- Barry Thomas
Infobox Speedway rider
ridername= Barry Thomas
nationality = flagicon|EnglandEngland
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1951|10|29
cityofbirth =Harrow, London
countryofbirth =England
nickname = Thommo
website =
retired = Retired
career = Canterbury CrusadersHackney Hawks Crayford Kestrels Hackney Kestrels Rye House Rockets
years = 1969-1970
1970-1983
1981-1983
1984-1989
1986
indivhonour =London Riders' Championship
indivyear = 1973, 1974
teamhonour = British League KO Cup
teamyear = 1972Barry John Thomas (born 29 October 1951 Harrow,
Middlesex ) [Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). "1986 Speedway Yearbook". ISBN 0-9488-8200-X] is a formermotorcycle speedway rider. 'Thommo' is considered to be the most popular Hackney rider ever, staying at theHackney Wick Stadium for over twenty years. [Fenn, C.(2003). "Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight". ISBN 0-7524-2737-7]Career
He started his career with the Canterbury Crusaders in 1969 after he and
Dave Jessup were invited for trials at theWest Ham Hammers . He progressed through to heat leader status in his very first season, promptingHackney Hawks promoterLen Silver to buy him for the Hawks in 1970. He was given plenty of advice and help fromGarry Middleton who helped him with any bike problems he had. He also played a huge part in the signing of Polish ChampionZenon Plech .In that first season at Hackney he won the British Junior Championship. He went on to captain Hackney for nine seasons. 1981 saw Thommo ride for the
Crayford Kestrels and cover for the Hawks. However 1984 saw the Crayford promotion move to Hackney as theHackney Kestrels after the Hawks closed in 1983. In 1987 he also rode for theRye House Rockets . [ Jacobs, Norman (2007). "70 Years of Rye House Speedway". ISBN 0-7524-4162-7]In 2001 he made a special one-off appearance for a Hackney team in a meeting at Rye House having never ridden a bike for thirteen years.
External links
* [http://www.hackneyhawks.co.uk www.hackneyhawks.co.uk]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
