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777:), saw him lead into the first turn, only to fall and cause the race to be stopped. As the reason for the stoppage, Sanders was excluded by the referee of the meeting, Australian Sam Bass, with Gugliemi winning the re-run from Maier and MĂĽller. Had Sanders not fallen, its likely he would have gone on to win the race with Gugliemi finishing second (Gugliemi was second going into the turn). This would have seen Australia win the championship, instead of finishing just one point behind the
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36:
809:, again held in Gothenburg. This was to be his last World Final and it ended in disappointment as Sanders finished in eleventh place, scoring just five points from his five rides. At the time, Sanders held the 4 lap track record at Ullevi, which along with his 1983 form had seen him as one of the favourites for the title. For the third year in a row he would team with Guglielmi in the
733:, this time held at his home track of Liverpool in Sydney, the first time any official Speedway World Championship final had been held in Australia (an unofficial Individual World Championship had been held at the Sydney Showground in 1933). Teaming with fellow Liverpool rider and runner up to Sanders in the Australian Championship
801:
after he had also fallen in the first turn, with video evidence suggesting that like
Sanders, Collins simply misjudged the slick track and fell. Had Collins been excluded, the two points he gained from the heat would have been gone and Australia would have had its first World Pairs Championship win.
453:
Sanders also had a virtual stranglehold on the NSW State
Championship, and would win all of his record eight titles from 1977 until 1985, with the exception of 1983 when the title wasn't held. He also won the 1984 and 1985 Australian Masters titles at his home track at Liverpool. Both Masters finals
343:
Billy
Sanders was born in the Windsor Private Hospital in Sydney to Bill and Bonnie Sanders on 9 September 1955. He attended Rooty Hill High School and with a group of friends joined the local country fire service. When life at school became boring, Billy and his mates would sneak out during recess
760:
and Ole Olsen were at the end of their careers and considered past their best (Mauger failed to qualify in 1983 while Olsen appeared in his last World Final). MĂĽller was unbeaten in his five rides for a 15-point maximum while
Sanders was second with 12 points with two wins and three second-place
768:
held in
Gothenburg, and again teamed with Guglielmi after Phil Crump had declined to ride in the meeting. Sanders and Gugliemi finished in second place in the World Pairs, giving him a rare second place double in the 1983 Speedway World Finals. Billy was the form rider at the World Pairs Final,
660:. Sanders had a disappointing World Pairs final at Hyde Road, finishing with just 2 points from his five rides. He retired from his first race, again failed to finish his second, was excluded from his third, before scoring two third place and one last place finish in his final three rides.
410:, Adelaide, where he famously told the unruly crowd that after the reception he got he might consider changing nationalities. He told the crowd to "Get Stuffed" at the end of his victory speech while being booed unfairly following the unpopular decision to exclude crowd favourite
445:
three months later. The
Australian Speedway Championship now incorporates the "Billy Sanders Memorial Trophy" in recognition of his six championship wins. His record of six national championship wins stood until 2003 when Victoria's
837:, who had acted as Sanders' legal guardian when he had joined the Witches as a 16-year-old in 1972. Berry would later call it his worst off-track experience in speedway. The lesson at his funeral was read by former World Champion
458:
in
Adelaide (his first appearance in Adelaide since his infamous speech at the 1983 Aussie title). It would prove to be his last appearance in Adelaide and his only time at the tight North Arm track.
382:
Sanders first made
Australian speedways fans take notice by finishing in third place in the 1973 Australian Championship held at the Sydney Showground when he was only 18 years old behind winner
630:
344:
and light a scrub fire in the neighbouring paddocks, then return to school and wait for the siren to signal that the school was closed for the day because of the fire.
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752:. Despite being in good form going into the World Final, Sanders was expected to challenge for what was called the most open Final in years as defending champion
364:
and
Sanders used it to hone his skills at the Nepean Speedway in Sydney's outer north-west during 1969/70. He then went on to make his competition debut at the
672:
841:, who was a close personal friend and the godfather of Sanders' two children. His ashes were flown back to Australia where they are buried in Sydney.
