Greg Kentwell Explained

Greg Kentwell
Nationality:Australian
Birth Date:1942
Birth Place:Sydney, Australia
Career1:Halifax Dukes
Years1:1966–1972
Career2:Long Eaton Archers
Years2:1966

Greg Kentwell (born 1942) is an Australian former international motorcycle speedway rider. He earned 18 international caps for the Australia national speedway team and one cap for the Great Britain national speedway team.[1]

Biography

Kentwell, born in Sydney, began racing midget cars before taking up speedway in 1957 at the Cumberland Oval in Parramatta, aged just 15. He became a protégé of Lionel Van Praag and began his British leagues career riding for Halifax Dukes during the 1966 British League season.[2] [3]

He contributed towards the Halifax league and cup double winning season of 1966[4] despite spending the latter part of the season riding for Long Eaton Archers on loan.[5]

He spent the rest of his British career riding for Halifax from 1967 to 1972,[6] [7] in which time he was third on the Halifax averages in 1971 with a 7.67 average.[8] In June 1969, he would gain a call up for the Great Britain team, which at the time could include Commonwealth riders, for a match against Sweden.[9]

He continued to ride in Australia afterwards and would earn 18 test caps in total for his country, including an 18-point maximum against England in December 1967. He retired to concentrate on his plumbing business and later moved to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and moved into the dredging industry.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 . British Speedway . 29 December 2023.
  2. News: Easter Saturday event at the Shay . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 4 April 1966 . 29 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  3. Web site: 1966 season . Speedway Researcher . 29 December 2023.
  4. Book: Oakes, Peter . 1978 Speedway Yearbook . 1978 . Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd . 978-0904584509.
  5. Web site: Year by Year . Speedway Researcher . 29 December 2023.
  6. News: Feature picture . Halifax Evening Courier . 3 July 1967 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 17 September 2024.
  7. Web site: Greg Kentwell . WWOS backup . 29 December 2023.
  8. Web site: Rider averages 1929 to 2009 . Speedway Researcher . 29 December 2023.
  9. News: First cap for Kentwell . Huddersfield Daily Examiner . 17 June 1969 . 29 December 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  10. Web site: Greg Kentwell . Speedway Star . 29 December 2023.