TonyMac

If, over the past 30 years, you threw the book at and expelled every promoter who has ever done speedway a disservice and acted against its best interests, there would barely be one track left in existence. The sport has been riddled with self-interest for donkey's years.

Before 1983, Hackney was no less safe than, for example, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Swindon, Wolverhampton (albeit a slower track). And it was no more dangerous than those track with solid fences, especially the faster ones - inc Exeter, Halifax, King's Lynn, Belle Vue (where there was more space to take evasive action). And then there was Bristol and Newport... The collapsible fences at Wimbledon and Ipswich looked safest, generally speaking.

Thanks for getting this thread going and for the remarkable way BL65 verifies with stats. In many cases, the all-time greats - Parker, Duggan, Moore, Fundin, Briggs, Mauger, Olsen, Collins, Lee, etc - will have the best or very comparable statistical records wherever they raced, which is why I particularly like the Ivor Brown/Wolverhampton yardstick. Maybe my suggested thread title was wrong in that respect. It would be interesting to hear of other non-superstars, like Brown (though he was an absolute legend at Cradley), who were brilliant at CERTAIN tracks, rather than at the vast majority of them. Ideally, second strings who raised their game and rode like stars at selected venues . . . The other day I was looking at the form of visiting riders who appeared in the three seasons that Romford ran and one leapt out. The Brooklands track, with his lethal concrete 'safety fence', wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but George scored a 15-point max on his debut there for Doncaster in 1970, followed it up with 10 from 4 rides for Birmingham in 1971 and won an individual meeting towards the end of that final season at my local track. Must admit, I'm struggling to think of someone in the non-star category who was a bit special at Hackney, because the track was liked by so many visiting riders when it was prepared well. Stats wise, John Louis' record there from 1971-83 must have taken some beating but, then again, 'Tiger' John was a superstar of his era and performed brilliantly everywhere. Now if we were talking about a thread titled 'Visiting Rider Who Hated Your Track', I'd have no hesitation in nominating Bobby Schwartz at Hackney. He wasn't the night Stan 'The Man' Stevens beat him!

