E I Addio

There is a lot of history about him and some lovely photos on the Newcastle Speedway History website.

Does he have much memory of anything ? I used to chat with him and his wife Linda a lot at Lakeside. If he is “with it “ and can hold a bit of a conversation I’d like to go and visit him, but there’s no point if , as I fear , he has no memory,

Great experience talking to an ex rider like that. I just about remember him at West Ham, but I don’t think he really settled to the big track there. Dis he say anything about his days as a Hammer?

Exactly! Where do find the equipment to pick up and store perhaps 15-20 tons of soaking wet shale , where do put it and where do you find the unpaid volunteer staff to do all this. Even if you could somehow get the wet shale off where do you get hold off another 10 tons of dry shale at the back end of the season ? Totally unworkable suggestion to relay the track and bed it down .

I am not sure the word “managed “ has any place in British Speedway any more.

I can’t add to what others have said . He was an absolute credit to himself and the sport.

Absolutely spot on. I couldn’t have put it better myself. I went to bed last night feeling that maybe I’ve watched my last speedway meeting. I don’t know. Maybe some of the feeing will come back, Im not .sure. I went to Paradise Park a few weeks ago and just watching Sverre Harrfeldt warm up an immaculately restored JAP sent shivers down my spine but last night brought it all back to an all time low. I like Adam Ellis and wish him well Cardiff, and it wasn’t just last nights fiasco , but more the way the sport struggles from one crisis to the next. Like you I feel worn worn down, or perhaps worn out with it. And Godfrey is worse than useless. Always has been always will be.

Sadly It might be the case that George Barclay may no longer be with us or if he is , then he is probably very ill. I used to chat to him and his wife Linda a lot at Lakeside, then he was missing and heard he had dementia. I can’t confirm it first hand, just what I heard . If anyone can update us on him it would be appreciated. George is/was a lovely man and a genuine Speedway fan . He ran one of the ride and slide schools at Lakeside which put money into the club but was dumped and badly treated by Jon Cook.

Devasted that I missed Norman Hunter , and meeting the inimitable Norbold , but I arrived a bit lat and spent so long the museum ( which was excellent) was running out of time . Highlight for me was Sverre Harrfeldt warming up an immaculate Rotrax- Jap with a straight through exhaust which sounded fantastic. Sverre is just such a modest guy you can’t help but like him . That Jack Parker collection in the museum . I never realised that Ove Fundin was the last rider to win aWorld Championship on a JAP but the bike in the Museum , which I don’t know if it was Ove’s or replica was poetry on two wheels. Finally a question I came away with. According to the Jack Parker section of the Museum the British Match Race Championship was suspended in 1935 until after the War due to the death of Tom Farndon. Is this correct. I don’t see what a fatal crash has to do with a particular event, as accidents can happen in any part of racing.

….nah, happy days at the ‘ Ammers. I doubt if I cursed anyone except Bob Andrews and Sandor Levai !

I’ll look out for you and certainly come and say ‘ello. I used to stand downstairs a few yards in front of the starting gate. I hope you or CHR weren’t the blokes who dropped your old peanut shells over the upper tier on my ‘ead ! Please not that we ‘ave to get back in the ‘abit of dropping out ‘h’s’ agen if we are celebrating Custom ‘Ouse.

Jack Keen from Erith probably ……

Ok , I stand corrected on that, but one still has to look at the practicality if this type of marketing and not simply assume it will work. Someone has to administer it in a sport that is largely run by volunteers. I remember an article either on here or in a speedway Star years ago when Mick Bratley was involved with Peterborough. He did an enormous amount of legwork with flyers and special deals, reduced entries etc, including the large Polish community around Peterborough and little or nothing came of it, and Mick was far more committed than most. Then Rick Frost took over at Peterborough, on of the best Promoters of modern times, and a successful businessman who knew what he was doing. He spent a fortune but it was all down a black hole. Now I agree , that with the likes of the unimaginative Godfrey running the show the sport couldn’t be in a worse position but all these marketing ideas have been suggested and tried and tested and re-tried and re- tested over the years and not really worked. The absolute bottom line as far as I can see is that if the product is not right people won’t keep coming back and paying 20quid a time to see processional racing or even good racing unless it is there all or most of the time. Hence my comment earlier about Holder and Ward. To be fair what is there to keep a rider of even modest talent riding in the UK if he can earn more abroad? It pains me to say this but times have changed, people have changed and entertainment has changed but speedway and indeed all stadium based entertainment ie stock cars and greyhounds has largely been left behind . There used to be 30 greyhound tracks in the London area, now there is one. What does that tell you ?

The Data Protection Act prevents you from holding those details.

