E I Addio

Does anybody know what sort of tyres they were using in the early days of broadsiding ? I would imagine that they must have been basically road tyres. I doubt if the sport was big enough to make it worthwhile for a manufacturer to produce special track tyres, and even if they did technology was probably no advance enough to make it financially viable. This very likely affected the way the bike handled and might well have had something to do with the riders style ( maybe one of a number of factors). Even as late as the sixties they were using trials tyres with the treads on one side cut at an angle to help with cornering. At a guess I would say specialist trials tyres only came available after WW2 when trials bikes themselves became more specialist and as far as I know purpose made Speedway tyres only became used in the UK and Australia when Ove Fundin started using Barums around the mid- sixties( even then I think they were bannned at first ) . This is something I’ve never thought about until this discussion and my thoughts are more or less guess work, but does anyone know any more about it ?

Yes that was a nasty article by a nasty man. I think the article was actually in the Sunday Mirror and the farce was that Leitch was trying to say that most of the public had never heard of Speedway, when it was the Sunday Mirror that sponsored the World Final and contained a regular Weekly column on Speedway by Don Clarke. The thrust of Sam Lietchs article was that Speedway was not a proper sport. Subsequently there was a strong reaction from Speedway fans and Briggo went to lunch with Leitch explaining what was involved in riding a Speedway bike , and Leith wrote another article more or less climbing down, no doubt in part because the editors were concerned at maintaining the readership of Speedway fans in a sport that was much more popular then than it is today

I suppose the question has to be asked WHY riders started to ride foot forward. Certainly in the ‘30’s most riders leg trailed so obviously that was the most effective style at the time . I have heard it said that foot forward enabled the rider to take the shortest route round the white line whereas leg trailing was better round the fence but I don’t really buy that one . My Guess is that it is connected to frames and engine development but I can’t think how. Anybody have any ideas on this ?

You might very well be right Norbold, especially as I think Jack Biggs had been dominant in the qualifying rounds and topped the list of qualifiers . However there is another version that I am sure I got from Classic Speedway . That version was that as Biggs started to get troubled by an old back injury and started to get an attack of nerves as he got closer to the possible tile. That could possibly explain why he came last in his last two rides, especially getting passed by Young and Waterman in the run off . However who of us really knows what was going on in Jack Biggs mind at the time ? It’s a funny old sport. Jack Young was only about 10th highest qualifier in the qualifying rounds, but had a good night, got second bite of the cherry in the run off grabbed his chance with both hands, and as a result got into the history books as a great rider and the first to win back to back World Finals whereas the history books view Biggs as something as an also ran . Time to recognise both as great riders. I was gutted when Jack Biggs lost his life in such a freak accident. A real solid servant of Speedway , as by all accounts a really nice guy behind the scenes, always with time for the fans, as was Jack Young.

A similar sort of story was told by Split Waterman about the 1951 World Final. After 4 rides each, Jack Biggs was unbeaten, with one race to go. Split Waterman was out against Biggs , and another rider in the race - I forget who - came up to Split and said “Has Jack asked you to keep out of his way ? “ Split said he hadn’t so they both went out and beat Biggs who came last, this finishing on 12 points which gave Split and Jack Young the chance of a run off against Biggs. The rest is history. In the run off Biggs made the gate but nerves got to him and he was passed first by Jack Young then Waterman. Split Waterman didn’t say whether money would need to change hands for the others to “keep out of the way “ but it is unlikely to be a gentleman’s agreement !

A bit off topic Sid but in the period you mention we lost two major talents in off track accidents, World Champion Bluey Wilkinson ( road accident ) and Gerry Hussey ( midget car racing ) . Terribly sad. Wasnt someone else killed in the same crash as Ken le Breton . Was it Norman Clay or am I thinking of something else?.

Thanks. It’s all slowly coming back to me now. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since those days !

Arthur and I think Alan as well, were BSA works riders. Martin, I am pretty sure was Arthur’s son. Arthur was known as a pretty fast starter ( I can’t really say gater in Moto Cross ) and was often first away but had a bit of a problem with fitness. I remember him once stopping at a pub in a pretty big trial , and having , in his words, “a couple of dinners “ ! Back to the point of the thread, Vic Eastwood one of my heroes as a youngster, but it broke my heart when he left Matchless and rode an ‘orrible two-stroke, although with hindsight I can understand that as a professional rider he had a living to earn, and the big heavy four stroke Matchesses had had their day by then. In memorium, Vic Eastwood, a great rider.

It wasn’t so much a decision by Lakeside to move to Rye, more the only option. The malevolent Rob Godfrey pulled the plug on Friday fixtures so Lakeside were unable to complete their fixtures at Arena. The club wanted to complete their fixtures at Lakeside as far as they could and use Rye House on the dates when their home track was not available but the BSPA in their pettiness said they had to use one track or the other which was not only disastrous for the the club but unnecessary. It apparently cost Stuart Douglas over £20,000 . No wonder he became another in the long line of promoters that had enough of the BSPAs manipulations, and left the sport.

