Lee Smethills

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Lee Smethills
Born30 March 1982 (1982-03-30) (age 44)
Bolton, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1998Mildenhall
1999–2000, 2009Buxton
1999–2001Workington
1999, 2004Newcastle
1999, 2006Rye House
2002Hull
2003, 2005Exeter
2004, 2006Berwick
2006Wolves
2007Glasgow
2007Oxford
2008Sheffield
2009Weymouth
2010Plymouth
2010Isle of Wight

Lee Kenneth Smethills (born 30 March 1982 in Bolton, Greater Manchester)[1] is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from England.[2][3]

Career

Smethills riding for Oxford in 2007

Smethills rode for various clubs across all of the three divisions of British Speedway from 1998 until 2009.[4][5]

In 1999 as a 16-year-old, he signed a full contract for Belle Vue Colts, the junior team to the Belle Vue Aces.[6] At the end of the year in December, Smethills an apprentice mechanic, joined Premier League Club Workington Comets on loan after just one season of racing.[7]

He spent seasons at Newcastle Diamonds and Rye House Rockets before making his debut for Hull Vikings during the 2002 Premier League speedway season.[8] Smethills became a journeyman rider, never settling at any one club and spells at Exeter Falcons, Berwick Bandits, Wolverhampton Wolves, Glasgow Tigers and Oxford Cheetahs ensued, in addition to returning to both Newcastle and Workington.[3]

His final full season was the 2008 Premier League speedway season, where he rode for the Sheffield Tigers[9] although he did ride a handful of matches during the 2009 National League speedway season for Buxton Hitmen and Weymouth Wildcats[10] respectively and in 2010 for Plymouth Devils and the Isle of Wight Islanders.[2]

References

  1. "Buxton Hitmen profile". Buxton Speedway. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. "2009 Rider Index". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  3. "Ultimate Rider Index 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  5. "Ace Lee's in 7th heaven". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  6. "Boy Wonder". Manchester Evening News. 29 January 1999. p. 119. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Lee's on a fast track". Manchester Evening News. 18 December 1999. p. 89. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Vikings ahoy". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 27 March 2002. p. 25. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "2008 Greensheet averages". British Speedway. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  10. "Smethills quits ahead of Devils date". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 8 October 2024.