|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Born Lawrence Charlton Hare on the 23rd December 1969 in Elmslett, near Ipswich, it was inevitable that he first began racing for Ipswich back in 1991 having been introduced to the sport by Chris Louis and stayed with the Witches before switching to Rye House in 1993 where he picked up the Rider of the Year Trophy.
He was on the move again in 1994 when he joined the Edinburgh Monarchs and was an ever present team member during the 1994 ans 1995 seasons as well as making several appearances for his Parent club Ipswich. He was also ever present for Oxford whom he joined for the 1996 season and stayed with the Cheetahs despite opting to join the Premier League for the begining of the 1997 campaign.
The 1998 season however was to be something of a low in his career when Oxford moved up to the Elite league. He remained with the Oxford camp but found the going tough, and was eventually removed from the Cheetahs line up to join Premier League Newport on loan. However, things just got worse as he crashed in his first race for the Wasps that broke his ankle and his 1998 season was over.
Things started to pick up again when he returned to the Oxford camp and began to increase his average to 5.52, as well as securing a permanent slot in the Oxford line up. But in the winter, he returned to race at Newport in the New Year event, and gain he was involved in a bad spill and suffered back injuries that were to slow his progress for the start of the 2000 campaign. The Oxford team had effectively all been put up for sale, and Lawrence returned to his home track and signed for the Ipswich team. But the effect of his injuries together with the change of track saw his average dip significantly, and again his season was cut short when he was injured in a spill at Poole and suffered a broken wrist.
It was on his return for the 2001 season that Lawrence made the move to the County Ground and was to have arguably his best ever season with the Falcons. Instantly a hit with the fans, he emerged as a Heat Leader despite niggling problems with his injuries and took on the nickname of "Last lap Lol" following his often epic last lap dashes to win races. He was back with Exeter for the 2002 campaign and looked set for an even better season, when tragedy struck on April 14th at Newport, the track that had caused him injury problems before.
He had suffered a broken verterbrae in his neck, and the injury put paid to Lol's career as a speedway rider with him being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The speedway fraternity was devastated by the news and a huge campaign got under way to raise funds for one of the most admired men in the sport.