IPSWICH’S father and son rider and promotional duo John and Chris Louis are the latest inductees to the British Speedway Hall of Fame.
The two have dedicated much of their lives to the sport and have followed remarkably similar career paths in terms of on-track achievements and then taking charge of the Foxhall club.
Both John and Chris enjoyed highly distinguished racing careers, the bulk of which was spent with the Witches for both men.
Despite being a relatively late starter – his first season with the Suffolk side came in 1970 at the age of 28 – John enjoyed a very successful 15-year stint in the sport.
He spent the majority of the ‘70s at the top of the Witches’ averages and was crowned British Champion in 1975 and league riders’ champion in 1979.
Internationally he qualified for four World Finals, finishing on the rostrum in third place at Wembley in 1975, and he was part of victorious England teams in the World Team Cup on three occasions.
John ended his career with stints with Halifax and King’s Lynn, and then took over day-to-day operations back at Ipswich in the late-80s as Chris launched his own racing career. John remained as a promoter all the way through until 2019.
Having made his debut in the second tier with Hackney, Chris became a full member of the Ipswich team in 1989 and spent the remainder of his career with the club, captaining them to a clean sweep of major honours in 1998 with a team regarded as one of the best in the history of British Speedway.
Individually he became World Under-21 Champion in 1990 and won the British title in 1998 and 2000. He rode in two World Finals, finishing third at Pocking in 1993, and was then a regular competitor in the Grand Prix in the initial years of the series, with a best finish of fifth in 1998.
He raced on until 2008, overcoming serious injury to extend his career, and then moved into promoting, where he now runs Ipswich Speedway alongside Ritchie Hawkins.
British Speedway is delighted to induct John and Chris into the Hall of Fame, which recognises outstanding contribution to the sport.
They join previous inductees Len Silver and the late Colin Pratt, both former riders and promoters, and much-missed broadcaster and writer Nigel Pearson who passed away nearly two years ago.
The presentation was made to Chris by Premiership CEO Phil Morris at BSP headquarters earlier this week.
words and image by British Speedway
