Simon Cross

{{Infobox Speedway rider

| image = Simon Cross.jpg

| name= Simon Cross

| nationality = British (English)

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|5|31|df=y}}

| birth_place = Hereford, England

| career1 = Great Britain

| years2 = 1982

| career2 = Oxford Cheetahs

| years3 = 1983

| career3 = Weymouth Wildcats

| years4 = 1982-1995

| career4 = Cradley Heathens

| years5 = 1991

| career5 = Middlesbrough Bears

| years6 = 1996

| career6 = Coventry Bees

| career7 = Sweden

| years8 = 1995-1996

| career8 = Smederna

| indivyear1 = 1988

| indivhonour1 = Overseas Champion

| indivyear2 = 1986 1994

| indivhonour2 = British Masters grasstrack Champion

| indivyear3 = 1987

| indivhonour3 = British 350 grasstrack Champion

| indivyear4 = 1986

| indivhonour4 = European Grasstrack Champion

| indivyear5 = 1987

| indivhonour5 = WA State Champion

| teamyear1 = 1989

| teamhonour1 = World Team Cup

| teamhonour2 = British League Champion

| teamyear2 = 1983

| teamyear3 = 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989

| teamhonour3 = British League KO Cup winner

| teamyear4 = 1983

| teamhonour4 = National League Pairs Champion

| teamyear5 = 1995

| teamhonour5 = Premier League Four-Team Championship

| teamyear6 = 1983, 1984, 1987

| teamhonour6 = Midland Cup champion

| teamyear7 = 1984, 1986

| teamhonour7 = League Cup champion

}}

Simon James Cross (born 31 May 1965 in Hereford, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider who spent most of his career with the Cradley Heathens.{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=5 July 2023}}

Career

Cross began his British leagues speedway career riding for the Oxford Cheetahs during the 1982 National League season. The following season, as a Weymouth Wildcats rider, he won the National League Pairs Championship with Martin Yeates.{{cite web |url=https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/1983record.pdf |title=1983 season results |website=Speedway Researcher |access-date=23 May 2023}}

In early 1987, Cross was part of a touring troupe to Australia, which included (among others) World Champion Hans Nielsen, Tommy Knudsen, Shawn Moran and Rick Miller. While in Australia he won the 1986/87 Western Australian State Championship at the Claremont Speedway in Perth. Also in 1987, Cross qualified for his first and only World Final in the 1987 Individual Speedway World Championship, run over two days at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. He finished in 10th place with 10 points scored (7 on day one, 3 on day two).

In 1988, Cross continued to ride for Cradley Heath{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002487/19880209/401/0035 |title=Cradley swoop to sign Dane |website=Sandwell Evening Mail |date=9 February 1988 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 August 2024}} and later in the season, Cross and Kelvin Tatum finished runner-up in Speedway World Pairs Championship.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2402-5}}

The following year in 1989, he represented England, when they won the 1989 Speedway World Team Cup final at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford. Cross was involved in the infamous terrible crash on turn 1 of the first heat of the meeting which not only took all four riders out of the meeting, but ended the career of his Cradley teammate and three time World Champion Erik Gundersen. The Dane led out of the gate, but as Gundersen broadsided into the first turn Jimmy Nilsen and Lance King were battling one another for position and Gundersen was clipped from behind by them causing him to highside and all four riders (Gundersen, Cross, Nilsen and King to crash). Nilsen and King were thrown towards the outside of the track and Cross, in attempting to negotiate through the melee hit Gundersen and was himself struck in the face by a wayward bike. Gundersen suffered head and spinal injuries. None of the riders took any further part in the meeting with King having a neck injury, Nilsen hip and thigh injuries and Cross a badly cut face. All four were taken to Hospital. Great Britain took the gold medal that day and were World Champions but the meeting had been overshadowed.

In 1990, he finished runner-up in the British Speedway Championship.2007 British Final Match Programme

In 1995, he was part of the Cradley Heathens four that won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 6 August 1995, at the East of England Arena.{{cite news |title=Speedway |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=7 August 1995 |access-date=5 July 2023 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002135/19950807/018/0018 | via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

At retirement he had earned 33 international caps for the England national team.