steve roberts

I think that I am only the one at my place of work who isn't interested in the 'Star Wars' franchise...same goes for the 'Harry Potter' films...and I find it bizarre that there's not one but three Harry Potter shops in the ;Shambles' in York!

...one of the rules that caused confusion was when in 1976 it was decided to change the ruling as regards which riders were eligible to take a Rider Replacement Ride based on averages above and below the missing rider. If I recall it ran for two seasons and then reverted to its usual format. I remember Henny Kroeze recording a 21 ride maximum (the first ever to do in the modern era) I recall many a team manager checking and re-checking a rider's eligibility and then being countered by a protest. It caused confusion amongst some referees I also remember at the time!

...or indeed Ronnie Moore who was the first world star to emerge from NZ.

...Olsen developed a style of riding in straight lines as much as possible without too much going sidewards. Bit like Dave Jessup I suppose.

It's true that Nielsen lost three run-offs but the fact that he was that close to achieving three more wins to add to his four tells me how dominant he was. If the GPs had been run during the 80's in my view (as well as John Berry's) he would have dominated. Rickardssom obviously won five of his championships under the GP system which required quite a different approach but would he have been as successful under the old system? We can only conjecture...comparisons are difficult to evaluate in my view especially within different eras.

That's fair enough Sid if based upon the number of World Championships wins it's just my personal criteria is somewhat different.

Hi Sid...no Nielsen? I'd have him above Rickardsson personally. Based on your chosen list however it would be Mauger (the greatest rider ever in my opinion whatever the criteria chosen), Briggs (longevity), Fundin (winning titles during the era of the 'Big Five'), Olsen (despite a personal dislike of him but he had great leadership qualities) and Rickardsson (despite his six individual world titles but I was never convinced/impressed by his team ethic) I tend to base my views on overall achievements including their impact based on league achievements and individual input thereof.

Brilliant image!

...good question!

Yes recall the Midland Riders Final...always a big occasion but by the time that Oxford held the event (1986) it had diminished to an extent. Went to Smallmead to witness the 1976 Southern Riders Final and there was a big crowd present and of course the London Riders Final had historical prestige once upon a time.

I bought the Reg Fearman book a couple of years ago and it was a good read. A book I would highly recommend is the Bob Kilby book written by his son Lee.

Recall Henryk Zyto riding in Britain (1960) for Coventry and Pawel Walosek (1961) for Leicester.

Remember the days of the Midland/Southern/Northern Riders Championships and were relatively well supported during the seventies. Trouble is that what was becoming evident during the eighties fans became very more selective in attending non league fixtures... more's the pity in my view.

I never met him personally but knew well of his enthusiasm for the sport. May he RIP

I've traced a Glenn Ratcliffe (born 1961 in Manchester) who had regular second half outings at Ellesmere Port during 1985?

I particularly enjoyed the interview with Phil Woodcock. Romford is one track I would have liked to have visited!

Personally I would nominate Henny Kroeze. If I recall he was the first rider to score a 21 point maximum whist riding for Halifax.

Both!

Personally music never really bothered me as I was always too busy chatting to people between races. A good anthem prior to the meeting starting, however, I felt was important to get the enthusiasm going and helping build up an atmosphere but music between races didn't bother me. In my formative and later years as it was more often than not chart music that dominated but personally I didn't take much notice.

Dag and Ulf Lovaas at Oxford were two favourites of mine. Dag got his wish and eventually moved to Cowley in a complicated move which saw John Davis go to Reading after the 'allocated' Ole Olsen refused a move to Oxford in 1975. His outside sweeps riding the adverse camber on the pits bend were a joy to watch. Shame that he only spent the one year at Cowley and moved to White City with the rest of the team in 1976 and his career took a massive back step due to various circumstances. Ulf took a while to settle at Cowley (1974) after seeing out the end of the previous year at Cradley. I'm sure he would have built upon his success if he had returned the following year but family commitments kept him at home and he never appeared in Britain again. Saw briefly the tragic Svein Kaasa before being replaced by the Dane Preben Rosenkilde at Oxford and during my first season (1972) admired Oyvind S Berg who gave many solid performances supporting Garry Middleton during the first year of 'The Rebels'.

Easy one...Armando Castagna. Enjoyed watching him during his one season at Cowley (1995)

...although he failed to qualify from White City in 1977!

I'm intrigued...how come Horspath? Anything to do with the Horspath 'Hammers'?

Very sad news. Remember Cliff as a second halfer at Cowley before moving on to Milton Keynes and Swindon. He was once Ole Olsen's mechanic I recall. RIP

...I know that John Berry has been quoted as saying that British fans often never saw the best of Kai in that his exploits on the continent often excelled. I did raise this issue with John many years ago having not totally agreed with his assessment which I thought a tad unfair but in hindsight I now know where John was coming from.