Ricky Wells
| Born | 27 July 1991 Auckland, New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Nationality | New Zealander, American |
| Career history | |
| Great Britain | |
| 2009 | Coventry Bees |
| 2010 | Stoke Potters |
| 2011–2013, 2015 | Wolverhampton Wolves |
| 2011 | Plymouth Devils |
| 2012–2013 | Sheffield Tigers |
| 2014–2016 | Workington Comets |
| 2017 | Rye House Rockets |
| 2017–2019 | Edinburgh Monarchs |
| 2018 | Leicester Lions |
| 2019 | Belle Vue Aces |
| 2019 | Poole Pirates |
| 2020–2021 | Glasgow Tigers |
| 2022 | Berwick Bandits |
| Denmark | |
| 2016 | Holstebro |
| Individual honours | |
| 2009 | USA National Champion |
| 2007, 2008 | Under 21 National Champion |
| 2004, 2005 | Youth National Champion |
| 2003, 2004, 2006 | Gumball Rally Champion |
| 2003, 2005 | California Youth Champion |
| 2007 | Fair Derby Champion |
| 2008 | Victorville Track Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 2007, 2008 | High Desert Pairs Champion |
Ricky Wells (born 27 July 1991 in Auckland, New Zealand), is an American international motorcycle speedway rider. He was the 2009 USA National Champion and a two time U.S. Under 21 National Champion.[1] He has been an international rider for the USA in the Speedway World Cup.[2]
Career
[edit]Wells made his first appearance in the World Under 21 Championships in 2008 by winning the 2007 U.S. Under 21 National Championship. He scored 9 points in Qualifying Round 1 held in Norden, Germany[3] which qualified him to move onto Semi-Final Round 1 held in Rye House. Only scoring 6 points which did not qualify him to move onto The Final Round.[4]
Wells came home and won the 2008 U.S. Under 21 National Championship also which placed him in the 2009 World Under 21 Championships. Scoring 9, and beating off Pawel Zmarzlik and Kozza Smith in a race-off, in Qualifying Round 3 held in Rye House Stadium moved him into Semi-Final 2 held in Kumla. In Kumla, Ricky scored 5 and again was in a race-off situation, in which he beat Justin Sedgmen and Patrik Pawlaszczyk to securing a reserve spot in the Final held in Goričan. Through the injury off Przemyslaw Pawlicki, Wells was awarded a place in the main line-up of the Final, where he scored 2 points, finishing in 16th place, ahead of Ludvig Lindgren.
On 19 September 2009, Wells won the United States Individual Speedway Championship, winning all of his heat races and the main event. The same season Wells rode for Elite League team Coventry Bees[5] and for the Stoke Potters in the Premier League in 2010 on loan from Coventry.[6] In 2011 he rode for the Elite Shield-winning Wolverhampton Wolves team in the Elite League and Plymouth Devils in the Premier. He has remained with Wolves until the end of 2013, while also riding for Sheffield Tigers in the Premier League. In 2018 he signed for Leicester Lions.[7]
In 2020, when the speedway season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic he worked at Amazon.[8]
In 2022, he rode for the Berwick Bandits in the SGB Championship 2022.[9]
Honours
[edit]World Championships
[edit]- Team World Championship (Speedway World Cup)
- 2009 - 4th place in the Qualifying Round 2
- Individual Under-21 World Championship
References
[edit]- ^ Speedwaybikes.com profile
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ SportoweFakty.pl
- ^ Ciężka przeprawa Polaków w Rye House
- ^ "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ Coventrymotorspeedway.com - Bees Move For Wells
- ^ "Magnificent Wells stars on debut". Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "Former Sheffield Tigers speedway star Ricky Wells swaps wheels for warehouse job at Amazon during lockdown". The Star. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "British Speedway rider profile". British Speedway. Retrieved 30 September 2022.