Leigh Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Leigh Adams

Born	(1971-04-28) 28 April 1971 (age 54) Mildura, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Career history
Great Britain
1990–1992, 1997–1998, 2004–2010	Swindon Robins
2001–2002	Oxford Cheetahs
1999–2000	King's Lynn Stars
1996	London Lions
1993–1995	Arena-Essex Hammers
1989, 2003	Poole Pirates
Poland
1991–1992, 1994–1995	Lublin
1993	Wrocław
1996–2010	Leszno
Sweden
1995–1996	Vetlanda
1998–1999	Indianerna
2000–2008	Masarna
2009–2010	Lejonen
Denmark
2010	Esbjerg
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
Starts	105
Podiums	15 (8-2-5)
Finalist	20 time
Winner	8 times
Individual honours
1993	Commonwealth Champion
1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009	Australian Champion
1992	World Under-21 Champion
1988, 1990, 1991, 1992	Australian Under-21 Champion
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995	Victorian State Champion
1994, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003	Jack Young Solo Cup winner
1996	Edward Jancarz Memorial winner
1997, 1998, 2000	Australian Masters Series 500 Champion
1999	Australian Long Track Champion
1999, 2000, 2001, 2004	Golden Helmet of Pardubice
2000, 2008	Alfred Smoczyk Memorial winner
2009	Elite League Riders' Championship
Team honours
1999	World Team Cup winner
2001, 2002	World Cup Winner
2001, 2003	Elite League Champion
2003	Elite League KO Cup Winner
2004, 2005	Elite League Pairs Winner
2003	British League Cup Winner
2008	Elite Shield Winner
2007	Ekstraliga Champion
1992	Australian Pairs Champion

Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He was born in Mildura, Victoria. Leigh is famous for winning many Speedway Grand Prix races and being a World Team Champion. He also holds a record for winning ten Australian individual championships. Plus, he won four Australian Under-21 Championships and the 1992 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship.

Leigh Adams' Speedway Career

Starting in Australia

Leigh Adams grew up in Mildura, a town known for junior speedway. He started racing in 1979. A famous local rider, Phil Crump, became his mentor. Leigh quickly became one of Australia's best young riders.

He won the Australian Under-16 championship in 1986 when he was 15. After that, he moved up to senior racing in 1987.

Leigh won his first of four Australian Under-21 Championships in 1988. He continued to win this title in 1990, 1991, and 1992.

He won the Australian Solo Championship a record ten times! His wins were in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2009. His first win was in Adelaide, and his tenth and last win was also in Adelaide. He won all 15 races in his final championship!

Leigh also won the Victorian State Championship six times. He won in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1995. In his early career, he and his mentor Phil Crump were known as "The Master and the Apprentice."

In 1992, Leigh was the Australian Under-21 and Senior Champion. He then won the Under-21 World Championship in Germany. This made him Australia's first Under-21 World Champion since 1983.

He also won the Australian Speedway Masters Series in 1997, 1998, and 2000. In 1999, Leigh won the Australian Long Track Championship. This made him the only rider to win the Australian Under-16, Under-21, Senior, and Long Track championships.

Racing Around the World

Leigh Adams, who rode for Unia Leszno from 1996 to 2010

Leigh first came to England in 1988 to race for Poole Pirates. He then joined Swindon Robins in 1990 to improve his career.

In October 1995, Leigh won the GP Challenge. This meant he got a permanent spot in the 1996 Grand Prix series. He won the GP Challenge again in 1997.

He rode for several British teams, including Arena Essex and London Lions. He returned to Swindon in 1997 and later joined King's Lynn Stars. In 2000, he was the top rider in the Elite League.

In 2001, Leigh joined Oxford and helped them win the Elite League Championship. In 2002, he won his first ever Speedway Grand Prix race in Sweden.

In 2003, Leigh returned to Poole Pirates. That year, Poole won three major titles: the League Championship, the Knock-Out Cup, and the British League Cup.

Leigh went back to Swindon in 2004. He was again the top rider in the Elite League. In 2005, he achieved his highest ever ranking in the Speedway Grand Prix, finishing third overall.