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833:. At the time he was suffering serious financial difficulties and had recently split from his wife. His body was identified by Ipswich promoter
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in Sydney on 4 July 1971 in a winter meeting, quickly becoming a crowd favourite. He also competed at Sydney's other major speedway, the famous
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394:. He again finished third in both 1976 and 1977 before winning the first of a then record six Australian Championships at
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1402:
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was held on 20 February 1988 at the Sydney
Showground Speedway. Bruce Penhall, who retired from racing after winning the
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finishes, 1980 champion Michael Lee finished third on 11 points with three wins, one second, and one last place finish.
379:. A regular competitor at both Liverpool and the Showground, Sanders would consider both speedway's as his home tracks.
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in their heat clash, costing Crump the title). His run ended in 1984 when he finished second to local hero Crump at
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were held over 10 laps and included the top 10 riders at the meetings. He also won the North Arm Classic at the
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Billy Sanders regained his Australian crown and won his sixth and last Australian Championship in 1985 at the
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won his seventh title. Adams would go on to record another 3 title wins taking the record number to 10 wins.
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and finished in a strong fourth place. Sanders finished on 11 points along with England's emerging star
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Sanders continued to ride for the Ipswich Witches until his death in April 1985 at the age of just 29.
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Billy Sanders finished in a best ever second place at the 1983 Individual World Championship held in
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718:. Despite winning the Australian title in 1981 and 1982, Sanders failed to qualify for either the
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The winner of the Australian Solo Championship now receives the Billy Sanders Memorial Trophy.
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to win his only World championship as Australia scored 31 points (Sanders scored 7) to defeat
476:
In addition to riding, Sanders also wrote a regular column for Australian motorcycle magazine
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finishing third. Sadly, this was to be Sanders last Australian championship win as he died in
852:, came out of retirement for the meeting for a series of match races with legendary six time
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789:. Ironically, earlier in the meeting Bass had allowed Collins to restart Heat 10 against
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On advice from his father, Billy Sanders bought his first speedway bike, a second hand
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before returning to Ipswich in 1983, helping the Witches to finish runners up in the
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had retired from the sport and the pair who had dominated the sport in the 1970s
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winning five of his six rides. His second last ride, against an out of form
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to finish in fourth place in his first ever World Final appearance at the
566:. He also won a third and final League KO Cup title in 1984 with Ipswich.
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before going one better for his third and final British League title in
402:. He would also win the Aussie title in 1980 (Sydney Showground), 1981 (
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in 1972 at the age of 16 and stayed with them until 1980. There he was
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360:. The bike was one previously owned by five time Australian champion
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head in the opposite direction. The pair helped the Witches win the
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520:. Sanders also won the Pride of the Midlands trophy in 1975 at the
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315:(9 September 1955 – 23 April 1985) was an Australian international
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He first qualified for the Speedway World Championship final in
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In 1979 Sanders not only rode for the Witches, but also for the
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Billy Sanders won the Australasian Championship in 1979 at the
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Billy Sanders was signed by Ipswich Witches Manager/promoter
1371:, Ipswitch Witches website, URL retrieved 30 December 2006
539:
for ÂŁ15,000 in a three-rider deal that saw American's
729:In 1982 Sanders again represented Australia in the
1321:
1289:
1261:
1428:Australian expatriate speedway riders in England
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870:
1204:Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”.
1350:A History of the World Speedway Championship
1263:"Australian wonder boy races against Racers"
327:finalist with a career best second place in
990:
764:He also represented Australia again at the
708:1980 Individual Speedway World Championship
535:. He left Ipswich in 1981, signing for the
865:
34:
1178:
512:winner in both 1976 and 1978 and was the
829:Sanders killed himself near his home in
338:
1323:"Witches land Americans in record deal"
706:Sanders finished in third place in the
652:finishing in seventh and last place at
572:
1380:
1362:
1348:Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002).
1338:– via British Newspaper Archive.
1278:– via British Newspaper Archive.
583:1976 Speedway World Pairs Championship
465:in Adelaide, and again in 1980 at the
372:against riders such as Australian and
347:
1232:
1188:. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
663:He missed out on qualifying for the
1186:Daily Mirror 1982 Speedway Yearbook
13:
577:Sanders teamed with fellow Aussie
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805:Billy Sanders qualified for the
671:after only finishing 8th in the
504:and finished in third place in
96:1972–1978, 1979–1980, 1983–1985
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1314:
1282:
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1214:
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710:, again in Gothenburg, behind
406:), 1982 (Claremont) and 1983 (
1:
1408:Motorcycle racers from Sydney
1352:. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.
