BRITISH CAREER
(2002) Buxton; (2003) Buxton, Belle Vue (British League Cup only); (2004) Workington, Buxton; (2005-07) Workington, Belle Vue.

James Wright was born in Stockport, Cheshire on 3 June 1986.

The youngster certainly has a speedway pedigree, as he is the grandson of former speedster Jim Yacoby. And his younger sibling, Charles, is also a rider too, having followed his brother through the ranks, initially at Conference League level.

As a teenager, some of James’ first tentative steps on the speedway ladder occurred at a training school run by Malcolm Holloway at Swindon.

Having made excellent progress, Wright broke into the Buxton side in 2002, appearing in seventeen league matches and scoring 120 points for an impressive first-season average of 6.31. He also played a part as the Peak District club claimed their first piece of major silverware, helping them to defeat Rye House in the final of the Knock-Out Cup.

He made further strides with the Hitmen in 2003, upping his average to 9.59 from a full quota of twenty-four league matches, having recorded 319 points. His season’s work included 4 maximums (2 full and 2 paid) and a mammoth 19-point tally at Newcastle on 25 August.

Wright also appeared for Belle Vue in the British League Cup competition, representing the Manchester side in seven matches and yielding 12 points for a 2.46 average.

A move into the Premier League with Workington followed for James in 2004, while he also continued to hone his skills at Buxton. For the Comets, he enjoyed a productive term, netting 139 points from twenty-seven league matches for a 5.86 average, as his side finished second to Hull in the final reckoning.

Meanwhile, at Conference level, he put together a superb sequence of form for the Hitmen to score 301 points from twenty matches for league average of 10.88. Along the way, he registered 9 full maximums, including returns of 21 points in away matches at both Wimbledon and Oxford.

On the individual front, Wright produced a blockbuster performance to lift the Conference League Riders’ Championship at Rye House on 28 August. On the night, he was a cut above the rest of the field, producing several sublime back straight passes on his way to a winning 14-point total.

Remaining with Workington in 2005, James also filled a ‘doubling up’ role with Belle Vue in British speedway’s top tier. For the Comets, he increased his league average to 7.64, courtesy of 200 points from twenty-two appearances. An obvious highlight was a tremendous six-ride paid maximum against King’s Lynn at Derwent Park on 25 June, when he totalled 17+1 points. He also helped the Comets to reach the Premier Trophy final, but there was heartache when they lost 107-76 on aggregate to Rye House.

For the Aces in the Elite League, he appeared in just three meetings, scoring 10 points for a 5.50 average.    

Wright was to continue representing both Workington and Belle Vue in 2006 and 2007. The former year saw him plunder 244 points for the Comets from twenty-four matches to average 8.61. There was silverware for the Cumbria side in the shape of the Four-Team Championship, which was staged at their own Derwent Park racing strip on 7 October. The Stockport-born racer notched 5 points from two rides at the semi-final stage, before leading them to victory ahead of Somerset with 7 points from three outings in the final.

Meanwhile, with Belle Vue, he registered a 4.97 average, having scored 145 points from thirty-two league meetings.

The 2007 campaign saw James record 305 points from twenty-seven appearances to post an excellent 9.65 average for the Comets and he was also voted Rider of the Year by the Workington Supporters’ Club. There was further glory along the way when he caught the eye at Swindon on 30 September, romping to victory ahead of a class field in the Premier League Riders’ Championship.

Meanwhile, in the top-flight, he plugged away determinedly for the Aces, appearing in twenty-seven league matches and scoring 143 points to achieve an impressive 5.55 average.

Swindon announced his acquisition on 22 November 2007, with Robins’ boss Alun Rossiter commenting: ‘Club co-owner Gary Patchett has got to take the credit for this signing, as he put down a marker after James’ superb victory in the PLRC at our track in September. We have gone through all the correct channels and Tony Mole gave us permission to talk with the rider.

‘James has shown his ambition and will be moving up into the Elite League on a full-time basis with us, which I am absolutely delighted about. He has come through the ranks from the Conference to Premier League and is now taking the big step up. He has progressed very well in a few short years and I’m confident that he will continue to do so with the Robins.

‘James is a racer and has a very good attitude towards the sport. Naturally, he is bound to benefit from having Leigh Adams as his skipper and will undoubtedly learn a great deal from him. James’ knowledge of the smaller tracks will also be of great advantage to us in 2008.’  

The excellent news from a Swindon perspective is that Wright’s final green sheet average (excluding bonus points) with Belle Vue was 4.85 and with the further 2.5 per cent reduction permitted for British riders, it means that he will start the 2008 campaign on a 4.73 figure.

PROFILE BY ROBERT BAMFORD