John Boulger
| John Boulger | ||
 | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  Australia | |
| Date of birth | 18 June 1945 | |
| Place of birth | Adelaide, South Australia | |
| Nickname | JB | |
| Current club information | ||
| Career status | Retired | |
| Career history | ||
| Long Eaton Archers Leicester Lions Cradley United |
1967 1968-1973, 1977-1979 1974-1976 | |
| Individual honours | ||
| Australian Champion South Australian Champion |
1971, 1973 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982 | |
| Team honours | ||
| World Team Cup | 1976 | |
John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solo's, Boulger raced in Speedcars from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. Boulger won a record nine South Australian Championships as well as two Australian Solo Championships during his career.
Career summary
Australia
John Boulger started his racing career in the early 1960s racing scrambles before moving into solo speedway. His first race was at the Melbourne Speedbowl in October 1966, but his home track was the famed, 358 metres (392 yd) Rowley Park Speedway in Adelaide.[1] He quickly went from promising rookie to star rider within a couple of seasons, and would become the best South Australian rider of his generation, and regarded as one of the states best ever riders alongside Adelaide's own twice World Champion of 1951 and 1952, Jack Young.
After finishing second to Sydney's Jim Airey at the 509 metres (557 yd) Sydney Showground in 1970, Boulger won his first Australian Solo Championship in 1971 at Perth's 550 metres (600 yd) Claremont Speedway.[2] He finished in third place at Rowley Park in 1972 behind Airey and Denmarks 1971 World Champion Ole Olsen, and won his last title in 1973 at the Sydney Showground. He finished the 1974 championship at the 450 metres (490 yd) Brisbane Exhibition Ground in 2nd place to cap a four-year run where he never finished the Australian title off the podium. He would place once more finishing 3rd in 1979 at 302 metres (330 yd) Olympic Park in Mildura. Boulger's win in 1973 was the last time a South Australian rider would win the national title until Ryan Sullivan won in 2004.
During the 1970s Boulger had a virtual strangle hold on the South Australian Championship. He won his first title in 1970 before winning every title between 1972 and 1978, all held at Rowley Park Speedway. He would win his ninth and last SA Championship at the new, 430 metres (470 yd) Speedway Park in 1982. Boulger's ninth SA title saw him equal the record of nine wins by Jack Young. As of 2013, this record still stands, with the next best record being five wins by Queenslander Troy Batchelor. Boulger narrowly missed equaling Young's record in 1981 when he finished second in the championship behind Tony Boyle at Speedway Park. Boulger was undefeated in his heats, and leading his fourth race when his front forks broke forcing him to DNF.
Boulger retired from riding in 1984 and decided to stay in speedway, first by teaching young riders the art of racing a Solo motorbike, with many of his protégé's racing at the Sidewinders Junior Speedway in Adelaide which opened in 1976.
In 1985 he started racing Sprintcars before moving on to drive Speedcars with some success, including winning the prestigious "Harry Neale Memorial" at Speedway Park in 1987. Boulger would race for a few more seasons before retiring from the sport in the mid-1990s to concentrate on driving his taxi.[3][4]
England
John Boulger arrived in England in 1969 to ride for Long Eaton, scoring a paid 12 point maximum on his debut against Exeter. Boulger changed teams the following year to ride for Leicester Lions where he remained for six seasons. His next club was Cradley United and he returned to Leicester Lions in 1977 where he stayed until 1979 when he retired from British League racing.[5]
International
Boulger had the honor of captaining the victorious Australian team at the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup held at London's White City Stadium. He also partnered Phil Crump in the 1974 World Pairs final at Hyde Road in Manchester, finishing in second place behind the Swedish pairing of 1974 World Champion Anders Michanek, and his partner Sören Sjösten.
Boulger also rode for Australia in numerous test matches at home and overseas, including captaining the team on several occasions.
World Final appearances
- 1973 –
Chorzów, Silesian Stadium – 13th – 6pts - 1977 –
Göteborg, Ullevi – 12th – 5pts
Speedway World Pairs Championship
- 1974 -
Manchester, Hyde Road (with Phil Crump) - 2nd - 23pts (9) - 1975 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium (with Phil Crump) - 5th - 19pts (9)
Speedway World Team Cup
- 1976 - London, White City Stadium (with Phil Crump / Phil Herne / Billy Sanders / Garry Middleton) - Winner - 31pts (6)
References
- ↑ "Personal Profile: John Boulger", Speedway Post, volume 5, no. 12, July 1969, p. 16-17
- ↑ "A Fitting Climax to John Boulger's Year", Motor Cycle News Speedway Extra 1971, p. 12
- ↑ http://www.rowleypark.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/popup.php?categoryid=3&p17_sectionid=1&p17_imageid=522
- ↑ http://www.gillmanspeedway.com/release.asp?NewsId=27979
- ↑ Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar, Automedia, p.159-160