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before moving on to drive
Speedcars with some success, including winning the prestigious "Harry Neale Memorial" at Speedway Park in 1987. Boulger would race for a few more seasons before retiring from the sport in the mid-1990s to concentrate on driving his taxi. After he retired from riding Solos in
449:
who had been on the lookout for
Australian talent when he rode in Adelaide in 1967 and picked Boulger as a future star. Boulger appeared in 33 league matches during 1967 for Long Eaton, finishing with a 5.95 points average. In 1968, Long Eaton management moved the team to Leicester, where they would
348:. Boulger narrowly missed equaling Young's record in 1981 when he finished second in the championship behind Tony Boyle at Speedway Park. Boulger was undefeated in his first three rides, and was leading his fourth race when his front forks broke forcing him to crash and not finish the race.
285:
in
Adelaide and he made his debut there on 29 October 1966. He quickly went from promising rookie to star rider within a couple of seasons, and would become the best South Australian rider of his generation, and regarded as one of the states best ever riders alongside Jack Young.
312:, and won his last title in 1973 at the Sydney Showground with a 15-point maximum, leaving defending champion and "King of the Royale" Airey languishing in 4th place. Boulger then finished the 1974 championship at the 425 metres (465 yd)
463:
where he remained until 1976 before returning to
Leicester in 1977. He would remain with the Lions until 1979 when he retired from British League racing in order to spend more time with his family and on his business interests in Adelaide.
458:
and gradually improving his average to 9.46 by 1972. In 1973, he replaced Wilson as captain of the Lions and averaged 10.25 points to place 7th in the Riders' Championship. In 1974, Boulger moved to ride for
316:
in 2nd place behind local rider Steve Reinke to cap a four-year run where he never finished the
Australian title off the podium. He would place once more finishing 3rd in 1979 at the 302 metres (330 yd)
278:
in
Melbourne. As a favour to Bowes, the promoter let Boulger ride just expecting him to make up the numbers, but everyone received a shock when Boulger broke the track record in his first ride.
1007:
340:. He won his first title in 1970 before winning a record seven in a row between 1972 and 1978, all held at Rowley Park Speedway. He would win his ninth and last SA Championship at the new
344:
in 1982. Boulger's ninth SA title saw him equal the record of nine wins by Jack Young. As of 2016, this record still stands, with the next best record being five wins by
Queenslander
371:(the Australasian Final was introduced as a World Championship qualifying round for Australian and New Zealand riders). He then went on to finish in a 3-way tie for first place in
386:
Boulger retired from riding in 1984 and decided to stay in speedway, first by teaching young riders the art of racing a Solo motorbike, with many of his protégé's racing at the
390:
in
Adelaide which opened in 1978. Boulger has been a long time supporter of Sidewinders and during the early-mid 1980s was a mentor to a number of younger riders including
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in
October 1966 where he lost an oil tank and seized the engine in his first meeting. He then got his break when he tagged along with leading Adelaide
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in the last corner of the deciding heat to give him a 15-point maximum. He finished in third place at Rowley Park in 1972 behind Airey and
Denmark's
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as a sidecar passenger with friend Brenton Hanks (which only lasted a year) before moving into speedway. His first race was at the
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330:
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John Boulger, whose father was a mechanic for international solo star Merv Harding, started his racing career in 1965 racing
445:, scoring a paid 12 point maximum in just his third match. He was recommended to the Long Eaton management by British star
375:
at the Sydney Showground with Mauger and Crump, before eventually finishing third after a runoff. Later in 1982 he won the
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531:, Poland, in front of the largest speedway attendance in history, an estimated 130,000. Boulger also rode in the
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in 1970, Boulger won his first Australian Solo Championship in 1971 at Perth's â…“ mile (586 metres (641 yd))
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and on 29 November 2014, Boulger was inducted into the Motorcycling South Australia Hall of Fame.
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and Boulger remained for six seasons, helping the Lions to second place in the
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During the 1970s Boulger had a virtual stranglehold on the
519:'s during his career. He finished 13th with 6 points in
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Boulger captained the victorious Australian team at the
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the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in
281:
His home track was the famed, 358 metres (392 yd)
410:, the son of Boulger's long time friend and the 1968
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in Manchester, finishing in second place behind the
441:Boulger arrived in England in 1967 to ride for the
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426:(Midgets) from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s.
1008:Australian expatriate speedway riders in England
711:Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”.
301:after a bold passing move on local favourite
8:
21:
768:"A Fitting Climax to John Boulger's Year",
27:
20:
367:, Phil Crump and multiple World Champion
500:. Boulger and Crump finished 5th in the
759:, volume 5, no. 12, July 1969, p. 16-17
704:
429:In 2011, Boulger was inducted into the
842:– via British Newspaper Archive.
