steve roberts

I'm in my late fifties and saw most of those riders except Ivor Brown and the two Chris' but knew of their reputations. Learnt much later that Ivan Mauger hated Ivor Brown!

I remember reading way back (may have been John Berry?) that one of the reasons why promoters began employing foreigners was because when the two leagues split (the lower league essentially being a feeder for young British talent) was because some promotions in the lower league were asking what some thought to be ridiculously high transfer fees and so it was therefore cheaper to go abroad and sign a foreigner. Of course when junior meetings were introduced in the higher league during the middle eighties this was designed to develop ones own British talent...but of course promoters realising that putting on extra heats (and many supporters deciding not to stay on and watch them) eventually saw the demise of same. I always thought that the second half was a good system to develop young (and not so young talent) but when second halves were discarded obviously this particular route ceased...so it's no good some supporters decrying the present state of British speedway and its lack of talent who on the other hand didn't bother with the second halves. But that's another story that has often been debated on hear and not wishing to go over old ground!

I think that was the occasion that he dropped kicked the phone positioned at the start over the starting gate! John Davis had some nice things to say about Jack in an interview that he gave some years ago.

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.