ISSUE 74 (May-June 2016) of our bi-monthly magazine is out now and includes: TODD WILTSHIRE INTERVIEW Todd Wiltshire – "the fastest alive over the first 25" – was one of a bunch of exciting young Aussies to emerge onto the international scene in the last 80s. Rob Peasley caught up with the fast-starting former World No.3 who starred for Wimbledon, Reading and Oxford for a compelling, new exclusive . . . Todd quotes: “At that time, I understood Barry Briggs and I think I agreed with him. I remember seeing the circus that followed Per as World Champion, all the publicity, and I think the pressure did affect him to begin with. But over the following months and years, my opinion changed. I got to the last 16 on merit and was genuinely a top five rider in the world at that stage, and I do regret not winning it. I don’t think it would have been too early." “I was a 19-year-old Australian coming over from the East Coast, where it was pretty sparse, and I was suddenly in the limelight of London. Wimbledon Stadium was magnificent, the pits were in a tunnel and it was a full surround stadium. With the Lanning family promoting all that, it just became something amazing. It turned it into a show, and the riders were all part of that." “The Reading management gave Wimbledon a call but I think I was only the second option. They were chasing the American Gary Hicks. They’d all but signed him but something went wrong, and they opted for me instead." “Although 'Lyonsy' was involved, I didn’t consider him solely responsible. It was 50/50, because I should have never given him that opportunity. We never fell out over it. Lots of people thought we did, but we didn’t. It was just racing.” “All those riders . . . Hamill, Hancock, Gollob, even Tony Rickardsson, I was ahead of them when I got hurt. I remember racing Tony for the first time at Stockholm and, mentally, I was ahead of him at that point. From 1992 to 1997, I missed my prime years, the years in my mid-twenties. Would I have been World Champion? We’ll never know." “The bikes were still red-hot when they took them out of the pits, across the centre green, out of the other side of the stadium and into a waiting van. It was embarrassing, a very sour ending to the year. I just took my Oxford racesuit off and left it on the floor in the pits." "I had an ugly divorce and found myself in a very bad place in Australia. I was lost. Mentally, I was hurt, and needed help to stay on this earth. I had suicidal tendencies." VLADIMIR GORDEEV INTERVIEW After a long and patient pursuit, Vitek Formanek finally got his man when he caught up with former Russian star Vladimir Gordeev whose best World Final performance was marred by controversy. For the first time, Gordeev talks about the nitro storm that led to a one-year ban from the FIM. IPSWICH: 50 MEMORABLE MOMENTS Rob Peasley traces the history of the Suffolk club who overcame a shaky early period to re-emerge, win all the major silverware going and produce three of the greatest double-winning teams ever to grace British speedway . . . WHATEVER HAPPENED TO . . . RICHARD PETTMAN? Martin Neal has the story behind why former Hackney and Canterbury prospect Richard Pettman made a television appearance on BBC1’s daytime house renovation series Homes Under The Hammer. TOMMY JANSSON - Speedway's lost superstar On the 40th anniversary of Tommy Jansson's death, David Rieuwerts recalls the huge impact the Wimbledon and Sweden star made in his all too brief career and wonders what might have been. WIMBLEDON REUNION To mark the 40th anniversary of Tommy Jansson's death, there really could be only man to invite along as the special guest at a Wimbledon Speedway reunion. We've a report and pictures from the