Simon Wigg


Simon Antony Wigg was an English speedway, grasstrack and longtrack rider who won five World Long Track Championships and finished runner-up in the Speedway World Championship in 1989.

Career

Wigg was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. After relocating with his family several times as a child, he gained a scholarship to Woodbridge School in Suffolk, where he and his brother began their interest in motorcycle racing, attending Ipswich Witches meetings at Foxhall and riding in grasstrack competitions.
In 1980 later he joined his first speedway club, Weymouth Wildcats.
In 1982, Wigg won the British League Division Two Pairs Championship with Martin Yeates, and in 1984 qualified for his first World Final. He became the second British World Longtrack Champion in 1985 and went on to win the title a further four times. He was the most successful British grasstrack and longtrack rider ever. When Wigg was riding in Oxford, England he met his wife to be, Charlie, and after a few years together they had two children. He was part of the Oxford Cheetahs title winning team in 1985, 1986 and 1989.
1988 saw him become British Speedway Champion and he retained the title the following year. 1989 also saw him captain the Great Britain speedway team when they won the World Team Cup. In 1989, he finished runner-up to his Cheetahs teammate Hans Nielsen in the World Final at the Olympiastadion in Munich.
During his career, Wigg was a frequent visitor to Australia and always enjoyed success on the larger Showground tracks down under such as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, the Wayville Showground in Adelaide, the Claremont Speedway in Perth, and the Melbourne Showgrounds. During his time riding in both Australia and New Zealand, Wigg won the Australian Long track Grand Prix in 1990, 1994 and 1995, as well as the New Zealand Long track Grand Prix in 1994.
Wigg was also famous for his bright green leathers and bikes, being nicknamed "The Lean Green Racing Machine".
Wigg rode in 65 meetings for England.

Death

After suffering epileptic seizures in November 1998 and January 1999, which were originally attributed to head trauma from racing crashes, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and had surgery to remove it in May 1999. After recovering, he moved with his family to Gold Coast, Queensland, but after falling ill again in February 2000, returned to the UK for further surgery after discovering that the tumour had regrown. Wigg died on 15 November 2000 at the age of 40.

British Grasstrack Championship Record

Five Times Champion
Final
Grand Years
1998 Four G.P. 40pts

World Speedway final appearances

World Championship