Terry

Definitely not Gary Rolls. Possibly Tim Hunter.

1989, Ipswich 1 Chris Louis, 2 Peter Chapman, 3 Mark Loram, 4 Alan Mogridge, 5 Dean Standing, 6 Robbie Fuller, 7 Kevin Teager. Hackney 1 Andy Galvin, 2 Barry Thomas, 3 Steve Schofield, 4 Paul Whittaker, 5 Gary Tagg, 6 Warren Mowat, 7 Michael Warren. 1990, Ipswich 1 Chris Louis, 2 R/R David Norris, 3 Dean Standing, 4 Alan Mogridge, 5 Shane Parker, 6 Robbie Fuller, 7 Craig Hyde, 8 Darren Fitch D/N/R. Hackney 1 Andy Galvin, 2 Gary Tagg, 3 Steve Schofield, 4 Paul Whittaker, 5 Tim Korneliussen, 6 Michael Warren, 7 Ian Humphreys.

After doing the double in '88 it was obvious Hackney were going to lose a couple of riders to our new 'sister track.' It was no surprise to see Loram and Louis go but we were gutted to lose Moggo, because as you say he was entertainment personified! Remember the fantastic match between the clubs at Foxhall in 1990 when you beat us by a point? What a final heat with Whittaker, Moggo, Louis and Galvin!

The long hot summer of 1976 for me. The Hawks getting their highest league placing since 68. Dave Morton reaching world class standard, Zenon Plech's first season in Britain and Keith White looking like a future star in his debut year..and of course PC doing the business in Katowice.

Enjoyed that, seems like a professionally run club and good luck to them. I might pay a visit whenever the sport starts again. A long way from Kentish Town though!

Watching all the countless 5-1's Ward and Holder got at Poole, Darcy always seemed to be controlling the race and creating the space for his partner. He had a great racing brain..Such a loss for the sport when he suffered his injury.

Still a baffling decision imo. Surely a re-run (minus Chlinovski) would've been the correct option.

Fair enough. I was thinking more Wembley in the 70's.

As many as he wanted I guess. Just like the Swedes and the Poles gave their riders plenty of track time when they were staging the final. It was only England that wouldn't give their riders extra practice. God forbid our riders getting any kind of advantage!

The Russian Chlinovski was excluded, but instead of awarding the race to Plech, the referee inexplicably gave the win to Collins, meaning that Plech missed out on joining Mauger and Szczakiel in the run-off for the championship.

I did Wembley 72, 75, 78, 81, Bradford 85, 90, Ullevi 84, Munich 89 (worst final ever) and Vojens 88..Went mad that year and also took in the ice final in Eindhoven. I remember cheering on Erik Stenlund to beat the Russkies. Bruce Cribb was there as I recall.

I've nothing but admiration for what Tai has achieved in speedway, but his book is terrible. I've read loads of speedway books down the years and the Simon Wigg book is my favourite, and the only one that has moved me to tears.

It took me a few photos before I recognised Egon Muller!

I love this song sung by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, but I'm afraid Freddie needn't have bothered..And get a decent haircut!

I think it's great that Crump is back. Ok, he and Nicki may not be the riders they were but these guys have an aura about them which no other rider here - with the possible exception of Doyle - has. Their signings will surely improve crowd levels at Ipswich and Sheffield, and hopefully at away tracks when they visit..I'll certainly be paying a visit to both tracks this year for the first time in yonks.

Sounds like what Len Silver did with Zenon Plech. Going back to Norden I recall Bruce wearing a Kenny Carter rosette!

I remember the TV footage of Carter and Sanders muttering to each other about how Muller can be so good. It was like they'd never heard of him before!

Happy retirement to a speedway legend.

I was never a fan of the Americans, other than Kelly and Shawn who you couldn't help liking, even though Kelly referred to Hackney as 'the armpit of the speedway world.' To be fair to him though, the Yanks didn't have much luck at Waterden Rd. There is no denying though that Bruce Penhall had it all..Quick starter, fast machinery, brilliant from the back and charisma in abundance. Obviously he blotted his copy book at the Overseas Final, but I reckon that would have been forgotten in time if he'd carried on riding into his thirties. Penhall is the only rider who could have stopped the Gundersen/Nielsen steamroller imo.

I only saw Danny Ayres ride once, at last years British Final, and for me, his race with Bomber was the highlight of the evening. Even though he must've been gutted to lose the race he still gave a great interview after, full of passion and great humour, and I remember thinking what a breath of fresh air this guy is, in a sport sadly lacking real entertainers these days. Such a shame to go so young RIP

I remember Roman having a punch up with Sean Wilson at Sheffield one night. A real character. RIP

I remember seeing Dennis Sigalos having his first rides in Britain in a second half at Plough Lane, at the end of 78 or beginning of 79. Like most of the American newcomers of that time, you could tell he was going to be good.

That used to be called the consolation final, wasn't it?

Exactly. It's like when they had those eliminator races, which were fine for an end-of-season individual meeting such as the Champions Chase we had at Hackney in the 70's, but not for a world championship when we had riders settling for a 'safe second' just to progress through to the next round..Dear old Andy Smith was on his way home by the end of heat 5. His mechanic used to keep the van engine running!

They finally get the scoring system right after years of tinkering and then go and balls it up again.