event for which Tommy's elder brother Bo Jansson flew in from Sweden to attend in south London on Saturday, May 20 – 40 years to the day since his younger brother lost his life. THAT WAS THE YEAR: 1985 Continuing our regular series, Andrew Skeels presents his in-depth review of a season that had just about everything . . . Oxford’s domination of the British League and a pulsating fight for the National League title, it was also 12 months which featured genuine tragedies, headline-grabbing disputes between some of the sport’s biggest names and clubs opening, closing and switching leagues, often in mid-season, amid frequent dire warnings about the financial sustainability of the sport as a whole. For Oxford supporters, however, it was a season to remember. PLACES & FACES with MARTIN ROGERS This time our intrepid scribe heads to the six most northern venues: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle, Workington and Middlesbrough. OPENING TIMES – Rochdale 1970 Eric Broadbelt reflects with Andrew Skeels on Rochdale's brief Second Division stint at the start of the 70s. A crowd of around 6,000 braved the cold to see Hornets take on Crewe in the opening meeting on Sunday, March 29, 1970. ON TWO MINUTES WITH . . . PETER WURTERLE The German looks back on his brief late season stint with Reading in 1981. AULD WORTHIES "Auld Worthies" are respected members of your community and, while never having been leaders, are held in high regard to this day for their earlier service and exploits. Doug Nicolson looks at four of Glasgow's Worthies. To order this single issue or subscribe, please visit www.retro-speedway.com or phone Susie on 01708 734 502.

ISSUE 33 - SUMMER 2016 - EDITION IS OUT NOW AND INCLUDES: BERT KINGSTON INTERVIEW This year marks the 50th anniversary of Halifax's British League championship and Knockout Cup double success in 1966. Vitek Formanek caught up with Bert Kingston, one of Dukes' Australian imports from that golden period, who looks back on three wonderfully memorable and eventful seasons in West Yorkshire and explains why his career ended so painfully back in his homeland. HARRINGAY: 50 MEMORABLE MOMENTS Although never the most successful of teams, Harringay enjoyed a big fan following at their Green Lanes track in north London. Rob Peasley traces the highs and lows of the club where all-time greats Jack Parker, Vic Duggan and Split Waterman were firm favourites. LEGEND: WAL PHILLIPS John Chaplin recalls how a night at Stamford Bridge fuelled Wal Phillips' passion for speedway and led to him becoming one of the most astute mechanical brains in the sport's history. HOMES OF BRITISH SPEEDWAY No.1 CRADLEY HEATH: In the first of a regular new series looking back at defunct tracks, we head to the Black Country and Dudley Wood Stadium, where the Cradley Heathens raced, on and off, from 1947 until the end of 1995. REPLACEMENT THERAPY It’s 50 years since the most radical change to team regulations was introduced and like all good ideas it has stood the test of time. Doug Nicolson looks at the circumstances leading to the implementation of the Rider Replacement facility. ARTHUR 'WESTY' WESTWOOD Philip Dalling recalls the promoting exploits of colourful former rider Arthur 'Westy' Westwood, one of the sport's great characters in its early days. In the late 30s showman Westwood was running Birmingham Hall Green, Sheffield, Nottingham White City and Leeds. His last involvement in British racing was at Tamworth, although he went on to organise meetings in France and Belgium in the 40s. Plus . . . a new CROSSWORD, your LETTERS and obit on JOHNNY HOLE. To order this single issue or subscribe, please visit www.retro-speedway.com or phone Susie on 01708 734 502.

