Shawn Moran (born 19 November 1961 in Lakewood, USA) is a retired former professional speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers who also represented USA.Moran first rode in British speedway for Hull Vikings in 1979 under the alias 'David East', before riding under his real identity in 1980. He joined Sheffield from Hull in 1980 for £8,000 and established himself as a fans' favourite who topped the clubs averages every year he was with them. He was a spectacular crowd-pleaser and was a popular rider everywhere he went. In 1986 Shawn was joined by his elder brother Kelly at the Sheffield Tigers. Shawn amassed a total of 3257 points for the Tigers at a great average of 9.36. He represented his country on several occasions and it was his partnership with Kelly that helped USA to the 1982 and 1990 World Cups, in addition to Shawn winning the USA National Championship, the Long Track World Championship and also the World U21 Championship with a 15 point maximum. Although regarded as a world-class rider, the World Championship eluded Shawn. Moran was first nicknamed 'Shooey' by Bobby Schwartz and it stuck throughout his career.He rode in three World Championships in 1984, 1985 and 1990. Arguably 1985 was his best season as he won both the Overseas and Inter-continental Finals on his way to the World Final at Bradford. He finished in fifth place with 10-points. In 1990 he lost a run-off to Sweden's Per Jonsson. Moran was later stripped of the silver medal after it was revealed that he had failed a random drug and alcohol test at the 1990 Overseas Final. It was reported that the drug was a pain killer prescribed by a Swedish doctor but despite this the FIM stuck to their ruling and did not upgrade the standings so the official records show no second place rider.Moran, though, remains America's only World Longtrack Champion. He won the crown in 1983 while still recovering from a broken leg.In 1984 Moran released a cover version of the 1975 Chris Spedding single, "Motor Bikin'".
$300,000
