Simon Stead

Hot young British speedway talent Simon Stead returns to the Aces for hs third season in 2007.
 At just 24 years of age, Simon has already tasted sweet success during his early career.  Another protégé of Ian Thomas, who intriduced him to the Manchester club following a spell under his charge at Workington, the Sheffield born star has been described as a real star of the future.
 Stead followed his father Trevor and uncle Ian into the sport. Trevor rode for Middlesbrough in the mid-seventies while Ian rode for several northern clubs during the 1980's.
 Simon first rode at the Sheffield Training Track in 1996 when aged only 14 and a year later rode a full season in Conference League for Peterborough, averaging over nine points a match in the Conference league winning side of 1997.  He later went on to lift the Conference League Riders Championship Trophy the same year. 
 With just seven matches for Buxton in 1998, he then went on to concentrate on Premier League racing for the Panthers.  He averaged over five points a match and helped Peterborough to Premier League and Fours success.
 In 1999 he went back to his roots and signed for Yorkshire club Sheffield, where he also helped the Tigers to League and Fours titles. 
 In 2001, Stead was crowned the British Under-21 Championship at Wolverhampton for the first time, but it wouldn’t be his last. 
 A year later would turn out to be an injury plagued season for Simon.  In April, just a month into the season, Stead broke his knuckle.  He returned a few weeks later, only to break his foot during the World Championship Final in Lonigo, Italy, joining the likes of England football stars David Beckham and Wayne Rooney, who have also suffered the same famous broken metatarsal injury.  But he came back in July to help Sheffield win the League, KO Cup and Young Shield treble before the end of the season.  He also retained his British U-21 title at his home track at Owlerton, although not without controversy, when David Howe had to be restrained by marshals, after his appeal for Stead’s exclusion was dismissed. 
 Simon quickly developed into one of the Premier Leagues top riders during his time at Sheffield, where he remained until the end of 2002, before moving to Workington in a record Premier League transfer fee.
 During the 2003 campaign for the Comets, he teamed up with former Aces star Carl Stonehewer to lift the Premier League Pairs title.  He became the British Junior Champion for the third time and he also made his Grand Prix debut at Cardiff and was handed a last minutes place in the Danish Grand Prix.
 He quickly became a favourite with Wolves fans during this season too, after 'doubling up' mid way through the campaign for the Elite League outfit.  He averaged over seven points a match in his nine league and cup appearances for Wolves, before seeing his season end prematurely with a broken arm.
 He returned to Derwent Park in 2004 to spearhead Workington’s title challenge, as well as doubling up with Wolverhampton, where he continued to average over nine points a meeting in the top flight.  However, Simon was unfortunate enough to break his heel in the opening meeting, seeing him out for the first two months of the season.
 Stead returned to the Sheffield track in September 2004, to compete for the Premier League Riders Championship.  But the title was snatched away from him by Andre Compton, after Stead was involved in a horrific fall in the last lap, which left him with a broken finger, dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle. 
 Simonfollowed his boss Ian Thomas to Belle Vue in 2005, launching his full time Elite League career with the Aces. Despite being apprehensive about his move to the Manchester track, he flourished in his first full season in the top flight and was called up as a reserve rider in the British Grand Prix in Cardiff within a couple of months. Following that, Simon achieved World Cup status, after accepting an invitation to join the Great Britain team, for whom he helped get to the finals and collect a silver medal.
On a club front, he had his ups and downs as he became accustomed to the Kirky Lane track. His performances perhaps reflected his team position, moving from the main team, to a reserve position and then back in at number two. He occasionally suffered from engine problems, but at his best he scored eighteen paid nineteen after seven rides during a trip to Wolverhampton.
He added a few more trophies to his cabinet too during the 2005 season.  Stead triumphed at Carl Stonehewer's Testimonial meeting at former track Workington after beating Grand Prix star Leigh Adams in a run off.  He also went on to win the Cumbrian Classic meeting at Workington ahead of team mates James Wright and Rusty Harrison and he came first in the Northern Riders Classic meeting at Sheffield. 
 Simon described winning a Knock Out Cup medal with the Aces two years ago as one of the 'highlights of his career,' following his disappointment at missing out on the league title with Belle Vue in his debut year.
 Following his promising first season in the Elite League, his inclusion into the 2006 Aces team was decisive and Ian Thomas secured his signature once again.  Before returning to the Aces though, Simon competed in the Australian Championship line up and landed his first contracts in Sweden and Poland's Elite League with Masarna and Torun respectively.
It was another successful year for Simon, who was continuing to ride on the steep learning curve in order to progress his career. His impressive start to the season earned him a place in the Great Britain team for the World Cup in the summer. He once again helped his national team through to the final but was dropped for the last stage. Great Britain went on to finish third behind Denmark and Sweden.
His development during this year was clear and he celebrated his first fifteen point maximum for Belle Vue in April against Wolverhampton. But his consistent high scores eventually saw him top the British rider averages and he was handed the prestigious number one race jacket for the Aces, which he described as 'an honour.'
Simon fulfilled his ambition of riding in the British Grand Prix after being handed the Wild Card entry, beating off competition from Mark Loram and Chris Harris. His aim was to impress and prove that he was a worthy candidate. He certainly showed determination and performed well in his rides and his final two point result perhaps doesn't do him justice. He would be the subject of further disappointment when he didn't qualify for the 2007 Grand Prix series, despite making the Qualifying Final in Sweden.
Simon was able to celebrate some silverware in 2006 though, after being crowned the Elite League Best Pairs Champion alongside his team mate and mentor Jason Crump, whilst finishing runner-up to Scott Nicholls in the British Final at Belle Vue.  
2007 will undoubtedly be another promising season for Simon, who is going from strength to strength and now has the opportunity to emerge from Jason Crump's shadow at Belle Vue. He has already started the year with a successful warm up in Australia, where he finished fifth in the Australian Championships after five rounds. His goals will remain the same - to enjoy a successful year with the Aces, to continue to impress on the continent with Sweden and Poland, to become British Champion, to be included in the Great Britain World Cup squad and to feature in the British round of the Grand Prix. But his life long ambition is to earn a full time place in the GP series - and it's certainly not unattainable for this young man.