Sorry for the delay. but issue 74 dominated by Rob Peasley's brilliant interview with Todd Wiltshire can now be ordered from our website at www.retro-speedway.com, or please call Susie on 01708 734 502 to pay using a card over the phone.

Well done, Berwick - great to see them leading the way. I was very impressed with their set-up when I paid my first visit there last year. It would be good to view that list of 250 living ex-Bandits, for possible inclusion in any future piece we may write on the subject. Can you please point us in the right direction... Cheers, Tony Mac

Another interesting thread might be 'Best Visiting Rider At Your Track'.

Some points to consider... * Current day promoters are not missing out by issuing a free pass to an ex-rider, because 99% wouldn't go anyway. Many cannot afford to do so. * How do you discriminate by regarding one ex-rider as a 'legend' and another as an also-ran who simply made up the numbers? For example, you could argue Ian Turner gave as much to Lynn, in terms of effort and loyalty, as Bettsy - and was probably more exciting to watch. Are you deemed a legend for the points you scored or the number of years/matches you rode? Terry Stone rode for Rayleigh throughout their 1968-73 BL2 era, but you'd never bracket him as a star, yet it's inconceivable that he would be denied a general lifetime BSPA pass, while, say, Geoff Maloney gets one for being a No.1 or 'legend'. And think what a great ambassador Terry S has been for Rayleigh - and speedway in general - in the past couple of decades as he's toured the country promoting the 'Men in Black' and other such organisations that all help to preserve speedway history. * Freeloaders come in many guises. At least ex-riders have stuck their neck on the line for the clubs they have ridden for, unlike former rakers, pushers, press men, tea ladies, etc, etc. * Because many riders, like Terry Stone, rode for tracks that are now defunct, our proposal to the BSPA would be for them to issue an Ex-Riders Life-time Pass that will admit that person to ALL existing EL, PL & NL tracks. * Some promoters look after and respect their clubs' ex-riders much better than others. It's nonsense to suggest a promoter should only invite back and offer free entry to those who rode on his watch. Terry Russell never employed Mike Broadbank, Martin Ashby, Ian Williams, Barry Duke and all the other ex-Robins who regularly enjoy taking their place in the Legends Lounge at Blunsdon, but he knows what these guys have done for Swindon many years before he got involved there. In fact, until his death, Freddie Williams (Ian's brother) was also a regular there, because he lived reasonably near by and enjoyed visiting the track. TR wasn't going to make a former double world champion pay at the turnstiles. It's all about RESPECT. * The pass should be non-transferrable and include a passport photo of the holder, which must be produced upon entry to the stadium. However, we would not advocate entry to the pits - as others have said, they are already overcrowded, so admittance to the pits area would be at the promoter's discretion. * If the BSPA cannot, for whatever reason, administer an ex-rider's application for a pass (let's face it, they have many more important things they should be doing), then we know for a fact that the World Speedway Riders' Association would be more than happy to take on that task and manage the process on an ongoing basis, as more and more ex-riders heard about the free pass scheme. Now consider the general potential positives from a promoters' perspective by admitting ex-riders free... 1. They would help to fill empty seats and large swathes of empty terraces, which are a bad advert for the sport, especially when meetings are televised and crowds naturally reduce. 2. In many cases, the ex-rider will attend with a PAYING companion - wife, brother, mate, etc, who may in some cases have to drive them to the speedway - so there is the potential for INCREASED REVENUE at the turnstiles and, in the case of the few stadia owned by the promoter, at the bar and catering outlets. 3. Most ex-riders are very happy to engage with supporters, chatting about the 'olden days', with helps to enhance the fans' evening. Often it will be the only thing they take from a drawn-out and/or boring meeting. Lost count of the number of times I've heard a fan say: "The meeting was rubbish but I really enjoyed meeting and chatting to.... pity the riders of today don't have time or inclination to talk to us like the old boys do." 4. Goodwill. The club/promoter is seen to be giving something back to those who previously represented the club and, in most cases, shed blood for it. 5. As well as talking to fans face to face, these approachable guys would surely be happy to be interviewed during one of many long lulls between races, to give their take on what they're seeing from a position of some experience, or perform a simple task like drawing the raffle. Again, this would enhance the fans' experience. 6. Ex-riders can help spread the word. If he enjoys a night out, chances are he is more likely to tell his circle of friends and hopefully younger relatives that a night out at the speedway is no bad thing. Freeze them out and the reverse happens. 7. A clued-up, media-savvy promoter would occasionally use one or two ex-riders in a PR capacity, to help promote his track, by posing with current riders and attending important events such as sponsorship launches. After all, it's not youngsters who read local papers (can they read?!) or tune into local radio - it's mainly people who attend speedway today and, more importantly, THOSE WHO STOPPED GOING. Maybe a pic of an old favourite from the 60s/70s/80s/90s in the local rag, or a radio interview, would rekindle interest and entice lapsed supporters into give it another go... Promoters and existing fans bang on about 'attracting youngsters to speedway.. they are the future', but the first priority should be to keep existing fans happy (or happier) and win back the support of those who have stopped going for whatever reason. Most football clubs are very good at using former stars as ambassadors and speedway is negligent in this respect. Think how Man Utd have tapped into Bobby Charlton's fame and popularity over many years since he retired. Personally speaking, my father used to play for Leyton Orient in the old first division in the early 60s and spent six years there between 1959-65. For the past 20 years, despite several changes of ownership, he has always been warmly welcomed back any time - as have all of his of his playing colleagues. In fact, we have continued to receive TWO COMPLIMENTARY tickets - arranged through the supporters club - to every home game for many years. League Two Orient only attract about 5-6,000 fans to a stadium that holds 9,000, so they aren't giving us free seats that would otherwise have been taken up by paying customers (we do pay for cup tie tickets, because money has to be accounted to the FA & Football League). And we give the LOSC plenty back by what we spend on real ale in their bar after every game (after watching that dross, you need to numb the pain!) The serious point is, Dad still has Orient in his heart, he talks to people he meets in the area about the club and at every game without fail he is stopped by at least one or two fans wanting to chat about his goal against Man United in '62, or just to get his view on the team or players of today. So Orient might be a crap team, but they know how to look after and respect their past players, and speedway could learn from this example. Of course, at Retro Speedway, we are biased towards the old-timers . . . but someone's got to stick up for them.

This is a subject dear to our heart at Retro Speedway and we may well launch an appeal on behalf of ex-riders for them to be admitted free to British tracks. The World Speedway Riders' Association is in dialogue with the BSPA on this. We share Gresham's previous comments.

By and large, speedway fans are (in the nicest of ways) an insular bunch. They don't particularly have much interest in motorcycle racing, they just love speedway. It's a unique sport in many ways.

