MAJOR HONOURS: USA Under-21 Champion: 2007, 2008; AMA American Champion: 2009; California State Champion: 2009.
CLUB HONOUR: Elite Shield winner: 2011 [Wolverhampton].
ADDITIONAL INFO: Did enough in one season with Wolverhampton to convince the management to hand him a place as a double-up rider in 2012.
He turned down approaches from several Premier League clubs to join Sheffield as he wanted to race on a bigger home track after spending part of 2011 with Plymouth.
Found the going tough at times for the Parrys International Wolves, but showed glimpses of his true ability and helped Poole to the Elite League title with good performances as a guest rider for the Dorset club in both legs of the Grand Final against Eastbourne.
Previously nicknamed ‘The Kiwi Kid’, Wells – who races on an American licence – had the start of his British career delayed slightly with Coventry in 2009, whilst his official paperwork was ironed out. He was temporarily replaced by Filip Šitera, before being able to line-up for the Bees in April.
The Warwickshire outfit had been taking a keen interest in Wells’ progress for over a year, and members of their management team had attended his meetings on previous trips to Europe, including his run to the semi-finals of the World Under-21 Championship in 2008.
Having agreed to join the Brandon-based club, it initially looked likely that the Auckland-born rider would be loaned out to a Premier League outfit in order to gain more experience but, with the regulations ruling that out, he made the big step directly into the top-flight.
The youngster experienced the highs and lows of the sport in a three-day spell as the season unfolded, winning the American Championship on 19 September. But, on 21 September, he crashed heavily in heat eleven of the Play-Off semi-final between Coventry and Swindon at Brandon Stadium, sustaining bad bruising to his lower back, although thankfully no broken bones. That necessitated a spell on the sidelines for the rider.
Wells’ success in the 41st United States National Championship at the famous Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa, California, made him the youngest-ever winner of the title at 18 years and 54 days old. He was also the first foreign-born rider to claim the Championship.
In November, it was revealed that the Californian would race for Premier League Stoke in 2010 – in a loan deal from Coventry – having had a tough debut British season in the highest sphere. And, in December, the Bees announced that he would be ‘doubling-up’ in their reserve department, alongside Josh Auty.
However, the Bees were subsequently forced to review their options when they learnt that Wells wasn’t eligible for a place in their squad because riders without an established Premier League average are not permitted to ‘double-up’ or take the No. 8 stand-by position at EL level. The Warwickshire club eventually opted to sign Richard Sweetman for the role.
Wells recorded his best score in British speedway with a haul of paid 17 (14+3 points) from seven rides in Stoke’s home league match against Glasgow on 19 June. And he went on to be the Potters’ only ever-present representative throughout their thirty-eight official meetings, from which he yielded 248 points and an average of 5.98.
On 30 January 2011, Wolverhampton announced the signing of Wells ahead of their Elite League campaign. This represented something of a dream move for the rider, who returned to the top-flight at Monmore Green; a track that he rated as his favourite.
He was to average a shade over 4.5 points per match for the Wolves and, on 15 July, the West Midlanders revealed that the Auckland-born rider would be heading South-West the following week to link with Plymouth. He was also to remain in the Wolverhampton squad in a ‘doubling-up’ role with Tero Aarnio.
WELLS, Rick (Ricky)
