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Mike Erskine

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British motorcycle speedway rider (1914 – 1985)

Mike Erskine
Born22 August 1914 (1914-08-22)
Westbury, Wiltshire, England
Died19 November 1985(1985-11-19) (aged 71)
East Tytherley, Hampshire, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1935–1936New Cross Lambs/Tamers
1936Bristol Bulldogs
1938–1939Southampton Saints
1946–1951Wimbledon Dons
Team honours
1950, 1951National Trophy

Michael Gratney Erskine (22 August 1914 – 19 November 1985) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England.

Biography

Erskine, born in Westbury, Wiltshire, first rode for the Coventry junior team in 1933 and was involved in a crash that saw him hit the safety fence so hard that it pulled a supporting post out of the ground. It was reported that he was leading the race by a distance, indicating that his riding style was one of full commitment. The following season in 1934, he signed for New Cross Rangers but continued to ride for Coventry on loan.

He made British leagues debut riding for New Cross during the 1935 Speedway National League season and was loaned out to Bristol Bulldogs in the Provincial League for the 1936 season.

In 1937, he concentrated on grasstrack racing and even designed a course at Farleigh Hungerford, before returning to conventional speedway in 1938 after signing for Southampton Saints.

After World War II, Erskine blossomed as a rider and spent six years with Wimbledon Dons in the top division from 1946 to 1951, winning the 1950 and 1951 National Trophy. However, the highlight of his career was reaching the Championship round of the 1950 Individual Speedway World Championship and standing as a reserve for the World final at Wembley Stadium, where he participated in a heat.

References

  1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. "Erskine's remarkable crash". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 August 1933. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Nurseries of the Speedways". Daily Mirror. 24 May 1934. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "1935 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. "Motoring News". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette - Saturday. 30 April 1938. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. Oakes, Peter (1978). 1978 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 978-0904584509.
  9. "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
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