1240:"Riders chase Sanders trophy"
1171:
871:Individual World Championship
650:1977 World Pairs Championship
613:, Sanders joined Phil Crump,
516:in 1976 and 1977 paired with
514:British League Pairs Champion
293:British League Pairs Champion
599:1976 Speedway World Team Cup
283:British League KO Cup winner
160:Pride of the Midlands winner
19:For the US Navy sailor, see
7:
807:1984 Individual World Final
510:British League Knockout Cup
325:Speedway World Championship
10:
1449:
1433:Birmingham Brummies riders
1403:Australian speedway riders
1221:A Tribute to Billy Sanders
609:. Along with team captain
483:
404:Brisbane Exhibition Ground
370:Sydney Showground Speedway
18:
1308:British Newspaper Archive
1226:24 September 2015 at the
748:, behind local favourite
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16:Australian speedway rider
1423:King's Lynn Stars riders
991:World Pairs Championship
824:
731:World Pairs Championship
679:, but qualified for the
554:In 1982 he rode for the
390:and fellow Sydney rider
321:Australian Championships
1012:Eskilstuna Motorstadion
866:World Final Appearances
854:World Speedway Champion
695:and defending champion
273:British League Champion
209:Golden Sovereign winner
165:1977, 1978, 1979, 1980,
1413:Ipswich Witches riders
1062:Liverpool City Raceway
846:Billy Sanders Memorial
593:. He then represented
313:William Robert Sanders
167:1981, 1982, 1984, 1985
714:pair Michael Lee and
427:Pioneer Park Speedway
339:Early life and family
181:Australasian Champion
1268:Reading Evening Post
1116:Santa Marina Stadium
1068:) - 4th - 16pts (11)
813:, this time held in
573:International career
463:Rowley Park Speedway
323:and was a five time
1418:Hull Vikings riders
1122:) - 5th - 14pts (6)
1043:) - 7th - 12pts (2)
1018:) - 4th - 16pts (6)
915:- 5th - 11pts + 1pt
533:Birmingham Brummies
348:Australian Speedway
151:Australian Champion
110:Birmingham Brummies
30:
959:Motodrom Halbemond
673:Australasian Final
607:White City Stadium
480:during the 1970s.
456:North Arm Speedway
396:Claremont Speedway
366:Liverpool Speedway
319:rider who won six
171:NSW State Champion
140:Individual honours
28:
1298:. 20 October 1976
1210:978-0-244-72538-9
1184:Oakes, P (1982).
811:World Pairs Final
773:team (MĂĽller and
766:World Pairs Final
556:King's Lynn Stars
496:Champion in both
310:
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199:North Arm Classic
145:1978, 1980, 1981,
130:King's Lynn Stars
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467:Ruapuna Speedway
279:1976, 1978, 1984
269:1975, 1976, 1984
206:1976, 1978, 1979
147:1982, 1983, 1985
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53:9 September 1955
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21:Billy C. Sanders
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1330:. 21 March 1981
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619:Garry Middleton
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478:Motorcycle News
473:, New Zealand.
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100:Ipswich Witches
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1270:. 6 April 1972
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1127:World Team Cup
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1091:Gary Guglielmi
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1066:Gary Guglielmi
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940:- 12pts + 2pts
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844:The inaugural
826:
823:
795:Erik Gundersen
735:Gary Guglielmi
726:World Finals.
