.[5] On the world stage, Leigh ended his tenth season of Grand Prix activity with his highest ever ranking by winning the bronze medal after being the World No. 4 for the previous three years.[5]
Adams put together another successful season for Swindon in 2007, as the club finished runners-up in all three major domestic finals, being beaten by Coventry in the Elite League Play-Offs final, Knock-Out Cup final and Craven Shield final.[5] Adams completed his best ever Grand Prix campaign in 2007, finishing second overall to Nicki Pedersen.[5] In a consistent Grand Prix campaign, he took victory in three rounds and completed the series with 153 points. In 2008 Adams became the Swindon Robins all time top points scorer. His paid maximum at Lakeside in August 2008 took him onto 5,482.5 points, surpassing the previous record set by Martin Ashby who scored 5,476.5 during his time with the Robins.[6]
In 2010 Leigh Adams announced his retirement from speedway after 20 years of international competition which saw him win 10 Australian Solo championships, 4 Australian Under-21 Championships as well as the World Under-21 Championship in 1992. He also finished a career best second in the 2007 Speedway Grand Prix after finishing third in 2005.
In 2011 Adams entered the Finke Desert Race in Australia's Northern Territory near Alice Springs. On 6 June, while on a training ride with his brother and other riders, Adams crashed his motorbike into rocky terrain and sustained multiple injuries including fractured vertebrae, extensive spinal cord damage, punctured lungs, broken ribs, a broken scapula and a small fracture in his neck. He was flown from Alice Springs to Royal Adelaide Hospital where he underwent a six-hour operation to stabilise and strengthen his badly injured spine.[7][8] As of 13 June 2011[update] Leigh Adams remains in hospital facing a long and intensive recovery from his injuries and it is unknown if he will be able to walk again.[9]
| Year | Position | Points | Best Finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 15th | 28 | 8th | |
| 1997 | 10th | 42 | 9th | |
| 1998 | 11th | 51 | 5th | |
| 1999 | 7th | 67 | 4th | Made 4 semi-finals but only reached final once |
| 2000 | 6th | 65 | 4th | |
| 2001 | 5th | 69 | 3rd | |
| 2002 | 4th | 127 | Winner | Winner in Gothenburg |
| 2003 | 4th | 126 | Winner | Won Slovenian GP |
| 2004 | 4th | 131 | Winner | Won in Sweden |
| 2005 | 3rd | 107 | 2nd | |
| 2006 | 5th | 106 | 3rd | Highest placed rider not to win a GP |
| 2007 | 2nd | 153 | Winner | Won Swedish GP, Scandinavian GP and Latvian GP. |
| 2008 | 6th | 125 | Winner | Won European and Scandinavian GPs |
| Final Championship standings: | 2nd | 153 | Riding No (5) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No | |
| 1 /11 | Italian SGP | 5 | 12 | (2,2,1,3,3) +1 | 14 |
| 2 /11 | European SGP | 6 | 10 | (2,3,2,X,3) +0 | 5 |
| 3 /11 | Swedish SGP | 1 | 21 | (3,3,2,3,1) +3 +3 | 15 |
| 4 /11 | Danish SGP | 3 | 18 | (2,3,3,2,3) +3 +1 | 12 |
| 5 /11 | British SGP | 4 | 14 | (1,2,3,3,2) +3 +0 | 14 |
| 6 /11 | Czech Rep. SGP | 8 | 8 | (2,2,2,2,0) +0 | 12 |
| 7 /11 | Scandinavian SGP | 1 | 19 | (2,3,2,2,1) +3 +3 | 5 |
| 8 /11 | Latvian SGP | 1 | 22 | (2,2,3,3,3) +3 +3 | 12 |
| 9 /11 | Polish SGP | 7 | 9 | (3,1,1,0,3) +1 | 3 |
| 10 /11 | Slovenian SGP | 6 | 9 | (3,3,1,0,2) +0 | 10 |
| 11 /11 | German SGP | 4 | 11 | (0,3,1,1,3) +3 +0 | 5 |
| Final Championship standings: | 6th | 125 | Riding No (2) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No | |
| 1 /11 | Slovenian SGP | 14 | 5 | (0,2,3,0,0) | 4 |
| 2 /11 | European SGP | 1 | 20 | (2,3,0,3,3) +3 +6 | 9 |
| 3 /11 | Swedish SGP | 7 | 9 | (2,1,2,2,1) | 16 |
| 4 /11 | Danish SGP | 8 | 8 | (3,2,0,0,3) | 11 |
| 5 /11 | British SGP | 9 | 7 | (2,2,1,2,ex) | 1 |
| 6 /11 | Czech Rep. SGP | 6 | 10 | (3,3,0,3,1) +0 | 6 |
| 7 /11 | Scandinavian SGP | 1 | 21 | (3,3,1,3,2) +3 +6 | 15 |
| 8 /11 | Latvian SGP | 6 | 9 | (3,1,2,2,1) +0 | 7 |
| 9 /11 | Polish SGP | 8 | 9 | (1,3,2,1,2) +0 | 11 |
| 10 /11 | Italian SGP | 4 | 12 | (1,2,1,3,3) +2 +0 | 9 |
| 11 /11 | German SGP | 4 | 15 | (3,3,3,2,2) +2 +0 | 2 |
| permanent speedway rider | |
| wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve | |
| rider not classified (track reserve who did not start) |
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