In 2007, Leigh had his best Grand Prix season. He finished second overall, winning three rounds. In 2008, he became the Swindon Robins' all-time top points scorer. In 2009, he won the Elite League Riders' Championship.

Retirement and Later Life

In 2010, Leigh Adams announced he was retiring from speedway. He had raced internationally for 20 years.

In 2011, Leigh decided to enter the Finke Desert Race in Australia. This is a tough off-road motorbike race. On June 6, while training for the race, he had an accident. He crashed his motorbike and suffered serious injuries, including damage to his spine. He was flown to a hospital for surgery.

After his accident, Leigh provided television commentary for Australia's World Series Sprintcars series in 2012–13.

Family

Leigh Adams' son, Declan, also races speedway. In 2014, Declan finished third in the Australian Under-16 Championship.

Major Career Wins

Leigh Adams achieved many great wins throughout his career:

• 1986: Australian Under-16 Champion
• 1988: Australian Under-21 Champion
• 1989: Victorian State Champion
• 1990: Australian Under-21 Champion & Victorian State Champion
• 1991: Australian Under-21 Champion & Victorian State Champion
• 1992: World Under-21 Champion, Australian Champion, Australian Under-21 Champion (a record 4th time) & Victorian State Champion
• 1993: Australian Champion & Commonwealth Champion
• 1994: Australian Champion & Victorian State Champion
• 1995: GP Challenge winner & Victorian State Champion
• 1999: World Team Cup Champion, Australian Long Track Champion & Golden Helmet of Pardubice winner. He received the Australian Sports Medal for this.
• 2000: Australian Champion, Australian Masters Series 500 Champion & Golden Helmet of Pardubice winner
• 2001: World Cup Champion, British Elite League (with Oxford) & Golden Helmet of Pardubice winner
• 2002: World Cup Champion, Australian Champion & Scandinavian Grand Prix winner
• 2003: Australian Champion, British Elite League, KO Cup, British League Cup (with Poole) & Slovenian Grand Prix winner
• 2004: Golden Helmet of Pardubice & Swedish Grand Prix winner
• 2005: Australian Champion
• 2006: Australian Champion
• 2007: Swedish, Scandinavian & Latvian Grand Prix winner
• 2008: European & Scandinavian Grand Prix winner
• 2009: Australian Champion (his 10th record win) & Elite League Riders' Champion

World Final Appearances

Leigh Adams competed in many world finals:

Individual World Championship

• 1993: Finished 15th in Germany.

World Pairs Championship

• 1990: Won 2nd place with Todd Wiltshire in Germany.
• 1992: Finished 7th in Italy.
• 1993: Finished 6th in Denmark.

World Team Cup

• 1994: Finished 4th in Germany.
• 1995: Finished 5th in Poland.
• 1999: Won with the Australian team in the Czech Republic.
• 2000: Finished 4th in England.

World Cup

• 2001: Won with the Australian team in Poland.
• 2002: Won with the Australian team in England.
• 2003: Finished 2nd with the Australian team in Denmark.
• 2006: Finished 4th in England.
• 2007: Finished 3rd in Poland.
• 2008: Finished 4th in Denmark.
• 2009: Finished 2nd in Poland.

Individual Under-21 World Championship

• 1989: Finished 7th in Italy.
• 1992: Won in Germany.

Speedway Grand Prix Results

Leigh Adams competed in the Speedway Grand Prix series for many years. This table shows his overall position each year and his best race finish.

Grand Prix Wins

Leigh Adams won 8 Grand Prix races:

• 1: 2002 Speedway Grand Prix of Scandinavia
• 2: 2003 Speedway Grand Prix of Slovenia
• 3: 2004 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden
• 4: 2007 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden
• 5: 2007 Speedway Grand Prix of Scandinavia
• 6: 2007 Speedway Grand Prix of Latvia
• 7: 2008 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe
• 8: 2008 Speedway Grand Prix of Scandinavia

See also

• Australia national speedway team