Here is a piece I've written for the next issue of our Classic Speedway mag, which goes to press today. I know what has been said on here about Squibb, Hunter, etc, but the idea of tghis piece is that it will stimulate debate among our readers (believe it or not, they don't all read this forum!). Ideally, I'd love to present a Top 10 once all the research is completed and we are ready to crown The British Track Record Holder. 'Compost', would you please email me, Tony Mac, at editorial@retro-speedway.com Thanks to all for your input. Cheers, TMc PS - sorry about the fonts going a bit haywire! --------------------------------------- WHO IS THE ULTIMATE BRITISH TRACK RECORD HOLDER? WHICH post-war rider has ridden at the highest number of British speedway tracks? It's an interesting question that cannot be answered without exhaustive research . . . and Retro Speedway is on the case. The results of our detailed findings will be published in the next issue of Classic Speedway. While we keep you on tenterhooks, why not try and guess who the most travelled rider since 1945 could be. Jack Parker, Phil Bishop, Geoff Pymar and Wal Morton (see p15-20) are obvious name that immediately springs to mind and, no doubt, would be strong contenders for the title of 'British Track Record Holder' if their pre-war appearances on long defunct circuits were also taken into account. But for the sake of this exercise we decided to focus on the years following the second world war. So who will top the list? You would think that the winner would come from the group of riders whose careers spanned at least two, and maybe even three, divisions of racing, so we have to start by looking at those who competed in the old National League (1946-64), Provincial League (1960-64) and then the British League, which resulted from the NL/PL amalgamation in 1965. Ivan Mauger, Ken McKinlay, Reg Luckhurst, Terry Betts, Malcolm Simmons, Norman Hunter, Trevor Hedge and the Scottish pair of George Hunter and Jim McMillan, among others, come into the reckoning at this point. The globetrotting Mauger would possibly top our list if his innumerable overseas track appearances were a factor but, as we said, this is a UK-only project. What is for certain is that Mauger's Provincial League years with Newcastle in the early 60s puts him ahead of fellow greats Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs and Ove Fundin, whose careers in Britain were confined to the top division. Do loyal, long-serving stalwarts such as Mike Broadbank, Nigel Boocock and Les McGillivray also have a claim? The launch of British League Division Two in 1968 spawned a host of brand new venues, so now you have to consider riders who began racing in that fledgling second sphere before spending many seasons in BL1, at a time when 18 or 19 top flight tracks were in operation. We're talking about the likes of Dave Jessup, Barry Thomas, Peter Collins, John Louis and Phil Crump. Let's not forget those who raced in the 50s, throughout the 60s and ended their long careers in the second division: McKinlay, Peter Moore, Stan Stevens, Reg Trott, Colin Gooddy, George Major, Jimmy Squibb and Reg Luckhurst all rode for teams at NL, PL and BL2 level. And what about those whose careers endured so long that they ended up competing in National League (second division), which evolved from BL2, in some cases well into the 80s. Laurie Etheridge, Eric Broadbelt, Mick Handley, Graham Plant, Thomas, Jessup, McMillan, Hunter and Simmons did just that. Simmo actually made his competitive debut at New Cross, shortly before the south London venue closed in 1963 . . . and went on to race at three different Glasgow tracks. Riders who began racing in BL2 and/or competed in the NL for many years certainly rattled up the mileage, too. Think John Jackson, Steve Lawson, Steve Wilcock, Robert Hollingworth, plus Les and Neil Collins. As well as all those tracks who featured in the different leagues mentioned above, we are also including venues that ran on an open licence or were granted non-league status, including Rye House, Eastbourne, Aldershot, Ipswich, Yarmouth, Motherwell and, later, Iwade, so you'll appreciate that it's not an easy appearance list to compile. Think you've got the answer? Well, don't miss our next issue when all will be revealed and we will crown the ultimate British Speedway Track Record Holder.

I recall Simmo telling me about that - he was well chuffed and saw the funny side of his actions. To be fair, he said Kenny came up to him in the pits afterwards and, though he was annoyed that he'd been duped, he begrudgingly gave Malcolm credit for mugging him off.

I should have remembered - it's on our Memories of Berwick Speedway DVD! The public were admitted to those licenced training track matches at Iwade, which is another reason why I think they should be included. As for your example re. Jimmy Mac, if he rode at Paisley then that should be added to his list of venues. Those special match-races involving star riders were usually the BIG attraction on the night. I agree, it would be hard to confirm every such appearance but if we know about it, then include it.

