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 BOXALL, Steven (Steve) Shane
DATE OF BIRTH: 16 May 1987, Canterbury, Kent.
BRITISH CAREER: (2002-03) Rye House II; (2004-05) Rye House, Rye House II; (2006) Rye House; (2007) Rye House, Poole; (2008) Belle Vue; (2009) Newcastle, Belle Vue, Poole; (2010) Somerset, Swindon.
MAJOR HONOUR: Conference League Riders' Champion: 2005.
CLUB HONOURS: Four-Team Championship winner: 2003 [Rye House II]; League Championship winner: 2005, 2007 [both Rye House]; Premier Trophy winner: 2005 [Rye House].
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.88 (PL), 3.35 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Boxall started his speedway career with Rye House, being a product of their Conference League side. He was the winner of the prestigious CLRC in 2005, as well as being a part of the senior Rockets' line-up that won the Premier League and Premier Trophy that same year. After ‘doubling up' between the Conference and Premier Leagues with Rye House, the 2006 campaign saw him move full-time into the Rockets team and he was a member of the side that scooped the League Championship for a second time in 2007.
Having decided that the time was right for a move into the Elite League, he signed for Belle Vue in 2008 however, not long after joining the club, he sustained a dislocated shoulder during the Aces' Craven Shield match at Coventry on 28 March. This occurred in heat eight, when he took a nasty fall whilst dicing for the lead with home rider Olly Allen. After visiting a surgeon, the Belle Vue teamster was instructed that he required an operation, when a scan on his damaged shoulder revealed a tendon problem. As a result, he was to sit out the remainder of the season.
He returned to action with Newcastle at the beginning of the 2009 campaign, but lost his place in a ‘doubling-up' role at Belle Vue in May. This followed the Manchester club's signing of Morten Risager and their decision to opt for a straight 1-7 line-up. In June, Boxall also found himself surplus to requirements with the Diamonds following a disappointing run of form, which had culminated in him sustaining a broken hand in the lead-up to the club's 80th Anniversary meeting. The injury was the legacy of some high jinks with a punch-ball at one of the city's many nightspots and followed a Civic Reception hosted by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House on 15 May. He was replaced in the Diamonds' line-up by Rene Bach.
The Canterbury-born rider wasn't out of work for long, though, as he was snapped-up by Poole in July to replace the out-of-form Karol Baran. His tenacious efforts rapidly won over the Pirates' supporters, but a series of engine blow-ups led to the rider announcing his retirement from the sport. The decision was quickly reversed, however, after club skipper Bjarne Pedersen stepped forward with the loan of a bike. Boxall was further boosted by the news that a trackside collection would take place during Poole's home meeting versus Swindon on 12 August, with the monies added to by a donation from the Riders' Equipment Fund (REF) and the club's own ‘Pep Talk' fanzine.
No takers came in for Boxall's services after the cessation of the season but, on 3 January 2010, the rider put himself firmly in the shop window courtesy of a superb victory on borrowed machinery in the New Year Classic at Newport. Then, on 19 January, Somerset announced that they had secured his services to fill the team place left vacant following the tragic death of Emil Kramer in a road traffic accident in his native Sweden on 9 December. And, on 3 February, he was named as Swindon's No. 8 rider for the year.
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