Ben  Barker  the  story  so  far  !!
                      Link to Ben’s website - www.benbarkerracing.com





BARKER, Benjamin (Ben) John
DATE OF BIRTH: 10 March 1988, Truro, Cornwall.
BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Oxford II, Trelawny II; (2004) Oxford II, Coventry II; (2005) Oxford II, Exeter; (2006) Somerset, Stoke II; (2007) Stoke; (2008) Stoke, Coventry; (2009-10) Coventry; (2011) Plymouth, Birmingham.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2005 [Oxford II], 2010 [Coventry]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2006 [Stoke II]; Craven Shield winner: 2008 [Coventry].
2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 9.50 (PL), 5.70 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Barker started riding at the age of seven, when he first took up youth grass-track racing. He made his speedway debut for Oxford Silver Machine Academy in 2003, going on to attain an impressive first-season real-time average of 8.34 from twenty-two Conference League appearances for the side.

The year also saw him make thirteen appearances for Trelawny Pitbulls in the Conference Trophy, from which he yielded a 6.28 average. In 2004, Barker again represented Oxford at Conference level and also rode for Coventry Cougars in the Conference Trophy. Significantly, the year saw him make his international debut for the Great Britain Under-21 side and he was to go on and make five appearances for them.

Barker’s 2005 campaign with Oxford Academy was prematurely curtailed by a broken leg, which he suffered in a Conference League encounter at Stoke on 3 August. Still, he had played his part and Oxford went on to win the Championship, finishing just a single point ahead of Wimbledon in a very tight finish.

Prior to his injury, he had also broken into Exeter’s Premier League side, making thirteen domestic appearances for the Falcons in their last year of activity. Oxford’s Conference League assets were purchased by the then Reading promotion, BSI, in 2006 and fit again, Barker subsequently linked with Somerset on loan for a first full term at PL level, whilst also racing for Stoke Spitfires in the CL.

The talented throttle-jockey hails from Truro in Cornwall – just like Chris Harris – and saw his career take a major step forward during 2007 and 2008, initially in the Premier League. Indeed, his scoring increased substantially having joined Stoke in the first of those years, and Barker subsequently became a full asset of Coventry mid-way through the 2008 campaign after some sterling performances in the No. 8 role. He picked up a large number of bookings due to injuries and unavailability in the lower-order.

And it would not be stretching a point to say that the Bees looked a much stronger unit when he was present. GP riders Fredrik Lindgren and Lukáš Dryml were amongst his notable scalps at Brandon, whilst at Belle Vue he astonishingly defeated double World Champion Jason Crump on merit. He saved his best for last by scoring a remarkable 14 points at Lakeside in the first leg of the Craven Shield final – followed by a 12-point maximum in the Brandon return!


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Having made a bright start to his first full term of top-flight racing with the Bees in 2009, the Cornishman regrettably sustained a broken right fibula when he crashed with Italian Mattia Tadiello in heat sixteen of the World Under-21 Championship qualifying round at Neustadt, Germany, on 26 April. His injury meant a recall to the Coventry side for Filip Šitera.

After three months on the sidelines with his broken leg, Barker was deemed fit to resume for the Bees towards the end of July and he went on to complete the campaign with an excellent real-time average in excess of 7.5 per match. Deservedly, he scooped the club’s Rider of the Year award and, in December, he was named in the team’s starting line-up for 2010.

Barker enjoyed one of the best nights of his career to secure an excellent third place in the British Final at Wolverhampton on 14 June. And even better came at the season’s sharp end, as he was part of a stunning late-season revival that saw Coventry grab the last spot in the Play-Offs. They then defeated Peterborough at the semi-final stage, before facing runaway table-toppers Poole to decide the title.

After winning 51-39 in the first leg at Brandon on 27 September, Coventry journeyed to Wimborne Road for the return fixture seven days later. And they completed an astonishing transformation from early-term relegation candidates to Championship material on a stunning night when they overturned the overwhelming favourites – not only by defending their 12-point first leg lead, but also by winning the away leg, 50-40, as well.

Barker was to be the only rider who remained ever-present throughout the Bees’ 38-match schedule in official competition and, with a total of 243 points, he attained an average of 6.56. His personal highlight at home was a score of 9+4 points from five rides in a league match versus Peterborough on 20 August. Meanwhile, on the club’s travels, his best showing occurred at Ipswich on 12 August, when he obtained 12+2 points from six outings.

In December, it was announced that the Cornish star had agreed to join Plymouth for their first season of Premier League racing in 2011. However, the move was subject to the necessary paperwork being completed and, due to an embargo on former Coventry and Peterborough riders, there was something of a delay.

Barker’s move to the Devils was eventually ratified the following month and, on 23 January, Birmingham named the spectacular British racer in their Elite League squad. As such, he joined Polish ace Krzysztof Kasprzak in making the switch across from Brandon to Perry Barr, where he was to share a team spot with René Bach in a ‘doubling-up’ role.


He was to comfortably head the overall Premier League averages on a figure in excess of 10 points per match as Plymouth went into the second half of the season. Barker also established a remarkable run of 31 consecutive race wins at the St Boniface Arena, before conceding a 5-1 to the Berwick duo of Seb Alden and Ludvig Lindgren in heat one of a league encounter on 6 August.

On 4 October, Plymouth announced that their No. 1 rider was to miss the remainder of the season because of a leg injury. Barker required surgery on the leg he broke in 2009, having unfortunately further aggravated the injury in a crash in the Czech Republic.

However, the rider had an operation on his injured leg on 7 October and intended to practice at Stoke five days later to test his fitness. Prior to that, Birmingham announced that he would be their representative in the Elite League Riders’ Championship, with the Cornishman – who was due to have surgery to remove metalwork from his leg at the end of the campaign – refusing to give up, having reportedly been shocked to read that he was out for the season.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Barker has signed on as a reserve for two Grand Prix, at Cardiff, Wales, both the 2010 and 2011 FIM British Speedway Grand Prix, but did not get a ride in either meeting and is still waiting to make his SGP debut.

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 1
Events: 2 – 15th on Great Britain’s list; 106th on SWC all-time list
Points: 13 – 13th on Great Britain’s list; 91st on SWC all-time list
Finals: 0
Gold medals: 0