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Graham Drury

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Graham Drury
Born(1952-02-13)13 February 1952
Wrexham District, Wales
Died26 January 2024(2024-01-26) (aged 71)
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Career history
1971Rochdale Hornets
1972–1974Ellesmere Port Gunners
1974Halifax Dukes
1975Crewe Kings
1975–1981Hull Vikings
1975Cradley Heathens
1975Exeter Falcons
1982–1983Oxford Cheetahs
1984–1985Long Eaton Invaders
Team honours
1984National League Champion

Malcolm Graham Keith Drury (13 February 1952 – 26 January 2024) was a Welsh international motorcycle speedway rider and team manager. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team (with no Welsh national team, Welsh riders represented England).[1][2]

Biography

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Drury was born in Wales, joined the Belle Vue training school and was a regional grass track champion before moving into conventional speedway.[3] He began his British leagues career riding for Rochdale Hornets during the 1971 British League Division Two season.[4] The following season he joined Ellesmere Port Gunners, where he would spend the next two seasons progressing to a 9.03 average in 1973 and 9.31 in 1974[5] His performances in 1974 led to a call up for Halifax Dukes in the highest division (the British League) during the same season.

In 1975, he joined Crewe Kings for the 1975 New National League season and topped the team's averages for the season. Another move in 1976, saw him joining the Hull Vikings for his first full season in the top tier.[6] In 1977, he topped the team averages for Hull and was their leading rider and then over the next three seasons was an ever present for the team until the 1980 season.

In 1980, he made the decision to race in West Germany, which was unusual because most of the world's riders raced in the British leagues at the time.[7][8]

Drury returned to Hull for the 1981 season before switching to Oxford Cheetahs in 1982 for the National league season.[9] After two years at Oxford he had a contractural dispute, which later led him to becoming a magistrate in Oswestry. Following the dispute with Oxford who were in the process of moving up a division and changing the face of speedway in terms of spending, he joined Long Eaton where he finished his riding career and started his managerial career.

After retiring as a rider Drury became involved in several speedway pursuits including promoting ice meetings at Telford and becoming a team manager for several clubs including Long Eaton, Mildenhall Fen Tigers, Workington Comets and Birmingham Brummies.[2][10] Drury died on 26 January 2024, at the age of 71.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Drury honoured". Birmingham Speedway. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Drury rides for Port". Chester Chronicle. 24 March 1972. Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "1971 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Drury quits Vikings". Hull Daily Mail. 17 January 1980. Retrieved 1 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Cradley to defy rivals with rota plan". Sandwell Evening Mail. 30 January 1980. Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Graham Drury". WWOS backup. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Comets boss is the man who sold ice speedway to the Middle East". Times and Star. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Graham Drury". British Speedway. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
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