Mark Lemon first rode as a junior at Mildura in 1986, prior to moving up to senior level three years later in 1989.
His initial taste of the British scene occurred in September 1990, when he joined Poole, who were then operating from the National League. Although he made just five league appearances for the Pirates, it was clear that he had plenty of talent.
A change to the sport’s structure in 1991 saw the British and National Leagues replaced by Divisions One and Two, with Poole opting for the higher tier of racing. Lemon went on loan to Middlesbrough in the new Division Two and made twenty league appearances, which yielded 146 points and a 6.04 average. This was despite suffering a broken collarbone in a Gold Cup fixture at Sheffield on 12 May, which meant six weeks laid-up on the sidelines. With Middlesbrough having completed their fixtures, Mark furthered his experience by making another three late-season appearances for Poole in the top-flight.
Still identified with the Bears in 1992, he represented the side in just eight league matches, scoring 45 points for a 5.73 average, before he was surprisingly dropped to make way for American racer Doug Nicol.
Lemon eventually re-located to Long Eaton, but only appeared in the Invaders’ last four league matches of the season.
That was to be his final UK action for quite sometime until he linked with Oxford in 1996. During his time away, Swindon applied for a work permit to sign Mark in three successive years (1993-95), but they were refused the necessary paperwork on each occasion.
Another alteration to the running of the sport had occurred in 1995, when Divisions One and Two joined forces to form one large Premier League and this is where Oxford operated from in 1996.
Lemon final earned a work permit after finishing sixth in the Australian Final and he proved his worth with the Cheetahs to post a 7.04 average, having attained 209 points from twenty-six league appearances. This was a sensational return to these shores, made all the more remarkable because he suffered a broken arm whilst making a guest appearance for Coventry in a match against Long Eaton, which put him out of the saddle for a two-month spell.
Yet another change to the racing structure in 1997 saw the forming of the Elite League, while the Premier League was effectively downgraded to the level of the National League/Division Two. Thankfully, there have been no further alterations since.
Mark was recalled by his parent club, Poole, for a taste of Elite League activity in 1997 and he remained ever-present over the 36-match programme to notch 238 points and a highly commendable 6.30 average.
Staying with Poole, he slightly upped his average in 1998, finishing with a 6.55 figure, having scored 225 points from twenty-seven league meetings. He missed few fixtures for the Pirates despite suffering a knee injury in a sickening spill at Coventry, bravely riding through the pain barrier on many occasions. And, near the season’s end, he romped to a brilliant paid maximum in a home match against Eastbourne, notching a 14+1 tally.
Far from fully fit, Lemon was a late starter in the 1999 season, when he initially sported Eastbourne’s colours. However, he struggled to find his best form and was replaced by Stefan Danno after five league appearances.
The Aussie was snapped up by Hull, but only rode in three league matches for the East Yorkshire outfit before his season was prematurely curtailed by a broken wrist.
Mark made another belated start to the 2000 campaign, when he was recalled by Oxford in mid-May, following a team re-shuffle at Cowley. A dislocated collarbone in his first meeting didn’t help, but he battled on in his own inimitable fashion to record 101 points from twenty-three matches for a 5.16 league average.
‘Lemo’ wasn’t seen in Britain in 2001, but he returned to again ride for Oxford in 2002, representing the Cheetahs in thirty-one league matches to register 187 points and a 5.57 average.
Mark dipped into the Premier League with Somerset in 2003, the first time he had ridden at that level since 1992. He enjoyed a great year with the Rebels, plundering 356 points from a full quota of thirty-four league matches to average 8.29.
He also appeared for Belle Vue in the Elite League, but rode in just one match for the famous Manchester side.
A move to Exeter followed in 2004, when Lemon hit 3 paid maximums on the way to increasing his league average to 8.66, having notched 132 points from fifteen meetings. His appearances were restricted due to missing two months of the season with knee ligament damage, which he received in a heat ten crash at the County Ground on 24 May, when Newcastle provided the opposition.
He also spent the year as Poole’s No. 8 rider, but raced in just two matches for his parent club.
Lemon stayed with Exeter in 2005, when the Falcons embarked on their final season of racing at the steel-fenced County Ground raceway under the promotion of Terry Russell. The Aussie managed to steer clear of the injury bug to remain ever-present throughout the 28-match Premier League programme, from which he gleaned 282.5 points and an 8.41 average.
Stoke beckoned in 2006 and, later in the season (on 1 August), he also linked with Reading for the first time as the club’s No. 8 rider. For the Potters, twenty-four league appearances yielded 264 points and a 9.14 average.
Meanwhile, for Reading, he rode impressively, recording several double-figure tallies on his way to a highly creditable 6.26 average, having attained 63 points from ten league matches. Indeed, he certainly played a part as the Berkshire boys made it to the Play-Off Final, before losing so dramatically by 1-point on aggregate to Peterborough in a nerve-jangling last heat decider at the East of England Showground on 9 October.
The Australian was the mainstay for the Racers in 2007, appearing in thirty-four Elite League matches for 176 points and a 5.11 average. This was despite being hampered by a nasal problem for much of the season, which required corrective surgery in September.
Having recovering quickly from that, Mark was to take over the club captaincy in the final weeks of the campaign, after compatriot Travis McGowan had broken his shoulder blade in a curtailed Knock-Out Cup semi-final tie versus Swindon at Smallmead on 14 September.
And Lemon concluded the season in style by charging to victory in the Denny Pyeatt Memorial Trophy on 22 October, when he defeated Krzysztof Stojanowski, Filip Sitera and Patrick Hougaard in the final.
On the individual front, Mark has twice taken victory in the Victoria State Championship in 1993 and 1996, whilst his best performance in the Australian Final occurred in 2000, when he finished as runner-up to Leigh Adams.
For the upcoming 2008 season, Lemo reverts back to his 2006 Premier League green sheet average (excluding bonus points) achieved with Stoke, which means he will start the campaign with an 8.77 figure.
Born: 12th February, 1973, Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia
