canadian speedway

Shawn Venables was born on December 3rd, 1969 in Vancouver, Canada.

One of the few Canadian riders to ride in the British League in modern times, Shawn had his initial outings in this country riding for Hackney in 1988 before spells at Middlesbrough and Belle Vue.

He had been an impressive visitor to Owlerton on occasions with the Aces and looked a good signing when he joined the Tigers for the start of the 1994 season.

The start of this season was a disaster for the club, but Shawn was one of the few relative successes and was even made captain for a short time after the retirement of Shawn Moran. However, a poor mid season run of scores led to him being axed and he was replaced by Robbie Kessler.

Apart from a short spell at Buxton the same year, Shawn has not ridden in Britain since .

Hackney (1988-1990)
Middlesbrough (1991)
Belle Vue (1993)
Sheffield (1994)

July 11th 2003 - Duncan Luke writes in the Paris Speedway Program:

One story involves the best Canadian rider produced from the popularize speedway in BC in the eighties. It is unlikely that many will remember him as the only time he rode here in Paris was way back in 1986, at a single meeting organized by Dave Havill on a small temporary track on the front straightaway of the horse track.

Only 17 years old at the time, Shawn had driven all the way from BC with his Dad, who was confined to a wheelchair, to take part in the National Championship at Welland, and was the first rider from there to do so.

Although he did not win a race, he fought for every point and made an impression on the locals with a sixth place finish.

Two years later he represented Canada in the North American World Championship qualifier at Long Beach in California, and startled the speedway world by picking up eight points, including a race win against top-flight American riders. The effort earned him a contract at Hackney in the UK, where he rode for several years before returning to Canada in 1994.

A final attempt to win the National title, he finished second to John Kehoe, brought him back to Welland in 1995, but it seemed to be it for his speedway career.

Now 34, Venables is contemplating a return to the UK and hopes to be back there before the end of the season. Reportedly he has talked to a couple of people there, but cannot say where or in which league he might ride. Apparently he still has the yearn to ride and feels that he has still got plenty of racing left in him.

Shawn has been working as a Lumberjack, and has to have an operation to remove pins from his wrist that he broke in a 30-foot fall onto a roof while working. He had problems from the first operation for this and almost died on the operating table from complications, which may have had something to do with his decision to try and resurrect his speedway career, before it is too late.

Shawn also had a tie with the world famous master tuner and engine builder Carl Blomfeldt, who actually built the engine for the World Championship round in California, that led to his professional career in the UK!

Career record :