martinmauger

I remember in 2000 when Mark Loram was on the progamme and his question ws 'guess the (speedway) team' - and they showed a Hull Vikings bib! Mark got the question right.....

That coulda bin it seem to remember the rider was called Ray something, though it was a long time ago....

There was a GP shown live from Germany (I think, could've been Poland) a few years ago which was held up for something like 30 mins for fence repairs after a big smash, no air fence back then. It needed 2 wooden board panels which once located, approx 30 mins of live TV showing mostly nothing remember, they were attached within a couple of minutes....

Frank Auffret, Bobby Beaton & Graham Drury were no shows at Wimbledon and Joe Owen didn't make it to Swindon that year....

Thanks for reminding me(!). Have to say Hull really 'lost' the league championship over the course of the season when 3 riders did a no show at Wimbledon and the remaing 4 + guest Graeme Stapleton (who also guested for us on 'that nite' at Brandon, for injured heat leader Kelly Moran) went down by 36-41, drawing 39-all at Swindon when another rider never turned up and a result at Poole going from a 40-38 win to another draw when Mauger was excluded having cracked his silencer coming off the track when the last had ended. It could therefore be argued the team didn't really deserve to win in any case. I was there 'that nite' memories include Vikings flags on sale in the car park (I still have mine) the then usual Coventry gating championships, huge crowd packed like sardines on the terraces - you couldn't fit another person in with a shoe horn, and Coventry fans sharing champagne with us after the meet. Coevntry then had a match v Leicester but by then Hull fans had understandably lost interest by that point. Heck of a nite though. Indeed 1979 could've an absolutely awesome year for Hull both directly and indirectly. The Vikings won the 4-team finals at Sheffield, New Zealand won the World Team Cup (beating Olsen's Denmark), Ivan won his 6th World Championship in Poland, we could've (should've?!) won the league and the season ended in late October when Bruce Penhall's Cradley Heath (featuring future Craven Park era Viking Alan Grahame) beat us in the final of the Knock Out Cup but I think even Mauger had had enough by then. But there was one more disappointment for Hull fans when the riders didn't come out after the final home meeting to say 'goodbye and (hope to) see you all next year'. Could've been one heck of a year. Oh well....

I remember a German called Walter Grubmuller, may have ridden for Exeter and mostly specialised in grass/long track like most of his countrymen? Well I watched F3 car racing on C5 the other night and there was a young driver with the same name....

Olsen was certainly one heck of a rider and regularly made mincemeat of the Hull team at the Boulevard, where he was definately an attraction, until we signed Mauger. Ivan did great for us but I always wondered what would have happened if Ole had joined Hull in 1976 (as initially insisted by good ol' Rider Control) and how the Hull Vikings would have faired....

There's a guy who lives just around the corner from Wimbledon who rides in the Scunny Am Meets from time to time....

Always narks me when they say "the track was slick/grippy in practice, I set my bike(s) up accordingly then (low and behold) it was the complete opposite for the meeting and so caught me out". Why not set up one bike totally different 'just in case', as Mauger reportedly did for the 1979 World Final, then you have either eventuality covered? With so many bikes usually available, gotta be worth a punt....

Very good read as always, will there be a Scottish Special Pt 2 covering Edinburgh and other Scottish tracks; Motherwell, Paisley, etc?...

Indeed....

Same here, s'pecially the stock car racing with Dennis Sigalos & Kelly Moran; wonder whose idea that was, LOL!...

Love that mag, a Part 2 would be cool....

Wouldn't swear to it, the Hull version wore plain dark blue leathers and won neary all his 2nd half races quiet easily and it was said he wasn't available for No.8 duties due to work commitments....

Also confirming what I thought, Siggy took, and holds for all time, the track record at the Boulevard; 68.6. His No.1 fan at Hull was "Mrs One N" so called because she had "Denis Sigalos" printed on a t-shirt - with just the one n. Her family ran a chippie just round the corner and a bit from the Boulevard in Hawthorne Avenue and had speedway photos all over the walls, especially pics of Siggy.....

Andy Buck was a 2nd halfer at Hull for most of 1995....

No probs just calling it as I see it, as is is everyone I imagine....

Same here, anyone know when the next issue is due?...

Siggy first came over to the UK in 1979 and won his first ever race for Hull, at the Boulevard. He also rode for the Vikings in 1980 starting to blossom into he rider we all remember before being sold to Ipswich (along with John Cook) as part of a part-exchange deal with Billy Sanders coming to Hull. Going slightly off thread, it was reported Billy was unhappy at Hull but I've read, and seen on video, interviews where he said riding for Hull "was much more enjoyable than he thought it would be" and he regularly exchanged a thumbs with team-mates after successful races....

Yay! Gotta include the Templeton brothers, George Hunter and Hurri-Ken Mckinlay; tricky....

Indeed, 60 years since they pinched our licence and half our team, LOL! Makes you wonder what might have been as the Hedon site is mostly untouched though all sign of the track has long gone, sigh. Anyway, Happy Birthday Robins....

Mauger, Moore & Briggs all rode for Great Britain until 1973 (I think) when the national team changed their name to England and decided to use English riders only. Dunno why those 3 never rode for New Zealand at the time though, don't believe NZ weren't recognised internationally until 1974 or so. As for Tai, whilst not particularly defending him, after Team GB never made the SWC Final he would effectively have been kicking his heels so probably decided to help some mates and gain experience watching how the likes of Adams and Crump preapre for a World Final thereby continuing his speedway education. Your team club/country team mates aren't necessarily your chosen pals and riders from other clubs can often be seen at meets all over the country helping out other riders. In other words, you might get on ok with your work mates and enjoy a swift pint with them after work but you may not hang with them as first choice....

A good idea for Backtrack to be available in a .pdf format and "hard copy" to give readers a choice. I'd always want the mag in hard copy form though as I find it easier and more pleasant to read than on a monitor and easier to refer back to than having to boot up a PC every time. Also speaking personally as my work involves computers I already spend more than enough time staring into monitors. Allthough it could easily be printed off if so desired, though at some cost, I would still want the actual magazine....

Gotta agree with the Pud, the support races are the SGP Final to those lads. Rules is rules of course but surely a bit of leeway - young lads riding in the Millenium Stadium in front of 40,000, just before their heroes ride, nerves jangling, always possible make the odd blob they wouldn't otherwise. To be able to say "I rode at Cardiff in (just before) the SGP" would set them up for the year and they'd be able to "dine out" on it for life. Hope it don't happen but no-one could blame them if they became disillusioned, packed speedway in and took up motocross or something similar....

Dunno whether it's been suggested before but how about the Beaton's; James, Bobby, Jim & Gary. They must all have an interesting tale or two....