#ThrowbackThursday

Ronald Leslie Moore was born in Hobart, Tasmania (AUS) on 8 March 1933. The whole family moved soon to New Zealand, of which he always has run under the flag. He started to race in Christchurch at the age of 15, and then went to England. In 1950 he became the youngest rider ever to qualify for a World Final. He won the World Final in 1954; he was only 21 years old, he rode with a broken leg and achieved the total score (15) – which he did again in 1959 for his second World crown. On that occasion, then five-time Road Racing World Champion John Surtees presented him with his speedway World Championship winged wheel trophy at Wembley. Moore also finished runner-up in 1955, 1956 and 1960. In 1963 he stopped racing following a broken leg but came back to racing in New Zealand, and in 1969 was back at Wembley aged 36! He won the Pairs World Championship together with Ivan Mauger in 1970. He retired again from racing in the British League in 1972 except for a couple of meetings in Great Britain, and then in Australia he suffered head injuries in a meeting in 1975. He won the New Zealand Championship 4 times (56, 62, 68, 69). In 1985 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Speedway sport.

Text Marc Pétrier – Photo John Chaplin Collection