Dakota Max North (born 4 August 1991) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider.
Career North, named by his father – former Stoke Potters rider Rod North – after the Douglas Dakota aircraft, was born in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia in 1991."2011 Rider Index", speedwaygb.co, retrieved 2011-11-15"Diamonds sign Australian teen Dakota North", Chronicle Live, 18 December 2009, retrieved 2011-11-15Heppell, Lawrence (2009) "Dakota jets in to join Diamonds", Newcastle Journal, 18 December 2009, retrieved 2011-11-15 He took up speedway at the age of twelve and won the Australian Under-16 Championship and the Australian Junior Pairs title (with Justin Sedgmen) in 2007.
After a few appearances in Britain in 2007, North signed with Mildenhall Fen Tigers in 2009, but his season was cut short after chipping two vertebrae in a crash while representing Australia at Under-21 level in July against Great Britain. In December 2009, he was signed by Elite League Peterborough Panthers as a club asset and was loaned to Premier League team Newcastle Diamonds for the 2010 season."SPEEDWAY: Aussie aces reject a Fen Tigers return", Newmarket Journal, 24 December 2009, retrieved 2011-11-15
North signed for Somerset Rebels for the 2011 season, also doubling-up in the Elite League with the Panthers. In 2012, North joined the Ipswich Witches in a loan deal. In April 2012, he was added to the King's Lynn Stars team in the Elite League, replacing Filip Šitera, but was replaced at the end of the month by Mateusz Szczepaniak."Stars to Get Stronger", speedway365.com, 7 April 2012, retrieved 2012-04-07"Stars Bolster Their Team", speedway365.com, 27 April 2012, retrieved 2012-04-27 The following month, he signed for Birmingham Brummies, sharing a doubling-up position with Josh Auty."Brummies Bring in North", speedway365.com, 9 May 2012, retrieved 2012-05-09 In 2013, he signed to ride in the Elite League for Peterborough Panthers. In July 2013 North joined the Glasgow Tigers until the end of the 2013 season, whilst also continuing his duties with the Panthers
World Final appearances Individual Under-21 World Championship 2012 – 15th – 21pts
Under-21 World Cup 2012 – Gniezno, Stadion Startu Gniezno – 2nd – 44pts (8)
References