642:Ullevi Stadium
629:(26), and the
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560:British League
541:Dennis Sigalos
508:. He was also
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69:23 April 1985
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29:Billy Sanders
26:
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1369:History 1985
1364:
1349:
1344:
1332:. Retrieved
1328:Daily Mirror
1327:
1316:
1306:– via
1300:. Retrieved
1296:Daily Mirror
1295:
1284:
1272:. Retrieved
1267:
1256:
1244:. Retrieved
1234:
1216:
1200:
1185:
1180:
1164:
1149:John Boulger
1097:- 24pts (15)
1094:
962:
937:
894:- 9th - 6pts
861:
845:
843:
828:
804:
799:Hans Nielsen
787:Kenny Carter
763:
746:West Germany
739:
728:
705:
662:
635:
631:Soviet Union
617:and reserve
611:John Boulger
576:
568:
553:
549:Knockout Cup
537:Hull Vikings
530:
524:speedway in
487:
477:
475:
460:
452:
424:
416:Olympic Park
384:John Boulger
381:
374:NSW Champion
351:
342:
329:West Germany
312:
311:
254:Team honours
239:Daily Mirror
120:Hull Vikings
71:(1985-04-23)
25:
1398:1985 deaths
1388:1955 births
1334:1 September
1167:- 31pts (7)
857:Ivan Mauger
781:pairing of
771:West German
758:Ivan Mauger
750:Egon MĂĽller
716:Dave Jessup
693:Kelly Moran
691:, American
689:Michael Lee
448:Leigh Adams
83:Nationality
1382:Categories
1291:"Speedway"
1246:3 November
1172:References
1157:Phil Herne
1153:Phil Crump
1145:White City
1083:Gothenburg
1041:Phil Crump
1033:Manchester
1016:Phil Crump
1008:Eskilstuna
980:Gothenburg
930:Gothenburg
888:Gothenburg
835:John Berry
775:Karl Maier
658:Manchester
646:Gothenburg
615:Phil Herne
587:Eskilstuna
579:Phil Crump
518:John Louis
490:John Berry
435:Queensland
412:Phil Crump
362:Aub Lawson
289:1976, 1977
187:1984, 1985
177:1979, 1980
86:Australian
49:1955-09-09
1274:27 August
1037:Hyde Road
697:Ole Olsen
654:Hyde Road
595:Australia
545:John Cook
471:Templeton
439:Stan Bear
377:Jim Airey
245:16-Lapper
229:Olympique
78:, England
1224:Archived
1143:London,
677:Auckland
585:held in
388:Adelaide
317:Speedway
965:- 12pts
909:ChorzĂłw
831:Ipswich
791:Denmark
779:England
712:English
701:Denmark
640:at the
597:at the
484:England
443:England
420:Mildura
243:Weslake
76:Ipswich
1356:
1302:16 May
1208:
1192:
1165:Winner
1147:(with
1118:(with
1112:Lonigo
1089:(with
1087:Ullevi
1064:(with
1058:Sydney
1039:(with
1014:(with
984:Ullevi
955:Norden
934:Ullevi
892:Ullevi
815:Lonigo
742:Norden
685:Poland
633:(11).
627:Sweden
625:(28),
623:Poland
603:London
591:Sweden
201:winner
56:Sydney
825:Death
819:Italy
699:from
400:Perth
386:from
1354:ISBN
1336:2024
1304:2023
1276:2024
1248:2008
1206:ISBN
1190:ISBN
1163:) -
1133:1976
1101:1984
1093:) -
1072:1983
1047:1982
1022:1977
997:1976
969:1984
944:1983
919:1980
898:1979
877:1977
797:and
785:and
724:1982
720:1981
681:1979
665:1978
638:1977
564:1984
543:and
506:1974
502:1976
500:and
498:1975
358:Jawa
333:1983
299:1976
259:1976
235:1980
225:1977
214:1977
195:1985
157:1975
126:1982
116:1981
106:1979
66:Died
43:Born
1095:2nd
963:2nd
938:3rd
793:'s
722:or
675:in
656:in
644:in
605:'s
601:at
469:in
433:in
431:Ayr
429:in
418:in
398:in
354:JAP
331:in
1384::
1326:.
1294:.
1266:.
1159:/
1155:/
1151:/
1135:-
1114:,
1103:-
1085:,
1074:-
1060:,
1049:-
1035:,
1024:-
1010:,
999:-
982:,
971:-
961:-
957:,
946:-
936:-
932:,
921:-
911:,
900:-
890:,
879:-
859:.
817:,
744:,
589:,
551:.
528:.
335:.
58:,
1310:.
1250:.
241:/
51:)
47:(
23:.
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