480:. He also partnered Phil Crump in the
973:John Boulger profile @ Cradley United
948:. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
923:. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
907:Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar
7:
653:(with Phil Crump) - 5th - 19pts (9)
289:After finishing second to Sydney's
755:"Personal Profile: John Boulger",
377:Australian Long Track Championship
338:South Australian Solo Championship
241:during his career. As part of the
14:
729:"ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022"
229:rider. Boulger won a record nine
668:
640:
611:
583:
562:
431:Australian Speedway Hall of Fame
379:in the South Australian town of
293:at the 509 metres (557 yd)
1028:Sportsmen from South Australia
231:South Australian Championships
174:Australian Long Track Champion
1:
879:"Rider averages 1929 to 2009"
827:"Archers will do much better"
552:Individual World Championship
239:Australian Solo Championships
122:1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975,
474:1976 Speedway World Team Cup
456:1971 British Speedway League
359:in Auckland, New Zealand in
233:(a record jointly held with
225:) is a former international
417:In 1985, he started racing
412:Australian Sidecar Champion
388:Sidewinders Junior Speedway
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1023:Sportspeople from Adelaide
998:Australian speedway riders
515:he also qualified for two
351:Boulger won the inaugural
314:Brisbane Exhibition Ground
1018:Long Eaton Archers riders
353:Australasian Championship
208:
179:
126:South Australian Champion
112:
26:
16:Australian speedway rider
601:World Pairs Championship
325:behind local favourites
146:Midland Riders' Champion
1003:Cradley Heathens riders
832:Nottingham Evening Post
547:World Final Appearances
357:Western Springs Stadium
307:reigning World Champion
274:rider Len Bowes to the
1013:Leicester Lions riders
946:1978 Speedway Yearbook
921:1981 Speedway Yearbook
909:, Automedia, p.159-160
502:1975 World Pairs final
482:1974 World Pairs final
217:(born 18 June 1945 in
944:Oakes, Peter (1978).
919:Oakes, Peter (1981).
319:Olympic Park Speedway
276:Northern Park Raceway
164:Australasian Champion
283:Rowley Park Speedway
268:Broken Hill Speedway
93:1968-1973, 1977-1979
905:Jones, Alan (2010)
886:Speedway Researcher
858:Speedway Researcher
806:on 18 February 2011
773:Speedway Extra 1971
678:(with Phil Crump /
247:1976 World Team Cup
227:motorcycle speedway
136:Australian Champion
23:
834:. 14 February 1967
800:"Gillman Speedway"
676:White City Stadium
478:White City Stadium
443:Long Eaton Archers
299:Claremont Speedway
245:, Boulger won the
237:), as well as two
117:Individual honours
87:Long Eaton Archers
717:978-0-244-72538-9
476:held at London's
295:Sydney Showground
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802:. Archived from
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771:Motor Cycle News
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573:Silesian Stadium
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533:1977 World Final
525:Silesian Stadium
155:Golden Gauntlets
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651:Olympic Stadium
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494:Anders Michanek
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452:Leicester Lions
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243:Australian team
223:South Australia
97:Leicester Lions
56:South Australia
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967:External links
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955:978-0904584509
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854:"Year by Year"
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786:"John Boulger"
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537:Ullevi Stadium
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461:Cradley United
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346:Troy Batchelor
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253:Career summary
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78:Career history
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684:Billy Sanders
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596:– 12th – 5pts
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575:– 13th – 6pts
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48:(age 79)
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889:. Retrieved
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861:. Retrieved
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848:
836:. Retrieved
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808:. Retrieved
804:the original
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751:
739:. Retrieved
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629:
514:
471:
440:
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400:Shane Parker
385:
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335:
288:
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261:
249:as captain.
215:John Boulger
214:
213:
184:Team honours
46:18 June 1945
22:John Boulger
18:
988:1945 births
891:23 December
863:23 December
741:23 December
694:- 31pts (6)
632:- 23pts (9)
517:World Final
492:pairing of
450:become the
414:Len Bowes.
408:Shane Bowes
392:Steve Baker
369:Ivan Mauger
303:Chum Taylor
203:Midland Cup
70:Nationality
982:Categories
699:References
680:Phil Herne
626:Phil Crump
618:Manchester
512:, Poland.
447:Ray Wilson
419:Sprintcars
396:Mark Fiora
363:defeating
327:Phil Crump
235:Jack Young
132:1971, 1973
73:Australian
42:1945-06-18
838:23 August
622:Hyde Road
486:Hyde Road
424:Speedcars
383:in 1982.
310:Ole Olsen
291:Jim Airey
264:scrambles
258:Australia
103:1974-1976
674:London,
590:Göteborg
541:Göteborg
219:Adelaide
62:Nickname
52:Adelaide
810:25 July
775:, p. 12
647:Wrocław
569:ChorzĂłw
535:at the
529:ChorzĂłw
523:at the
510:Wrocław
504:at the
490:Swedish
437:England
355:at the
323:Mildura
272:sidecar
952:
927:
715:
692:Winner
624:(with
594:Ullevi
496:, and
381:Morgan
882:(PDF)
732:(PDF)
950:ISBN
925:ISBN
893:2023
865:2023
840:2024
812:2011
743:2023
713:ISBN
690:) -
664:1976
636:1975
628:) -
607:1974
579:1977
558:1973
521:1973
406:and
373:1977
361:1976
329:and
199:1972
189:1976
170:1982
160:1976
152:1974
142:1973
83:1967
36:Born
630:2nd
539:in
527:in
508:in
484:at
321:in
984::
884:.
856:.
830:.
734:.
686:/
682:/
666:-
649:,
638:-
620:,
609:-
592:,
581:–
571:,
560:–
402:,
398:,
394:,
333:.
221:,
65:JB
54:,
44:)
958:.
933:.
895:.
867:.
814:.
788:.
745:.
40:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
