Phil Crump

Phil Crump
Personal information
Nationality	Australia
Date of birth	(1952-02-09) 9 February 1952
Place of birth	Mildura, Victoria
Current club information
Career status	Retired
Career history
Crewe Kings Newport Wasps Wolverhampton Wolves Oxford Cheetahs Hackney Hawks King's Lynn Stars Ipswich Witches Bristol Bulldogs Swindon Robins	1971, 1972 1971, 1974-1976 1971 1971 1971 1971-1973 1972 1977, 1978 1979-1986, 1990
Individual honours
Australian Champion Victorian State Champion NSW State Champion	1975, 1979, 1984, 1988 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 1976
Team honours
World Team Cup	1976

Philip John "Phil" Crump (born 9 February 1952) in Mildura, Victoria^[1] is a retired Australian Motorcycle speedway rider who attained 3rd place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup with Australia in the same year.

Career

Australia

Crumpy as he is known to his mates and fans, started racing speedway in his late teens at his local Mildura track Olympic Park Speedway in 1970 and would go on to have a stellar career both in Australia and overseas.

Phil Crump first won his first Australian Solo Championship in 1975 at the famous Sydney Showground Speedway. He would go on to win another three national championships in 1979 at his home track (Olympic Park), 1984, again at Olympic Park. He won his last championship in 1988 at the Riverview Speedway in Murray Bridge, South Australia. He would also finish second on five occasions (1976, 1977, 1980, 1981 and 1985) while he would finish third in the championship in 1983. Crump finished 2nd to World Champion Ole Olsen of Denmark in 1976 after the Dane was a controversial inclusion in the Final at the Liverpool Speedway in Sydney, despite protests from other riders about his eligibility.

Crump had a stranglehold on the Victorian State Championship winning 13 titles between 1972 and 1988, winning every year except 1976, 1978, 1983 and 1987. He also took out the NSW State Championship in 1976 at the Sydney Showwground.

England

The Crump family had a home in Bristol while Phil was racing in the British League, which he started doing in 1971 with the Crewe Kings. He also rode for the Newport Wasps, Wolverhampton Wolves, Oxford Cheetahs, Hackney Hawks, King's Lynn Stars, Ipswich Witches, Bristol Bulldogs and Swindon Robins during his British career.

International career

Phil Crump rode in three World Finals during his career. His first appearance in a World Final was at the famous Wembley Stadium in 1975 where he scored 10 points to finish in 6th place. He achieved his best placing at the Silesian Stadium in Katowice, Poland in 1976 when he finished in third place on 12 points behind English pair Peter Collins and Malcolm Simmons. Crump's final World Final appearance was in 1982 when he finished in a disappointing 14th place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He scored 4 points in his five rides on the night, all third place finishes in his first four races. Crump rode in the controversial Heat 14 which saw the clash between defending champion Bruce Penhall of the United States, and Englishman Kenny Carter.

Crump won his only World Championship when he was a member of the Australian team that won the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup at the White City Stadium in London alongside team captain John Boulger, Billy Sanders, Phil Herne, and reserve Garry Middleton. Australia scored 31 points in the final, with Crump the top scorer with 11. His only loss was to 1974 World Champion Anders Michanek from Sweden in Heat 9.

Teaming with South Australian champion John Boulger, Phil Crump would finish in second place in the 1974 Speedway World Pairs Championship held at the Hyde Road Stadium in Manchester. In 1975 they teamed again to finish in fifth place. Crump would team with Billy Sanders to finish in fourth place in 1976 and seventh in 1977. He teamed with Queenslands John Titman to again finish fourth in 1979, and another Qld rider in Steve Regeling to finish sixth in 1985 and ninth in 1986. The 1986 World Pairs Championship was Phil Crump's last appearance in a World Final as a rider.

World Final Appearances

• 1975 - London, Wembley Stadium - 6th - 10pts
• 1976 - Chorzów, Silesian Stadium - 3rd - 12pts
• 1982 - Los Angeles, Memorial Coliseum - 14th - 4pts

Speedway World Pairs Championship

• 1974 - Manchester, Hyde Road (With - John Boulger) - 2nd - 23pts (14)
• 1975 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium (With - John Boulger) - 5th - 19pts (10)
• 1976 - Eskilstuna, Eskilstuna Motorstadion (With - Billy Sanders) - 4th - 16pts (10)
• 1977 - Manchester, Hyde Road (With - Billy Sanders) - 7th - 12pts (10)
• 1979 - Vojens, Vojens Speedway Center (With - John Titman) - 4th - 19pts (13)
• 1985 - Rybnik, Rybnik Municipal Stadium (With - Steve Regeling) - 6th - 11pts (5)
• 1986 - Pocking, Rottalstadion (With - Steve Regeling) - 9th - 15pts (10)

Speedway World Team Cup

• 1976 - London, White City Stadium (With - John Boulger / Billy Sanders / Phil Herne / Garry Middleton) - Winner - 31pts (11)

Personal life

Phil Crump is the father of three time (2004, 2006 and 2009) World Speedway Champion Jason Crump. Crump senior was riding for the Newport Wasps speedway team when Jason was born. Phil and Jason Crump also have the distinction of being the only father/son combination to win the Australian Individual title.

Until Jason's final Speedway Grand Prix season in 2012, Crumpy was the senior member of his son's support team, and is a highly regarded engine tuner like his father in law (and long time Team Manager of the Australian Speedway Team), the late Neil Street (1931-2011).

References

External links