BRITISH CAREER
(1999-00) King’s Lynn; (2002) King’s Lynn; (2003-05) Oxford; (2006-07) Reading.

Travis McGowan was born in Mildura, Victoria, Australia on 13 January 1981.

He first rode a speedway bike at the age of ten and showed such rapid development that he took victory in the Australian Under-16 Championship for 1993.

The teenager continued to progress, winning the first of three Australian Under-21 titles in 1998. That led to a call from King’s Lynn the following year and the fresh-faced youngster came into the then Knights’ line-up as a May replacement for Darren Groves, who had found the pace of Elite League racing too hot in a brief stint with the side.

McGowan’s debut occurred in a high-profile league match versus Peterborough at Saddlebow Road on 19 May. This was because it was only the second Elite League match to be screened live by Sky Sports, following closely on from the first at Coventry six days previously. The meeting was a dream for the television cameras, ending in a 45-45 draw following a nail-biting last-heat decider. Understandably, the new Aussie’s contribution to the match was just 1-point from three starts.

He went on to make eighteen league appearances for Norfolk side, scoring 81 points for a league average of 4.09. The highlights were tallies of 10+1 against Ipswich on 10 July and 9+3 points versus Coventry on 8 September, both matches taking place at home.

Travis took his second Aussie U-21 Championship in 2000, prior to lining-up for another term with the Knights. He remained ever-present over the course of the 32-match Elite League programme to record 162 points and a highly creditable 6.11 average.

The year saw King’s Lynn finish as runners-up to Eastbourne in the Elite League standings, but they went one better in the Knock-Out Cup, beating Coventry by 100 points to 80 on aggregate in the final. McGowan played his part in the success in a team that had a particularly strong Australian feel, also featuring Jason Crump, Leigh Adams and Craig Boyce.

Travis didn’t appear in the UK in 2001, a year that saw him take victory in the Victoria State Championship. However, after replicating this success in 2002 and also completing a hat-trick of victories in the Australian Under-21 Championship, he returned to these shores to once again race for King’s Lynn, then known as the Silver Machine Knights.

Regrettably, though, the Norfolk outfit finished stone last in the Elite League standings, propping up the other eight competing sides. McGowan contributed 127 points and a 5.33 average, having participated in twenty-four league fixtures. He was hampered by misfortune along the way, receiving a broken wrist, suffering from shingles and going down with suspected appendicitis at various times during the year.

After another victory in the Victoria State Championship, the Mildura-born rider followed his promoter Nigel Wagstaff to Oxford in 2003. He enjoyed better luck to complete a full quota of twenty-eight league matches for the Cowley-based team, from which he gleaned 146 points for a 5.73 average. The high spot occurred in the side’s penultimate fixture, when he notched a brilliant 16+2 return in a home match versus Wolverhampton on 3 September.

Travis registered a fourth Victoria State title in 2004, before returning for a second term with the Oxford Silver Machine. The side were to end the season trophy-less, although the Aussie again remained ever-present, appearing in all thirty-six Elite league fixtures for 254 points and an improved average of 6.74, as he occupied third spot in the team’s statistical run-down, behind Greg Hancock (9.94) and Sebastian Ulamek (6.88).

There were a number of double figure returns for the man from Mildura; the most impressive being an unbeaten six-ride paid maximum (17+1) against Coventry at Cowley on 4 June, when Oxford ran riot to triumph 71-21.

During our close season, McGowan amazingly triumphed for a fifth straight year in the Victoria State Championship, prior to again lining-up for Oxford for a third successive season in 2005. Although the Silver Machine side only just avoided the wooden spoon by just 1-point ahead of Arena-Essex and were dispatched from the Knock-Out Cup by Belle Vue at the quarter-final stage, a late-season flourish saw them take victory in the Craven Shield, defeating Eastbourne and Poole in a gripping final.

Naturally, McGowan played a significant role in the success, none more so than in the qualifying round at Swindon on 29 September, when he romped to 16+2 points from seven rides and headed Oxford’s scoring in a narrow 46-44 victory.

In the league, Travis remarkably again appeared in all of the club’s scheduled fixtures, making thirty-six appearances and scoring 249 points for a slightly reduced 6.46 average.

