Great Britain international speedway rider Lee Richardson has died following a crash in Poland, aged 33.
The Lakeside Hammers captain, who has represented a number of English clubs, hit the safety fence while riding for his Polish side Rzeszow in Wroclaw.
He suffered a heavy blow to the chest and later died in hospital.
Hammers co-promoter Jon Cook said: "I am numb and just can't take this in. Lee's loss to his family is beyond imagination."
Hastings-born Richardson, a regular on the Grand Prix circuit between 2002 and 2006, was a former World Under-21 champion and is Britain's all-time World Cup points scorer, collecting 240 points across 10 championships.
His final appearance in the Elite League - Britain's top speedway division - was on Friday, when he contributed an impressive 10-point haul to a 59-37 win over his former club Peterborough.
The 1997 Elite League Riders champion also featured for Coventry, King's Lynn, Poole, Swindon and Eastbourne during a 17-year career.
Hammers owner Stuart Douglas added: "Lee's death is a truly shocking piece of news.
"Sometimes the dangers the riders face in this sport are sidelined in the competitive spirit, but this proves just how brave speedway riders are.
"Lee is a magnificent rider and our club, and the speedway family around the world, are left totally bereft by this tragedy."
Lakeside's scheduled meeting at Coventry on Monday has been postponed.
The British Speedway Promoters' Association said it was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the news.
A statement added: "The BSPA's thoughts are with Lee's family and
Speedway rider Lee Richardson dies in crash 5/13/2012
All Rights Reserved By The British Speedway Promoters' Association
Just Wanted to Show Respect to A Amazing Athlete Rest In Peace Lee Richardson
By: breccia77
In: World News, Sports
Tags: Poland, speedway, race, bike, crash, death, fatal, Richardson, lee,
Location: Poland (load item map)
Marked as: approved, featured
Views: 73614 | Comments: 245 | Votes: 4 | Favorites: 1 | Shared: 1274 | Updates: 0 | Times used in channels: 3
RIP
The crash didn´t even look that bad...
Posted May-14-2012 ByObamaCare_4_All (400.20) 
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@ObamaCare_4_All
Yeah neither did Dale Earnhardt's
Posted May-14-2012 ByBlklight (1890.66) 
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Dale could have been saved by the HANS device, he did not want to use.
Posted May-14-2012 ByObamaCare_4_All (400.20) 
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RIP there buddy... Better than rotting to death in an office cubicle like many of us.
Posted May-14-2012 Bydirtygranny (65.80) 
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@dirtygranny Agreed. Or dying over a period of months in a hospital bed at age 70 . . .
Posted May-14-2012 ByNorthlander (390.30) 
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guy probably crashed like that a hundred times and brushed it off...then there was this
RIP
Posted May-14-2012 ByFire37Rescue (12182.10) 
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motorcycle crashes have so much variance as to how you fall, what you hit a long the way and what you break inside the body. My guess here is that he broke his neck/spine. Sad, rip.
Posted May-14-2012 ByOgrlsH (196.76) 
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If the 'safety' fence had actually been just that it would have been made of energy absorbing materials which would have softened the impact and prevented the rider from expiring. Just a thought but carry on and ignore me because I'm obviously insane.
Posted May-14-2012 ByRatiocinator (242.94) 
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Remember when Earnhart hit the wall at Daytona and died ? It didn,t look like that crash would have killed anybody.
Posted May-14-2012 ByMacassa_420 (19.94) 
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@Macassa_420 Yeah I remember watching that. I was shocked that he ended up dying.
Posted May-14-2012 ByAustin Allen Newell (115.60) 
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@Macassa_420 link?
Posted May-14-2012 Byu_jelly_Bro (59.00) u_jelly_Bro View Channel Send Message
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@Macassa_420 When I posted it I remebered exactly the same thing: they survived dozens of horrible crashes and then died in an apparently harmless accident..
Posted May-14-2012 Bybreccia77 (2330.48) 
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@u_jelly_Bro http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1fc_1245516794
Posted May-14-2012 Bybreccia77 (2330.48) 
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That sucks....RIP.
.
Posted May-14-2012 Bycameltoegunner (458.50) 
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That's a fast track with no padding on the wall.
Speedway is a great sport to watch, the riders do it for the love of it. He'll be sadly missed.
Posted May-14-2012 Bypxc433 (8.80) 
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It does not look so bad from the perspective of the viewer but that must have been a heavy blow to the chest... RIP Lee.
Posted May-14-2012 By1lluminado (72.10) 
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I used to race Speedway here in Costa Mesa back in the early 70s. I quit because I kept getting hurt. Those bikes have no brakes and are like a fish out of water. Rest in Peace.
Posted May-14-2012 Byfotoman4u2 (3422.80) 
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@fotoman4u2 lol, my uncle raced in that same area at the same time. He crashed hard and half of his face is still paralyzed. Wild racing.
Posted May-14-2012 BySinglecoilsnap (615.60) 
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@Singlecoilsnap Looks like a huge track to! I used to live in Auburn, CA we had a flat track there, but much smaller. And yes, very wild racing, takes alot of balls. But i do like the smell of methanol.
Posted May-14-2012 Byjfm8561 (1697.02) 
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Live dangerously and pay the price. RIP.
Posted May-14-2012 Byvx1 (306.82) 
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RIP
Posted May-14-2012 BySourSugar (28.50) 
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RIP Lee.. Thx for all the races.
Posted May-14-2012 ByNocolus (185.66) 
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Punching out doing what you love.
Posted May-14-2012 ByFitzapalooza (21.90) 
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rip.
Posted May-14-2012 Byake (149.00) 
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