steve roberts

Ivan Mauger used to sometimes train with Manchester City but his requirement was to adopt a sleep pattern and he adopted a routine that enabled him to do so to keep his mind and body sharp.

One of the most unluckiest riders must have been Arne Pander. He could have been more prolific than he was but always picked up an injury which held him back. Yes and I guess Tommy Jansson was the same. If Tommy had gated he wouldn't have been in the position that he found himself attempting to go around a rider when they came together.

Same with Bob Kilby...hated the idea of moving to the County Ground but he excelled around there!

...and of course the late Josef Angermuller rode for 'The Vikings' during their introduction to top level speedway in 1974.

Yes I cringe at Briggo's continual use of the name 'Saunders' when assisting Dave Lanning during the post-recorded commentary of the 1974 British Final...a meeting that Briggo took part in!

I was only jesting...it's a crying shame what has happened at Cowley. As a life long fan of 'The Rebels' & 'Cheetahs' it annoys me that there is a stadium sat in Oxford doing nothing because the owner is so pig-headed to allow it to be used for what it was intended. I did once question this with a representative of the then owners (the GRA) and was fobbed off but I didn't believe what she was saying...and I've been proven correct since. The remit is to run the facility down and sell it off at a profit for development...and I can see that happening despite the intervention of the council and everybody fighting for its survival. I wish them well...I'm certainly flying the flag up here in York (although people here are generally ignorant of speedway) by having a poster in the window of my car.

Alan Wilkinson...cruelly paralysed but was a whole hearted trier and entertainer. Remember when on a visit to Cowley he came storming out of the pits and ripped the starting tapes out of their sockets! You can imagine the fans reaction...but pure theatre!

Oxford 'Budgies' has a nice ring to it! I remember Robert Maxwell (remember him?) wanting to relocate Oxford Utd and amalgamate with Reading and call the team Thames Valley! Imagine the uproar that caused!

Why not offer Swindon a ready made stadium...Oxford!

...but I think that you'd agree that even within speedway's standards this is one hell of a mess...considering that the farewell meeting was held the season before last! It has been handled badly and information lacking as regards development and /or progress of same.

Wore those leathers when he joined 'The Rebels' in 1975 but soon changed them to a red, white & blue design that were passed onto Tom Godel when Dag prematurely retired.

This really has been a public relations disaster and hasn't been handled at all well.

I agree with John Cook...but he could be erratic sometimes which I would have found frustrating if he had ridden for my team!

Yes he was a Leicester rider...I recall him riding at White City in 1978.

Billy Spiers and Chris Sully during their very short spell at Cowley.

Garry Middleton, Jack Millen, Hasse Holmqvist, Gordon Kennett, Barry Thomas, Eric Broadbelt, Marek Cieslak, Malcolm Ballard, Colin Ackroyd, Derek Harrison etc etc.

He did reasonably well at Eastbourne averaging, if I recall, a six point average...but never did himself justice at Swindon.

Klaus Lausch could have made it in Britain (I remember him beating Michael Lee at Lynn on one occasion) but the lure of the continent proved too big!

Don't you swear at me! Seriously he was the front man of Bristol Stadium Ltd. who owned Oxford Stadium back in the early seventies and attempted to sell the stadium for re-development until a committee of speedway and greyhound enthusiasts got together to save it for future generations.

If I recall the meeting involving Louis Carr and Hans Nielsen resulted in a last heat decider. Mel Taylor was on gate one (can't recall gate two) Hans on three and Andy Campbell on four...the favoured gate. Entering the first bend Hans took Andy very wide allowing Mel to take the initiative and Oxford recorded a 5-1 and thus winning the match...hope I've got that right from memory! As you can imagine we, the Oxford fans, went home very happy but it was a close shave!

I was there...if I recall Ivan Mauger ran a last in the same race?

Did okay for 'The Brummies' as well.

Strewth...did I really type that! Of course I should have written Hang gliding!

Ulf was one of my early heroes...took a while to get going but towards the end of the 74 season was really flying. Shame he never rode again in Britain after that (His wife gave birth to twins if I remember). Never saw Conny ride but remember my brother saying that he was less than impressive round Cowley but a revelation on some of the bigger circuits (Swindon and Coventry for example). Another rider who never re-appeared in Britain and I'm surprised some enterprising promoter didn't give him a second chance. He excelled at Ice Speedway and appeared twice (?) on the rostrum in the World Championship in that particular discipline.

Oxford signed Helge Langli who could have made it (he did beat Ray Wilson in one memorable ride at Cowley I recall) but he picked up an injury off track and never re-appeared...more's the pity! Of course his brother, Tormod, appeared at Newport and was more than useful when he, too, was injured off track (hand-gliding accident). Coventry signed East German Gerhard Ullenbrock on the recommendation of one Garry Middleton. Matti Olin (Finland) was also another 'Bees' capture.