Joe Thompson (speedway rider)
British motorcycle speedway rider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Thompson (born 22 April 2004) is a motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]
Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England
| Born | 22 April 2004 (age 22) Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2024 | Leicester |
| 2022 | Wolverhampton |
| 2023 | Ipswich |
| 2023 | Poole |
| 2024–2025 | Plymouth |
| Team honours | |
| 2025 | Premiership KO Cup (tier 1) |
| 2019, 2022 | tier 3 league champions |
| 2019, 2022 | tier 3 KO Cup winners |
| 2022 | tier 3 pairs winners |
Speedway career
Thompson began his speedway career riding for the Leicester Lion Cubs during the 2019 National Development League speedway season.[1] In 2021, he broke into the Leicester Lions senior team for the SGB Championship 2021.[3]
In 2022, Thompson continued to represent Leicester but made his debut for Wolverhampton Wolves (in the highest league in Britain) during the SGB Premiership 2022 season.[2][1][4] He helped Leicester dominate the season by winning the league, successfully defending their National League Knockout Cup title (from 2019) and winning the Pairs Championship, partnered by his brother Dan.[5][6]
In 2023, Thompson signed for Scunthorpe Scorpions for the SGB Championship 2023 following Leicester's move to the Premiership[7] and re-signed for Leicester Lion Cubs for the 2023 National Development League speedway season.[8] Following the injury sustained by Jack Thomas, Thompson was brought into the Ipswich Premiership team as their rising star[9] but he was released by Scunthorpe following problems over the team averages before being drafted into the Poole Pirates team.[10]
In 2024, Thompson signed for Leicester again (this time in the Premiership and NDL) for the 2024 season[11] and joined the Plymouth Gladiators for the 2024 Championship season.[12] Thompson lost his place to Sam Hagon as the rising star for Leicester in the Premiership[13] but regained it later in the 2025 season and helped Leicester defeat King's Lynn to win the Knockout Cup.[14]