Gerd Riss
NationalityGerman
Birth date17 March 1965 (age 61)
Birth placeBad Wurzach, West Germany
Career 1Germany
Career 2Krumbach
Years 21983–1984
Career 3Pocking
Years 31987
Career 4Landshut
Years 41988–1992
Career 5Diedenbergen
Years 51995–2004
Career 6Great Britain
Career 7Poole Pirates
Years 71984
Career 8Wolverhampton Wolves
Years 81985
Career 9Ipswich Witches
Years 91988
Career 10Poland
Career 11Bydgoszcz
Years 111999
Indivyear 11991, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009
Indivhonour 1Long Track World champion
Indivyear 21987, 1990
Indivhonour 2Continental champion
Indivyear 31986
Indivhonour 3West German champion
Indivyear 41992, 1994, 1996
Indivhonour 4German champion
Indivyear 51988
Indivhonour 5West German Longtrack champion
Indivyear 61991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009
Indivhonour 6German Longtrack champion
Teamyear 12007, 2008, 2009
Teamhonour 1Team Long Track World Championship
Teamyear 21998, 2001
Teamhonour 2German Championship

Gerd Riss (born 17 March 1965) is a German former speedway rider. He competed in motorcycle speedway and longtrack racing.[1] He is an eight-times World longtrack champion.[2] He also earned 22 international caps for the West German national speedway team and 12 international caps for the German national speedway team.[3]

Career

Riss reached his first world longtrack final in 1984, finishing a creditable sixth behind Erik Gundersen, at the Sandbahn Rennen Herxheim in Herxheim bei Landau/Pfalz, Germany.[4] He rode for MC Krumbach in 1983 and 1984 and started for the first time in the British leagues when he joined Poole Pirates for the 1984 British League season.[5] Riss joined Wolverhampton Wolves in 1985 but left mid-way through the season.[6]

Riss consistently reached the World longtrack final every year from 1984 until 1997 and in 1987 also appeared in the 1987 Individual Speedway World Championship final at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.[2]

Riss represented his country in four consecutive Speedway World Pairs Championship finals from 1988 until 1991[7] and was a member of German national team at the 2001 Speedway World Cup.

He cemented his place as being arguably the second best longtrack rider in the world behind Simon Wigg by winning the crown in 1991 and 1996. When the world championships of both the conventional oval and longtrack switched to a Grand Prix series, riders found it virtually impossible to compete in both. Riss decided to concentrate on longtrack and the decision paid dividends because he dominated longtrack speedway, winning six more world titles in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009, to set a record of eight championship wins. Only Robert Barth prevented him from claiming more during the period.

In 2014, He was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.[8]

Results

World final appearances

Individual World Championship/Grand Prix

World Pairs Championship

World Under-21 Championship

World Longtrack Championship

Best Grand-Prix results

Other results

West Germany Longtrack Championship

German Championship

Grasstrack European Championship

Family

Both of his sons Erik Riss and Mark Riss ride at the highest level.[9]

References

  1. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 528. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  2. ^ "Gerd Riss". Grasstrack GB. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022". British Speedway. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Speedway and Longtrack". Speedway.org. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  5. ^ "1984 season". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  6. ^ "battle of the Pairs". Sports Argus. 29 June 1985. Retrieved 24 August 2024. – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Best Pairs International Championship FIM". Historis Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  8. ^ "FIM Legends". fim-live.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  9. ^ "Rider index". Speedway GB. Retrieved 20 June 2021.