As a true motorcycle racing & speedway fan since I was a kid (in the 60's) both owning & racing motorcycles I have seen the greats in both sports (Hailwood,Sheene etc in Road Racing) & (Mauger,Olsen etc in Speedway).I'm from Manchester so my local track in the late 70's & 80's was of course Hyde Road,Belle Vue.
I used to love to see Collins,Morton every week on that magnificent track.
I remember seeing Kenny Carter for the first time & just being totally amazed at his riding ability.
Both me & my Dad used to ride over to the Shay,Halifax to see 'The cyclone kid from down the road' as the announcer called him.
Watching Kenny gave us so much pleasure.
When the terrible tradgedy happened in May 1986 I stopped going to speedway & did not go to the meetings again until 2004 to Kirkanshulme Lane, Belle Vue.
I recently bought & read the Kenny Carter book & think that it is a must read book for anyone who either saw him race or has heard about him.
I won't go into the rights & wrongs of Kenny's life despite the fact that I cannot comprehend how anybody can orphan both of their children in one foul swoop.
All I can say is that whether or not Kenny was the best rider in the world in his era NOBODY made you feel the way he did when you saw him ride,such was the excitement that he generated.His vunerability drew you to him.
There will never be another Kenny.
Such was the effect of reading about him after all these years that I drove over to Bradshaw (where Kenny & Pam lived) to see Grey Horse Farm where he lived & the terrible tragedy happened & stopped on the way back at Pam's & his grave at St John's Church.
Maybe it was my way of coming to terms with what happened in May 1986.
Apologies if I've gone on but such was the impact of reading the book having seen Kenny ride so many times.
Speedway goes on of course & I am a staunch supporter of Belle Vue despite our terrible current season.
I do of course always keep an eye out in the second half of the meeting when the juniors come out for a blast just to see if there is another little Kenny riding.
You can but hope!
PS. We should all keep shouting for Scott Nicholls & Chris 'Bomber' Harris as they are doing us proud & riding their hearts out in the GP's.
Cheers
