Billy Sanders - Australian Speedway

Australian Speedway

Billy Sanders bought his first speedway bike from a man named Bruce Gardner. The bike was one previously owned by five time Australian champion Aub Lawson and Sanders used it to hone his skills at the Nepean Speedway in Sydney's north-west during 1969/70. He then went on to make his competition debut at the Liverpool Speedway in Sydney in early 1971, quickly becoming a crowd favourite. He also competed at Sydney's other major speedway, the famous Sydney Showground Speedway.

Sanders first made Australian speedways fans take notice by finishing in third place in the 1973 Australian Championship held at the Sydney Showground when he was only 18 years old behind winner John Boulger from Adelaide and fellow Sydney rider John Langfield. He again finished third in both 1976 and 1977 before winning the first of a then record six Australian Championships at Claremont Speedway in Perth. He would also win the Aussie title in 1980 (Sydney Showground), 1981 (Brisbane Exhibition Ground), 1982 (Claremont) and 1983 (Speedway Park, Adelaide, where he famously told the unruly crowd to "Get Stuffed" at the end of his victory speech while being booed unfairly following the unpopular decision to exclude Phil Crump in their heat clash, costing Crump the title. His run ended in 1984 when he finished second to local hero Crump at Olympic Park in Mildura, a track Sanders had previously admitted was the one Aussie track he never quite came to grips with.

Billy Sanders regained his Australian crown and won his sixth and last Australian Championship in 1985 at the Pioneer Park Speedway in Ayr in Queensland, where he would reverse the previous years result by defeating Crump, with Queensland's Stan Bear finishing third. Sadly, this was to be Sanders last Australian championship win as he died in England three months later. The Australian Speedway Championship now incorporates the "Billy Sanders Memorial Trophy" in recognition of his six championship wins. His record of six national championship wins stood until 2003 when Victoria's Leigh Adams won his seventh title. Adams would go on to record another 3 title wins taking the record number to 10 wins.

Sanders also had a virtual stranglehold on the NSW State Championship, and would win all of his record eight titles from 1977 until 1985, with the exception of 1983 when the title wasn't held. He also won the 1984 and 1985 Australian Masters titles at his home track of Liverpool Speedway. Both Masters finals were held over 10 laps and included all riders at the meetings.