John Dews (26 March 1945 – 7 August 1995) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1][2]
Born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, Dews started his speedway career as a trainee at Belle Vue Aces, had his longest team history with Sheffield Tigers, scoring over 1,300 points for the club. Speedway rules required a change of team due to his averages and he moved to Wimbledon Dons for two years,[3] before Oxford in 1973, as a replacement for Dave Hemus,[4] He won the Radio Oxford Best Pairs match at Oxford in May 1974,[4] partnering Richard Greer.
He was a member of the Midland Cup winning team in 1975, after drawn matches with Swindon Robins in the first round requiring reruns.[5] He then moved with the Rebels under promoters Danny Dunton and Robert Dugard to White City Stadium in 1976, where he ended his racing career as a popular rider.[6]
He rode 270 matches in his career, having 1033 rides, with a match average of 6.29. He went back to Sheffield to be the team manager in 1977 until 1980.
John Dews died in August 1995, aged only 50, after a short illness.