34 Facts About Billy Sanders

William Robert Sanders was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and was a five time Speedway World Championship finalist with a career best second place in West Germany in 1983.

Billy Sanders was born in the Windsor Private Hospital in Sydney to Bill and Bonnie Sanders on 9 September 1955.

Billy Sanders attended Rooty Hill High School and with a group of friends joined the local country fire service.

Billy Sanders then went on to make his competition debut at the Liverpool Speedway in Sydney on 4 July 1971 in a winter meeting, quickly becoming a crowd favourite.

Billy Sanders competed at Sydney's other major speedway, the famous Sydney Showground Speedway against riders such as Australian and NSW Champion Jim Airey.

Billy Sanders first made Australian speedways fans take notice by finishing in third place in the 1973 Australian Championship held at the Sydney Showground when he was only 18 years old behind winner John Boulger from Adelaide and fellow Sydney rider John Langfield.

Billy Sanders again finished third in both 1976 and 1977 before winning the first of a then record six Australian Championships at Claremont Speedway in Perth.

Billy Sanders's run ended in 1984 when he finished second to local hero Crump at Olympic Park in Mildura, a track Sanders had previously admitted was the one Aussie track he never quite came to grips with.

Billy Sanders regained his Australian crown and won his sixth and last Australian Championship in 1985 at the Pioneer Park Speedway in Ayr in Queensland, where he would reverse the previous years result by defeating Crump, with Queensland's Stan Bear finishing third.

Billy Sanders had a virtual stranglehold on the NSW State Championship, and would win all of his record eight titles from 1977 until 1985, with the exception of 1983 when the title wasn't held.

Billy Sanders won the 1984 and 1985 Australian Masters titles at his home track at Liverpool.

Billy Sanders won the North Arm Classic at the North Arm Speedway in Adelaide.

Billy Sanders won the Australasian Championship in 1979 at the Rowley Park Speedway in Adelaide, and again in 1980 at the Ruapuna Speedway in Templeton, New Zealand.

Billy Sanders was British League Knockout Cup winner in both 1976 and 1978 and was the British League Pairs Champion in 1976 and 1977 paired with John Louis.

Billy Sanders won the Pride of the Midlands trophy in 1975 at the Monmore Green speedway in Wolverhampton.

Billy Sanders won a third and final League KO Cup title in 1984 with Ipswich.

Billy Sanders continued to ride for the Ipswich Witches until his death in April 1985 at the age of just 29.

Billy Sanders teamed with fellow Aussie Phil Crump to finish in fourth place in his first ever World Final appearance at the 1976 Speedway World Pairs Championship held in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Billy Sanders then represented Australia at the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup at London's White City Stadium.

Billy Sanders again teamed with Crump in the 1977 World Pairs Championship finishing in seventh and last place at Hyde Road in Manchester.

Billy Sanders had a disappointing World Pairs final at Hyde Road, finishing with just 2 points from his five rides.

Billy Sanders retired from his first race, again failed to finish his second, was excluded from his third, before scoring two third place and one last place finish in his final three rides.

Billy Sanders missed out on qualifying for the 1978 final at the Wembley Stadium after only finishing 8th in the Australasian Final in Auckland, but qualified for the 1979 World Final in Poland and finished in a strong fourth place.

Billy Sanders finished on 11 points along with England's emerging star Michael Lee, American Kelly Moran and defending champion Ole Olsen from Denmark, with the four riders racing in a run-off for third and fourth places.

Billy Sanders finished in third place in the 1980 Individual Speedway World Championship, again in Gothenburg, behind English pair Michael Lee and Dave Jessup.

In 1982 Billy Sanders again represented Australia in the World Pairs Championship, this time held at his home track of Liverpool in Sydney, the first time any official Speedway World Championship final had been held in Australia.

Billy Sanders finished in a best ever second place at the 1983 Individual World Championship held in Norden, West Germany, behind local favourite Egon Muller.

Muller was unbeaten in his five rides for a 15-point maximum while Billy Sanders was second with 12 points with two wins and three second-place finishes, 1980 champion Michael Lee finished third on 11 points with three wins, one second, and one last place finish.

Billy Sanders represented Australia again at the World Pairs Final held in Gothenburg, and again teamed with Guglielmi after Phil Crump had declined to ride in the meeting.

Billy Sanders was the form rider at the World Pairs Final, winning five of his six rides.

At the time, Billy Sanders held the 4 lap track record at Ullevi, which along with his 1983 form had seen him as one of the favourites for the title.

Billy Sanders's body was identified by Ipswich promoter John Berry, who had acted as Sanders' legal guardian when he had joined the Witches as a 16-year-old in 1972.

Billy Sanders's ashes were flown back to Australia where they are buried in Sydney.

The inaugural Billy Sanders Memorial was held on 20 February 1988 at the Sydney Showground Speedway.