E I Addio

Another piece of history gone.The sport has a lot to thank him for.

I haven’t been to a meeting since Lakeside closed . With each passing week I miss it less. I was my intention to go to occasional meetings but there are such a bunch of cowboys in charge I don’t feel motivated and have found plenty of other things to do. There must be thousands like me. Great memories of the sport, but it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the great days are gone and won’t be back.

Possibly because it is true.

I tend to agree with that. In my memory Barry Briggs is the greatest ever, but thinking back to an impressionable age I suppose his reputation went before him and he was probably a great rider in my imagination before I actually saw him ride, based on what I had read in Speedway Star. The reality is I probably only saw him race a handful of times, not enough to form an objective opinion, but I suppose Briggo to me represents that adolescent age when we have our hero’s and nobody else will ever come close to them.

Was he the one billed as “ The Man aWith A Month To Live “ because of his spectacular style ?

My view entirely. Jason was a bit of a hothead early on but as you say he really had it all in the finish . Personally I would put him among the all time greats

I don’t suppose you will get a much on that. Nobody is going to admit anything even if the rumours are true ( and we all know about the rumour mill in speedway) However the version I have read claims that levBreton caught Riggs back wheel which I suppose could have been contrived but a number of riders have been killed or injured clipping another riders back wheel , eg. Lee Richardson and Darcy Ward. Very difficult when one considers the media were generally less inclined to give all the details in those times.I suppose it could have been intentional but very unlikely. It is , though, the sort of crash that could start the rumour mill gossiping..

Still unable to contribute to grown up debate then ? Still unable to comply with forum rules not to amend another members post. Prat.

They had some quad bike racing at Lakeside a few years back. It was a very wet day but they didn’t seem to do a lot of track damage. However they have more bulbous and less nobly tyres and less powerful engines than speedway bikes, so the power is being transmitted to the track entirely differently. Quad bike racing like side cars are unbelievably boring on a speedway track.

Modern solos do enough damage, especially at the start. Side cars are carrying twice the weight.

I’ve never heard of sidecar racing ever being staged at Custom House, and certainly no fatalities. To the best of my knowledge there were four fatalities, all solo riders, two in the mid sixties and two in the early fifties. Three, I think fell and were hit by following riders, and of course Teo who hit the safety fence. Of course there were those who died in the Lokoren tragedy. That hit me very hard. I really thought Peter Bradshaw and especially Martin Piddock had big futures in the sport. Peter had a beautiful classy style that I loved watching. Martin was already a quality grasstracker when he came to Custom House and I really felt he was going to be a second Malcolm Simmons.

....and Olle Nygren, Christer Loftquist, and Tony Clarke in later years !

My thoughts entirely , but on the subject of Knutson, are you aware of the actual reason he retired so early norbold ? I’ve heard people speculate on it and based on ah interview in SS I formed the impression that he felt he had had a good run, reached the pinnacle of World Champion, and came through relatively unscathed apart from a broken arm, so he decided to quit while he was in front, but that’s just my impression and I’ve always wondered about the real reason .

I agree with that, but the more intriguing question is whether Mauger would have won six world titles if Knutson had carried on riding or indeed if Harrfeldt had not suffered his serious injuries. Both were closer to Maugers age than Briggs , Moore or Fundin who were all slightly past their best when Mauger was reaching his peak. Harrfeldt’s record certainly proved he had the talent to take a one off title but I can’t help feeling that Knutssons best was still to come.

Those two are precisely the reason, IMO , why the One Day Final had to evolve into the GP series in a changing world. If I you look at all the winners prior to Szczakiel , luck obviously played an small part in their wins but you could say that if they were not the absolute best in the world at that time they were pretty close to it. I don’t think you could genuinely say that about either Muller or Szczakiel, and I very much doubt whether either of them would have won if not on their home territory. From ‘73 onwards some riders were getting onto the podium who were, good riders on the day but not really worthy of top three in the world by any objective test. The GP system was fairer by the time it was introduced , but I can’t help feeling even that has now run its course.

