Brett Saunders

Brett Gavin Saunders (born 9 November 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia.^[1][2]

Brett Saunders

Born	(1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 62) Sydney, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Career history
1980–1981	Berwick Bandits
1982–1992	Edinburgh Monarchs
1993	Middlesbrough Bears
1993	Sheffield Tigers
Team honours
1980	Knockout Cup

Biography

Saunders, born in Sydney, began his British leagues career riding for Berwick Bandits^[3] during the 1980 National League season, although he did make an early season appearance for the Nottingham Outlaws.^[4] His debut season ended well after he participated in the Knockout Cup final and contributed to the winning side.^[5]

The following season he nearly won a second consecutive knockout cup with Berwick, reaching the final but losing to rivals Edinburgh Monarchs.^[6] In 1982, he then joined Edinburgh^[7] and improved his season average to 7.03.^[8]

Saunders became a regular with Edinburgh and also emerged as a fan's favourite, improving his season average to 7.46 by the end of the 1985 season.^[9] By 1988, he was starting his seventh consecutive season with the club and was rewarded with the captaincy^[2][10] and in 1989 he recorded a 8.24 career best average for the season.^[8]

After eleven years with the Scottish club he rode one final season in 1993, riding for Sheffield Tigers and Middlesbrough Bears on loan respectively.^[11]

References

1. "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
2. "Farewell to Eddie". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
3. "1980 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
4. "Outlaws face Italians on their first visit". Long Eaton Advertiser. 3 April 1980. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
6. "1981 KO cup final" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
7. "Scottish cap for Graham". St. Andrews Citizen. 19 March 1982. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
9. "Brett Saunders". WWOS backup. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
10. "Saunders misses World test". Edinburgh Evening News. 5 April 1988. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Speedway". Daily Record. 17 March 1993. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.