A close season change saw the Australian accompany skipper Greg Hancock to Reading, as, under a new promotion, the Berkshire side joined the Elite League for the first time. It was to be a memorable domestic campaign for the re-named Bulldogs and included a phenomenal nine away wins from their league schedule. McGowan accrued 284 points from thirty-eight of the side’s 40-match programme for a best-ever 7.08 average.

Reading’s excellent record saw them finish second in the final league table, but only on race-points difference to Peterborough, both sides having attained 64 points from their forty matches. Fittingly, both sides battled through to the Play-Off Grand Final, the Bulldogs getting there by virtue of defeating Swindon 51-43 at Smallmead Stadium on 25 September.

The first leg of the final took place seven days later at Smallmead on 2 October, when Reading were only able to claim a hard-fought 49-47 success, with Travis scoring 6+1 points. The Panthers clearly started the second leg at their East of England Showground as favourites, but the Bulldogs fought like tigers to lead 41-31 after heat twelve. Just when it looked as if they were heading for the League Championship, Hans N. Andersen took victory in a tactical ride and, with Richard Hall in third place, the resultant 7-2 reduced Reading’s advantage to 43-38.

Ryan Sullivan and Hall then combined for a 5-1, setting up an overwhelmingly tense last-heat decider as the Bulldogs clung desperately to a 44-43 lead. It wasn’t to be for the Berkshire side, however, as Sullivan and Andersen joined forces for a 5-1 over Greg Hancock, giving the Panthers the narrowest of aggregate successes by 95 points to 94. McGowan’s battling contribution on a night of heartbreak for Reading was 7+1 points.

Travis returned for a second term with the Bulldogs in 2007 and the club were hoping for a significant increase in their attendances after the success of 2006 hadn’t necessarily been matched by an increase of support on the terraces.

Reading again began their league campaign extremely well and showcased the same kind of form that had seen them become such a force the previous year. However, all was not well behind the scenes, as attendances fell way below the figure required to make the club profitable. In early June, things came to a head and the future of the club looked to be in jeopardy unless a new buyer could be found.

Preceding the emergence of the financial problems, McGowan suffered a shoulder injury whilst riding in Poland, the effects of which were to hamper the popular Aussie for the remainder of his season.

Thankfully, a buyer was quickly found for the Berkshire club in the shape of Swindon-based businessman Mark Legg and his accomplice, Reading Speedway legend Malcolm Holloway, who stepped in to save the club from extinction and immediately reinstated the club’s traditional Racers nickname. Furthermore, Tim Sugar, for so long regarded as one of the sport’s greatest team managers, was placed back in charge of the side, whose league title challenge had fallen away badly.

With the new promotion came a fresh wave of optimism and crowds began to return to Smallmead. Regrettably, though, the incoming management weren’t able to keep the services of Greg Hancock and it was Travis who took over the club captaincy.

The Racers finished their league campaign in eighth place, but did manage to reach the semi-final of the Knock-Out Cup competition, where they were eventually beaten by M4 rivals, Swindon. However, having lost heavily in the first leg at Blunsdon, the return match at Smallmead on 14 September was to abruptly spell the end of the season for McGowan, when he crashed heavily with Leigh Adams and Andrew Moore in heat eleven, suffering a broken shoulder blade. The meeting had to be abandoned and re-run later, when the Robins eased through to the final.

In a difficult season, Travis ended up with a 5.90 average, having recorded 155 points from twenty-four league matches. Since his premature end to the campaign, the recuperation period has gone well and the rider will be fighting fit for the start of the 2008 campaign, which he will begin on a green sheet average (excluding bonus points) of 5.34.

Swindon announced that they had concluded a deal with McGowan on 3 December 2007, when Robins’ team boss Alun Rossiter said: ‘I see Travis as a vital cog in our team plans for next season. He has the ability to vastly improve as a rider, particularly as he won’t be under the same kind of pressure he has often been under in recent years at Oxford and Reading.

‘At Swindon, he will be able to just concentrate on his own riding, rather than also having to look after his team-mates, which often became the case for him.

‘I’m sure Travis will increase his average significantly with us and I see him as a massive signing. We have held an interest in him for sometime; he has always been a popular visitor to Blunsdon and rides the track very well indeed.

‘He has also made a few guest appearances for us and always fitted in superbly. Travis is a typical Australian, with his determination to succeed and will to win. I’m absolutely delighted to have him on board.’

PROFILE BY ROBERT BAMFORD