Yes, I think Iwade should count for the purpose of this analysis - it was, after all, licenced by the SCB and pukka training track matches were staged there in the 70s. It won't help Thommo to catch Squibby but it may make the difference between him and another contender. It's the likes of Johnny Guilfoyle's private training track at Chelmsford, Essex that wouldn't come into the reckoning.

This is exactly why I have always taken so-called track records with a large pinch of salt. They are so imprecise - basically, all down to when the timekeeper (employed by the home track) decides to start the clock. When you think how track records are 'broken' on margins as small as one tenth of a second...

You're right. Appearances on non-league licenced tracks should definitely be included. Why would you drop George Hunter's 1960-64 track appearances when compiling a list relevant to the whole post-war period? Excellent work, thank you. Blimey, that was a good spot - he only rode two matches for Lynn in that, his final season.

What a fascinating 'league table' this could turn out to be... Here are the 52 tracks I reckon Malcolm Simmons rode at: Arena-Essex/Lakeside Belle Vue (Hyde Road) Berwick (Berrington Lough) Birmingham (Perry Barr) Birmingham (Bordesley Green) Boston Bradford Bristol (Eastville) Canterbury Coatbridge Coventry Cradley Heath Eastbourne Edinburgh (Old Meadowbank) Edinburgh (Powderhall)) Exeter Glasgow (White City) Glasgow (Hampden Park) Glasgow (Blantyre 2) Hackney Halifax Hull Ipswich King’s Lynn Leicester (Blackbird Road) Long Eaton Middlesbrough Mildenhall Milton Keynes (Groveway) Newcastle New Cross Newport (Somerton Park) Norwich Oxford Peterborough Poole Rayleigh Reading (Tilehurst) Reading (Smallmead) Rye House St. Austell Sheffield Stoke (Sun Street) Stoke (Loomer Road) Swindon West Ham Wembley White City (London) Wimbledon Wolverhampton Belle Vue (Kirky Lane) Barrow (Park Road) Simmo also practiced several times at the original Iwade training track. The thing about Rye House is there have been two different tracks. The original, big training track (where Simmo first learnt to slide on shale) on what became the go-kart site, and the current, smaller version. Not sure if Simmo ever rode at the current circuit (although he used to prepare it for Ronnie Russell). Can anyone please confirm?

Top work, compost, please keep it going....! Silly question, but are you also logging the name of each track...?

I always thought Bob Dugard controlled the starts at Eastbourne! Or Charlie Dugard, who in his role as 'timekeeper' would be sat next to the ref.... Ivan Mauger has always said as much. The best gaters remain the fastest starters no matter what the rules. As an experiment, you'd think some enterprising promoter would at least stage a one-off challenge match under the old 13-heat format using the rules that applied in those days (tape-touching allowed, tac subs valid after going 6pts behind after four races, etc). Or why not run a competition (KO Cup?) along those lines, just to offer something different from the present 15-heat norm?

Classic 'count-to-three-green-light-and-go' there from Kilb! Doing your homework on referees' different starting techniques was an art in itself.

Looking at the original post, he is asking a completely different question: 'Don't know why this really came to me, but I have been wondering which riders have ridden for the most British teams during their careers'. I'm asking who has ridden at the most number of TRACKS, not teams.

Thanks for your responses, including some good nominations. Right, who has got the time to plough through every Speedway Star from 1952.....! Excellent work. I don't think Simmo, Louis or Jessup can compete with the geographical spread of the 'Ladybank Express'.

Rolling definitely added to the tension and sense of anticipation, especially in a last-heat decider, so I wouldn't be against it returning to the sport. Let's face it, the time taken up by a few 'rollers' is nothing compared to that wasted when today's riders inevitably return to the pit gate following a false start, followed by endless practice starts, gear changes, refuelling, etc. Obviously, ridiculously persistent rolling offenders could be warned by the referee before a possible handicap and ultimate exclusion from that race.

Good point but, as you say, very difficult to confirm. Perhaps we should confine this to post-war eras.