I don’t think it was as much as 7000 but they certainly had a night where they let everyone in free. It was a disaster though, partly because it was mainly existing speedway fans coming from as far away as Wolverhampton on a freebie, and partly because it made almost no difference to subsequent attendances. Think biggest single thing that made a difference was Chris Holder and Darcy Ward coming on a Lakeside v Poole Sky broadcast . Several enquiries were made by first timers who were impressed by the Turbo Twins and probably thought they would see racing like that every week. I don’t think you will ever improve attendances without improving the product but frankly we just don’t have the riders to do that anymore.

I was told by one clubs General Manger that shale is bought by weight so if you get it when it’s soaking wet you get less for your money.

Even by BSPA standards Godfrey is an embarrassment to the sport.

Hans Andersen at his best, with his team - player hat on could be great for Alfie Bowtell and really bring him on, as Paul Hurry did at Lakeside, or it could be the mis match of the season. You never know with Hans, but he has great motorcycle skills that go beyond just winning the race. I like them both and hope it works for them. If they are paired it will be a pairing I’ll follow closely!

My thoughts entirely. It’s not a question of refusing to watch speedway on TV more a matter of not being bothered most of the time. There is something special, almost magical, about the atmosphere of being present at a meeting, the noise, the smell , the feeling of being part of things, that just doesn’t convert to sitting in an armchair in front of a TV screen. Like others , I was a regular week in, week out supporter , until my track closed. The feeling of disgust towards those in charge these days doesn’t engender much enthusiasm either. I never though my view of the sport would become so tarnished. I agree with you about TV sport generally now. Most of the time it is all about money , not the true ethos of sport. Even the Olympics now pass me by as if they haven’t happened. I can still enjoy watching local cricket in the park but agree totally with you that the baggage that goes with televised sport is often a turn off.

I remember Pete Bradshaw well. He had a neat riding style tailor made for West Ham . I really thought he was going to do well in the sport until Lokoren. Martyn Piddock as well.

Memory No1 . Briggo winning the last of his six British Championships. I don’t think I’ve ever seem one rider who towered so much above the opposition as Briggs did that night . The No2 gate wasn’t working. Nobody was winning from it Even Mauger came last off of it. Then out comes Briggo with a tapes to flag win and a 15 point maximum. Memory No 2 . England v Sweden , Briggs v Michanek. Michanek gated first , Briggs tried to get through on the inside and was blocked. Tried the outside and was blocked . Then switched back to the inside and cast Michanek aside as if he wasn’t there. Nothing unusual about that you might say ? Well it all happened on the first two bends at Briggs was in front by the time they hit the back straight. Breathtaking stuff. Memory No 3 . Everything about Ken McKinlay. Hurri-Ken’s glittering career went downhill almost overnight towards the end , but I think that was due to a shoulder injury. It was a privilege to see him at his best . A master of track craft who rode with his head, a skill only matched, perhaps by Leigh Adams in more recent years. Memory No4 . Just being at the place . It oozed atmosphere.

As someone else said it seems business interests took over rather than disenchantment , in an era where riders generally needed outside briskness interests and didn’t make the sort of money world class riders get today. I think he had a car dealership but still did some longtrack atbweekends

I didn’t see much of him but he was chalk and cheese against the world class Hurri-Ken McKinlay. It’s like comparing,Claud Vissing to Leigh Adams. I have to admit that my opinion is based on not seeing much of much of him but whereas Tony Mac described him as a hard man I would say that is a euphemism for “ dirty rider”. The memory etched in my memory is of him with leading Olle Nygren, doing all he could to keep,Olle behind when he suddenly snapped the throttle shut on the back straight causing Olle,to hit the back of him and go head first over the handlebars. A stupidly dangerous move against a superior rider he was never going to beat by fair means, and one for which he was immediately excluded.

You have touched on a good point there - the “killer “ instinct. The classic example was Jack Biggs in (I think ) 1951, four straight wins, then nerves got to him and he didn’t score another point. At the other extreme we have Mauger , the consummate prifessional, even the Inter- Continental Final was merely a qualifying round to get through safely and stay in good shape for the big one. Leigh Adams was the full package at league level, often called the best rider never to win a World Title, and to be honest he never really cut it at the highest level . It’s all a matter of opinion of course, but if you put the likes of Morton alongside the Fundins, the Olsens , etc I dont think many would put their money on Mort, but of course you can never account for injuries , engine failures , and gate positions, so it’s perhaps possible but unlikely I would say.

Barry Briggs once said that to be World Champion you had to string 5 decent starts together. Mort and Booey were lucky if they could string two or three good starts together. It didn’t show at league level because most riders were average gaters and they could both come through from the back, but is a different kettle of fish at World Final level, missing the gate when race after race after face you have Mauger , Briggs , Fundin , etc or riders of that standard who dont exactly wave you through. I don’t think home track advantage makes much difference at that level. There were one or two exceptions perhaps but they were very rare.