The Lemon Drop Kid ! Never a great star but IMO a very underrated rider. One of the reasons for speedways golden era was not just that there were some outstanding riders at the top but there was also a strong second tier of riders to keep the top dogs on their toes. I stand to be corrected but I think PLJ never made a British Final let alone a World Final, or if he did he didn’t do very well, yet he was really a very good rider. That was the quality of the sport in this times. oh, where did it all go wrong ?

According to Classic Speedway , Spring 2012, Norman Hunters average from official BL and KO Cup matches in 1965 was 9.67.

Wasn’t there some row between Mauger and his promoter about that ? I think the promoter concerned was Mike Parker or Bill Bridgett, but whoever it was persuaded Mauger to stay with his PL club on the promise that the dispute would be sorted out within six weeks, which it wasn't, and Mauger’s ACU International licence got suspended as a result. I can’t remember where I read that, probably one of Maugers books.

I was speaking in terms of Hunter and Simmons as not being top stars at the time, but two that made tremendous progress in the course of the season. In Simmons case it was, as I said, precipitated by the need to keep his licence for grass track, but both were much better riders at the end of the season, considering Simons was only about 18 or 19 and it was only his second season, and Hunter was I think only in his third season. If I remember correctly without checking Simmons book, it was Malcolm that pushed Dugard out of the West Ham team when he switched leagues early season, and according to Simmons there was bad feeling between them as a result . I don’t know where Dugard went after that.

Maybe the years have telescoped in my mind. Perhaps ‘63 when Hedge was a on loan at Hackney, perhaps Hedge guesting, but definitely an article in SS using Hedge as an example of flaws in the handicap system.

Another reason was Trevor Hedge. He was proving a match winner for Wimbledon going off scratch at reserve. I remember an article in SS I think by Eric Linden analysing his performance as an indictment of the handicap system.

Malcolm Simmons started the ‘64 season in the PL for a very short period , possibly a matter of days but changed when he realised that by riding in a “ pirate “ league he would lose his ACU licence and not be able to ride grass track where he was earning a lot of money , far more than from speedway at the time. Not sure about Norm the Storm but I suspect it was a combination of not wanting to lose his ACU licence and ambition. He always knew he was good and wanted to make it to the where he more than likely would have ended up if not for that terrible hand injury at Prestatyn.

In fairness , I think at least Monk , Boocock and Hunter were on the way up and were hardly typical of the average PL rider. If there had been no combination of leagues they would likely have made the jump from PL to NL anyway, Similarly there were Malcolm Simmons Norman Hunter and Ray Wilson who were making tremendous progress in the course of the season. It was without doubt the start of a golden era for British Speedway.

I suppose Sid you have to factor in , not only WF appearances but how well they did. Personally I am so hopelessly biased towards Simmo and Ashby, as personal favourites I find it difficult to be objective, but that said, I think Simmo at his best is probably the overall best but he wasn’t always at his best. N.Boocock was undoubtedly the most consistent over a long period, so on that basis he comes in at 1 . Simmo at his best v- Booey at his best I think Simmo would get it from the gate. Booey was never a great gater, although he did improve as the years went on. I also think Norman Hunter had the talent to be up with them if he had not had that bad hand injury at Prestatyn.

Well ,all I would say is this : Japan is not on not on total lock down . It is a partial lockdown. The Japenese Oylympics have not been postponed for no reason at at all.. The Japanese PM has said there might yet be an explosion of Japanese cases. He didn’t say that for no reason. He said it because of received wisdom, which may or not not be correct. But,....big, big big BUT. The a lot of epidemiologists are looking at Japan. and Japan might , just MIGHT be on to something, albeit inadvertently be on to something . I put it no higher than that, Time will tell if they are . I am a cautious person. Lies damned lies and statistics and all that. Life’s experiences have taught me not to jump too quick.. That’s all.. Others may feel differently. I am very lucky living round here where people seem to behave sensibly. .