peterh7

It was a pity that Finn Reed and Jake Turner didn't ride. Finn was injured the previous weekend at the South Island Championship. Jake was in the pits helping George Congreve. They both would have been contenders.

Hi Puma23 The results were: 1. Frank Shuter 15 pts 2. Allan Brown 14 pts 3. Roger Wright 13 pts 4. Gary Peterson 12 pts 5. Tony Nesbitt 10 pts 6 Stephen Foster 9 pts 7 Bob Herdman 7 pts 8= Tom Black 6 pts Merv Hodgson 6 pts 10= Merv Salt 5 pts Gary Jemmett 5 pts Bobo Valentine 5 pts 13= Dave Rankin 4 pts Ron Hall

The first lap of the final was electric. Jason led from the gate and through the first bend. Grant wound it on down the back straight and drew alongside of Jason and may have even been ahead going into the third corner but he drifted wide or ran out of room and was unable to catch Jason after that. That's how it looked to me - if anyone was sitting near the third corner I'd be interested to know what happened there.

Yes he was a New Zealander, who began riding at the Aranui track in Christchurch around the same time as Ivan Mauger. While he was with Newcastle he recommended Mauger to Mike Parker and this led to Parker's offer to Mauger. After returning to New Zealand he wrote reports for the Speedway Star and contributed to two of Ivan Mauger's books.

Great to hear about Grant's win at Rosebank. Something to cheer up earthquake affected Christchurch fans.

Grant Tregoning won the South Island Championship at Moore Park on 5 February. In the final Grant led all the way but Andy Aldridge was close behind and there was only a bike length in at the finish. Fifteen year old Anthony Knowles finished third ahead of Jack Macrae and Adam Wilson. A highlight of the meeting was Daniel McKinlay's return to the track after a five year break. Although he didn't ride in the championship he looked in good form and probably would have made the final if he had been one of the competitors.

Max Amor was a kiwi. From New Plymouth. He passed away on 30.10.09 in California. Merv Salt began riding at the Templeton track in Christchurch, N.Z. in the mid 1960s and continued riding there until the early 1980s. He rode as a kiwi.

The NZ team would have scored more if Andy Aldridge had been in the team. Moore Park is Andy A's home track and he goes well there. He would have been more on the pace than Baugh.

There is a photo of them here: http://www.mauroferraccioli.com/img/foto/gio015.jpg

The Aranui track in Christchurch (N.Z.) closed down before he was old enough to ride and the new track at Templeton didn't open until 1963 so it's probably correct that he had never ridden in a speedway meeting. He had competed in some grass events though. As far as I know he only came back to ride in NZ once - at the end of the 1962 UK season.

Thanks, very interesting.

I'm looking for information about Giuseppe Marzotto, especially in 1976 when he was with Wolverhampton. Does anyone have memories of him?

Fifteen year old Anthony Knowles did well too . 4th place in his first NZ final.

Rider line up for Saturday's meeting: 1NZ Jason Bunyan Rosebank - Auckland 3NZ Larry Ross Moore Park - Christchurch 4 Cory Lang Moore Park - Christchurch 5i Grant Tregoning Oreti Park - Invercargill 6n Sean Cox Nelson 7c Dale Finch Moore Park - Christchurch 8c Craig Blackett Moore Park - Christchurch 9c Josh O’Docherty Moore Park - Christchurch 11n Adam Wilson Nelson 16i Daniel Shuttleworth Oreti Park - Invercargill 21i Neil McIntyre Oreti Park- Invercargill 21a Sean Mason Rosebank- Auckland 22a Ryan Bagshaw Rosebank - Auckland 23c Andy Aldridge Moore Park - Christchurch 24i Bradley Sharp Oreti Park - Invercargill 25i Pete Stenning Oreti Park - Invercargill 26i Paul Hayes Oreti Park - Invercargill 29i Jeremy Godfrey Oreti Park - Invercargill 55a Hayden Bagshaw Rosebank - Auckland 71i Jack MacRae Oreti Park - Invercargill 73c Anthony Knowles Moore Park - Christchurch 92i Ryan Moss Oreti Park - Invercargill 96i Alex Cunningham Oreti Park - Invercargill 99i James Miller Oreti Park - Invercargill And the local newspaper's preview is here

Yes I agree, Jack should go very well when he steps up to the 500. Anthony Knowles will also be good when he's eligible.

A bit unfair - there were several riders absent: Larry Ross, Alex Cunningham, John Ross, Sean Cox ...

South Island Solo Championship 23 January 2010 1st Grant Tregoning (3,3,3,3,3) 15 points 2nd Dale Finch (3,3,3,2,3) 14 points 3rd Andrew Aldridge (3,2,3,3,2) 13 points 4th John Tuffley (3,0,2,3,3) 11 points The local newspaper's report is here

Can anybody tell me how many World ice speedway finals Bruce rode in?

Frank Shuter also took up flying when he was living in California.

I've heard that Frank did some machining work for Larry Miner, the American drag racer in the early 1990s, and this led to him driving a celebrity bus for Miner in 1994. Frank and Barbara took the bus to drag racing meetings and they entertained VIPs at the meetings. They lived near Indianapolis that year.

Frigbo, could you give me Wayne's averages for the other years he rode? I have 7.83 for 1967 and 6.39 for 1969. And would anyone know his date of birth? thanks Peter

Sorry I haven't got information about Bob Hughes.

There is an article about him in the Speedway Star May 31, 1968. It says he rode in six matches in 1965 but had a thigh injury and wasn't able to ride again that season. I've read that he retired in 1972 because of shoulder problems. On the Taranaki History Speedway site it says he is now living in Malaga, Spain http://www.historicspeedway.co.nz/personalities.htm

I think he was living in Calilfornia at the time.

Just wondering if anyone remembers Frank Shuter? I am researching his riding career and I'm interested in any recollections of him. Does anyone know why he had a year off in 1971?