Marvyn Cox (born 11 July 1964 in Whitstable, Kent) is a former motorcycle speedway rider.[1] Cox was twice a winner of the German Individual Championship in 1993 and 1995, when he raced under a German licence.[2] At retirement he had earned 25 international caps for the England national speedway team.[3]
 | |
| Born | 11 July 1964 Whitstable, Kent |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Career history | |
| Great Britain | |
| 1981-1983 | Rye House Rockets |
| 1982, 1983 | Hackney Hawks |
| 1984–1989, 1996 | Oxford Cheetahs |
| 1990 | Bradford Dukes |
| 1991–1992, 1997–1998 | Poole Pirates |
| 1995 | Reading Racers |
| Sweden | |
| 1995–1996 | Valsarna |
| Individual honours | |
| 1986, 1994 | Speedway World Championship finalist |
| 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 | Individual Long Track World Championship finalist |
| 1993, 1995 | German champion |
| 1984 | European Junior Champion |
| 1984 | British Under 21 Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 1986 (bronze) 1987 (silver) | World Team Cup |
| 1985, 1986, 1989 | British League Champion |
| 1985, 1986 | British League KO Cup winner |
| 1996 | Premier League Four-Team Championship |
Domestic career edit
Cox started his British leagues career riding for Rye House Rockets during the 1981 National League season.[4] He made great progress during the 1982 season improving his average to 8.87 but his season was overshadowed by tragedy when he was involved in an accident with American Denny Pyeatt whilst riding for Hackney in a league match against Reading, in which Pyeatt lost his life.[5]
He topped the Rye House averages in 1983, which attracted the interest of Oxford Cheetahs. The Cheetahs signed Cox from Rye House for £15,000. The Oxford team had returned to the British League and the other signings to start as the top five riders for the season were Hans Nielsen for a record £30,000, Simon Wigg for £25,000, Melvyn Taylor for £12,000 and Jens Rasmussen, with Ian Clark and Nigel Sparshott at 6 & 7.[6] During the 1984 season he won both the European Junior Championship and the British Under 21 Championship.
After a mid table finish with Oxford in 1984 he was part of the Oxford team that won the league and cup double during the 1985 British League season.[6] They repeated the league and cup double the following season during the 1986 British League season and later won a third title during the 1989 British League season, He was a very popular rider at the Cowley circuit.[6]
His form, from an individual perspective continued to impress and he reached the final of the 1986 Speedway World Championship and also won two medals with England at the Speedway World Team Cup. He also became a leading rider on the Longtrack, reaching six Individual Long Track World Championship finals from 1989 to 1995.
In 1996, he returned to Oxford Cheetahs after spells with Bradford, Poole Pirates and Reading Racers and some time in Germany. His return saw him help Oxford win the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 4 August 1996, at the East of England Arena.[7]
He competed in the first two seasons of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 1995 and 1996[8] and also rode in the Swedish Elitserien for Valsarna from 1995 to 1996. He finished his career at Poole after two seasons in 1997 and 1998.
World Final appearances edit
Individual World Championship edit
- 1986 -
Chorzów, Silesian Stadium - 12th - 3pts - 1994 -
Vojens, Speedway Center - 6th - 9pts
World Team Cup edit
- 1986 -
Bradford, Odsal Stadium (with Simon Wigg / Kelvin Tatum / Jeremy Doncaster / Chris Morton) - 3rd - 81pts (0) - 1987 - Coventry, Brandon Stadium (with Kelvin Tatum / Jeremy Doncaster / Simon Wigg / Simon Cross) - 2nd - 101pts (2)
Speedway Grand Prix results edit
- 1995 Speedway Grand Prix- 12th - 54pts
- 1996 Speedway Grand Prix- 18th - 15pts
World Longtrack Championship Finals edit
- 1989 -
Marianske Lazne 16pts (10th) - 1990 -
Herxheim 23pts (6th) - 1991 - Marianske Lazne 7pts (12th)
- 1992 - Pfarrkirchen 5pts (14th)
- 1994 - Marianske Lazne 0pts (18th)
- 1995 - Scheeßel 17pts (4th)
References edit
- ^ Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
- ^ "Vote for your dream team". Speedway Star. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "1981 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Denny Pyeatt". Speedway Bikes. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b c Bamford/Shailes, Robert/Glynn (2007). The Story of Oxford Speedway. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 128–135. ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0.
- ^ "Cheetahs race to four team title". Hull Daily Mail. 5 August 1996. Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 11 July 2021.