Simon Stead

{{Short description|British motorcycle speedway rider and team manager}}

{{Infobox speedway rider

| name= Simon Stead

| image = Simon Stead (Mar 08).jpg

| nationality = British (English)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|4|25|df=y}}

| birth_place = Sheffield, England

| nickname = Steady

| career1 = Great Britain

| years2 = 1998, 2002

| career2 = Peterborough

| years3 = 1998

| career3 = Buxton

| years4 = 1999–2002, 2013-2016

| career4 = Sheffield

| years5 = 2003–2004

| career5 = Workington

| years6 = 2003–2004

| career6 = Wolverhampton

| years7 = 2005–2007, 2015

| career7 = Belle Vue

| years8 = 2008–2009

| career8 = Coventry

| years9 = 2009–2012

| career9 = Swindon

| years10 = 2013

| career10 = King's Lynn

| years11 = 2014

| career11 = Leicester

| career12 = Poland

| years13 = 2000, 2011

| career13 = Lublin

| years14 = 2006

| career14 = Toruń

| years15 = 2007

| career15 = Gniezno

| years16 = 2008

| career16 = Bydgoszcz

| years17 = 2009

| career17 = Ostrów

| years18 = 2010

| career18 = Piła

| years19 = 2013

| career19 = Kraków

| career20 = Sweden

| years21 = 2001–2002

| career21 = Örnarna

| years22 = 2003

| career22 = Gasarna

| years23 = 2008

| career23 = Masarna

| indivyear1 = 2001, 2002, 2003

| indivhonour1 = British Under 21 Champion

| indivyear2 = 2014

| indivhonour2 = Premier League Riders Champion

| teamyear1 = 2006

| teamhonour1 = Elite League Pairs Champion

| teamyear2 = 2003

| teamhonour2 = Premier League Pairs Champion

| teamyear3 = 2008

| teamhonour3 = Craven Shield winner

| teamyear4 = 2012

| teamhonour4 = Elite League Champion

| teamyear5 = 1999, 2000, 2004

| teamhonour5 = Premier League Four-Team Championship

}}

Simon Trevor Stead (born 25 April 1982)Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. {{ISBN|0-948882-81-6}} is a retired motorcycle speedway rider and team manager.{{cite web |url=https://speedway.com.pl/riders/simon-stead/ |title=Simon Trevor Stead |website=Polish Speedway Database |access-date=12 February 2023}} He earned 11 international caps for the Great Britain national speedway team.{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=30 December 2023}} From 2019, he has been joint manager of the Great Britain team with Oliver Allen.

Career Summary

Born in Sheffield, Stead started his career at local track Sheffield Tigers before riding for Buxton Hitmen, Peterborough Panthers and Workington Comets.{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Rider_Index_2008.pdf |title=2008 Rider index |website=British Speedway |access-date=4 April 2023}}{{cite book | last = Oakes | first = P | title = Speedway Star Almanac | publisher = Pinegen Ltd | date = 2006 | isbn = 0-9552376-1-0}}

In 1999 and 2000, he was part of the Sheffield four that won the Premier League Four-Team Championship.{{cite news |title=Wasps speed way to Premier Fours runners-up spot |work=South Wales Echo |date=30 August 1999 |access-date=24 June 2023 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004733/19990830/052/0052 | via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}

Stead was British Under-21 Champion three times in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 and also won the Premier League Pairs Championship with Carl Stonehewer in 2003.

{{cite book | last = Bamford | first = Robert | title = Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007 | publisher = NPI Media Group | date = 1 March 2007| isbn = 978-0-7524-4250-1 }}

Stead reached the final of the 2004 Premier League Riders Championship won by Andre Compton. Going into the final, Stead was unbeaten and was involved in a crash with Compton, which caused multiple injuries to both riders. Compton was awarded the title.{{cite web |url=https://www.crash.net/speedway/news/101076/1/contravercial-compton-claims-plrc |title=Controversial Compton claims PLRC |website=Crash.net |access-date=26 June 2023}} Also in 2004, he was part of the Workington four that won the Premier League Four-Team Championship, which was held on 21 August 2004, at the Derwent Park.{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/17183100.comets-set-to-host-biggest-ever-meeting/ |title=Comets set to host biggest ever meeting |website=Whitehaven News |access-date=7 July 2023}}

Stead signed for Belle Vue Aces prior to the start of the 2005 season and had three seasons with the club. In those three seasons he progressed from a reserve to a heat leader. He was chosen to represent Great Britain in the 2005 Speedway World Cup and the 2006 Speedway World Cup. Additionally, he was given the wildcard spot for the 2006 British Speedway Grand Prix, where he scored 3 points from 5 rides and won the 2006 Elite League Pairs Championship along with then teammate Jason Crump.

He went on to represent Great Britain again in the 2007 and 2008 Speedway World Cups. For the 2008 season Stead joined the Coventry Bees on loan.

File:Speedway 2007 Simon Stead Belle Vue.jpg

File:Swindon Robins 2012.jpg

In 2009, he signed a contract which involved him moving from Coventry to the Swindon Robins and won the 2012 Elite League with Swindon.{{cite web |url=https://www.swindonweb.com/?m=490&s=1869&ss=0&c=11712&t=You+Muddy+Heroes%21%21 |title=You Muddy Heroes!! |website=Swindon Web |access-date=4 April 2024}}

He re-signed with Sheffield Tigers in 2013 with the option of doubling up with King's Lynn Stars, his season was cut short by a broken leg sustained while practising in June, and signed for Sheffield Tigers again in 2014 doubling up with Leicester Lions."[http://speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.23785 Lions Complete with Stead]", speedwaygb.co, 14 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.

In 2014, he won the Premier League Riders Championship, held on 21 September at his home track of Owlerton. It was reward for the misfortune experienced the year before and also made up for the disaster in the same event ten years earlier.{{cite web |url=https://www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk/news-centre/article/2014-09-21/simon-stead-wins-plrc |title=SIMON STEAD WINS PLRC |website=Edinburgh Speedway |access-date=27 June 2023}} He won the Riders' Championship for the second time in 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/other-sport/simon-stead-interview-sheffield-tigers-supremo-on-his-life-as-a-speedway-rider-great-britain-success-and-the-sports-future-3887306 |title=Simon Stead interview: Sheffield Tigers supremo on his life as a speedway rider, Great Britain success and the sport's future |website=Yorkshire Post |access-date=27 June 2023}}

In 2017, Stead moved in to team management, and won the SGB Championship with Sheffield Tigers. In 2018 he took on the team manager role for both Tigers and Leicester Lions. In September 2019 he was appointed as joint team manager (with Oliver Allen) of the Great Britain speedway team."[https://gbspeedwayteam.com/news/gb-speedway-team-managers-revealed GB Team Managers Revealed]", gbspeedwayteam.com, 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019