Are you sure about that Norbold? Wal certainly rode for Hackney early in the 1963 season, but was dropped after a few matches. I think he was the oldest rider in the league at that time. I stand to be corrected if you have other information, but as far as I know he was programmed to ride for the Hawks in one match in 1964 but was a non starter. Apart from that I don’t think he rode at all.

What function does the Head of Speedway Operations perform , given that there are already two team managers ? With Kennet, Lawson , Kerr , Newman and Edwards in the line up the team has a very Lakeside feel to it, which is nice. If Newman can manage to complete a season without getting injured he could put a decent increase on his average and be a trump card. The trouble is the injuries he has had can slowly take their toll . I like Kyle and wish him well. He deserves a good season.

In other words you can’t support your claim. Standard form for most of your posts.

Can you identify for us which play off teams deliberately lost matches early in the 2019 season and specifically which matches are you referring to ?

Be positive Steve . When Lakeside dropped down to NL in 2016 the racing was dire. No other word for it, In 2017 in the CL we had 3 heatleaders the crowd could really get behind , in Nick Morris, Adam Ellis and Richard Lawson, and I enjoyed that season as much as I had enjoyed Speedway for years. It’s just a tragedy the club was stuffed by the malevolent Rob Godfrey in his bizarre determination to reduce the number of teams. If you have a team at any level you can really get behind that’s 60% of the enjoyment of the sport.Sadly I no longer have a club to support so my enthusiasm is evaporating quicker than a snowball in the Sahara , but as you say it really is in the blood so give it your support and am I sure you will enjoy it. Make the most of it . The best days of the sport are behind us and I doubt whether it will be with us much longer, especially with the present idiots in charge.

Yes, me relying on faulty memory instead of checking before I posted. He did beat Jack Parker 2-0 in a match race meeting in Edinburgh but it was a non title event in 1950, presumably an “extra” to keep the crown entertained. In his first season with West Ham, 1952 he scored something like 19 maximums in 38 matches.

World Champ in 1951 and 52, first and only second division rider to win the World Title ( which shows how competitive the second division was in those days). I am pretty sure he beat Jack Parker in the British Match Race Championship when still in the second division with Edinburgh. He still has a street named after him on the site of the old West Ham Stadium.

Didn’t Jack Young beat the four of them, Fundin, Moore , Briggs and Craven in the Tom Farndon Trophy Meeting In 1961 before he returned to Oz for good ?

I remember both Les and Sandy seeming to be too tall for a speedway rider. Sandys style was completely ungainly, arms and legs all over the place and he was never really more than a reserve. Les had a most perculiar style, difficult to describe but kind of laying backwardson the bends, almost like sitting i a bath I thought. Quite a boring rider and never seemed to do much passing. I believe Len Silver persuaded him to come out of retirement to ride for the Hawks after he had suffered serious internal injuries riding for Wimbledon ( I think it was ) a few years earlier. Can anyone throw any light on this. What happened to the McGilvrays when they left Hackney ? Did they retire?

I never saw their whole careers but my memory tells me that in their Hackney days Pratt’s was easily best, almost un beatable round Waterden Road. Not surprising because he always got there early to make sure Len Silver prepared the track the way he wanted it round his favourite inside line. I never saw him smile though , even after scoring a maximum.

Old Bob is a compulsive moaner. Always was, always will be. Just ignore him.

One of speedways real hard men but the sort that brought the crowds in. A sad loss

The plaudits of the previous posters say it all. Not many riders go through a whole career with barely a bad word said about them but everyone liked AJ. AJ - A massive talent, and thoroughly nice bloke. Leigh Lanham said his favourite times in the sport were riding No 2 at Lakeside with AJ at No1. Fantastic team rider . It was always amusing to see AJ coming off bend 2 and pointing to where he wanted Leigh to go, left or right, Leigh would go there and AJ would bring him home. One thing many people didn’t see was that he was meticulously organised and always treated his mechanics extremely well. All good things come to an end. Sorry to see AJ go but as has been said, he has taken a lot of knocks and I am glad to see him leave in one piece, and while he is still relatively near the top. He still rides at No1 in my dream team though.

What exactly do people mean by monkey masks ? I have always taken them to mean the one- piece goggles and face mask combined but it seems some take it to mean any kind of face mask other than a scarf. Could we clarify that ?

Stevebrum is exactly right. The paramount rule is that no Marshals , First Aiders or any other personnel are allowed on the track until all the bikes are off. The start and finish of the track marshals authority while bikes are on the track is to hold out the red flag when the referee puts the red lights on.Nothing more. Whatever else happens is not within the marshals authority to deal with. However, I don’t think the SCB has the authority or power to punish the marshal personally although possibly they could fine promotion.

That’s the point I was making. All this fuss about Schein riding in a British Final but it used to be commonplace for Commonwealth riders to not only ride in it but win, not to mention ride for Great Britain in Test Matches. If Rory has a British licence there’s no reason why he shouldn’t ride in the British Final. Plenty of foreign born sportsmen have represented GB in a variety of sports , notably cricket over the years.