TonyMac

On our DVD, we show previously unseen 8mm colour cine clips (taken from the Smallmead terraces) of Hasse riding for Oxford against Reading in 1975. He is wearing all-white leathers. He also features in the coverage of the 1973 International Tournament Final at Wembley.

The list includes all those we show footage of on the DVD. Apart from a few fleeting seconds showing the actual crash you refer to in the 1969 World Final, sadly Toby does not feature. I wish he did, as he was renowned as a spectacular performer.

Thanks, Steve. I've just started a new thread on the Swedes in the 'Years Gone By' section.

Who were your favourite Swedish speedway riders that rode for UK clubs pre-1995, and why? Or what memories of watching Swedish riders in British racing spring to mind? Best responses received before this weekend will be included in my piece for next week's Speedway Star. A reminder of the 39 featured on our brand new SWEDES IN BRITAIN RACING DVD . . . OVE FUNDIN BJORN KNUTSON ANDERS MICHANEK PER JONSSON TONY RICKARDSSON OLLE NYGREN GOTE NORDIN SOREN SJOSTEN BERNT PERSSON BENGT JANSSON CHRISTER LOFQVIST HASSE HOLMQVIST TOMMY JANSSON CHRISTER SJOSTEN JAN ANDERSSON RICHARD HELLSEN TOMMY NILSSON BORGE RING LARS HAMMARBERG LILLEBROR JOHANSSON PIERRE BRANNEFORS ANDERS ERIKSSON ERIK STENLUND LEIF WAHLMANN JIMMY NILSEN TONY OLSSON ROLAND DANNO CONNY IVARSSON PETER NAHLIN MIKAEL BLIXT DENNIS LOFQVIST HENRIK GUSTAFSSON PETER KARLSSON MIKAEL KARLSSON JORGEN JOHANSSON STEFAN DANNO JONATHAN FORSGREN MIKAEL TEURNBERG CHRISTER ROHLEN To order this DVD for £18 + £2 UK P&P, simply visit us at www.retro-speedway.com Personally, my two schoolboy heroes when I first started going to speedway in 1971, aged 11, were always classy Bengt 'Benga' Jansson (Hackney) and spectacular Christer Lofqvist (West Ham). Both great to watch. Thanks in advance.

As the publisher of Peter Collins' autobiography, he asked me to post the following apology. A copy of which has also been sent directly to Mia Casey. ----------------------------------------------------- January 31, 2023 AN APOLOGY I would like to sincerely apologise to Mia Casey, daughter of the late Steve Casey, who died recently of cancer, for the extra distress I have caused her over the personal message I wrote in my autobiography to her dad at an event held in Glossop on November 3rd last year. My words were regrettably written in a moment of impulse amid a feud with the Belle Vue management that has been ongoing for the last 35 years, and I’m sorry to Mia for any upset caused. I have had no contact with Steve, or any other member of the Belle Vue management set-up, for a number of years and I was totally unaware of his cancer diagnosis before I signed his book. Sorry, Mia, for your loss and for the extra grief that this has caused you and your family at this sad time. Yours sincerely, Peter Collins

Firstly to say that we at Retro Speedway are naturally sincerely saddened by the news of Steve's death. In my experience he was a very amiable, decent bloke. He was clearly devoted to Belle Vue, had a keen sense of Aces' history, and was a natural enthusiast for speedway as a whole. With respect, Gordon, and I fully appreciate you are feeling very sad and upset right now, the acknowledgement you hoped for WAS addressed by Retro Speedway - PRIVATELY - with Steve direct. An online forum is not the best way to handle such personal matters. I believe Steve thought so too. Possibly unknown to you, Susie and I both communicated personally with Steve, separately, over the book signing matter. Understanding the possible upset caused, we offered to try and resolve things to his satisfaction. He appreciated our sympathetic words. As you rightly point out on the other thread, Steve did read the book and said he enjoyed it. In fact, on Nov 23 he sent me an unsolicited text saying: "Hiya Tony...just finished the PC book and really enjoyed it...was a great read with some fabulous memories and insights (accompanied by four 'thumbs up' emojis)." I obviously thanked him for his kind comments. Earlier this month, he phoned me to say how grateful he was to unexpectedly receive our new DVD, Defunct British Speedway Tracks 2, which we sent him as a goodwill gesture, to hopefully lift his spirits after another spell in hospital, and because he actually features on it in the BV Kirky Kane segment. I hope this serves as the public 'acknowledgement' you expected and that those reading these posts gather a true picture of Retro Speedway's part. RIP, Steve.

From the final chapter of PC's book: I STILL love speedway and don’t like to think that it is in its death throes but a lot of things seem to point that way. I was fortunate enough to ride in what was a golden age for British speedway, in the 1970s and early 80s, and things have gone downhill since then. Make no mistake, British speedway is in crisis, with promoters and riders battling the effects of crippling running costs, dwindling attendances and very few major sponsors. A lot of tracks are on the brink, struggling to keep going. Hardly a year goes by without another closure. As I write, at least three clubs operating in 2022 may not be around next year. Speedway gets hardly any publicity in the national media these days and I think one of the reasons for that, and why crowds are down, is because there have been too many rule changes. Some of them are a joke and fans are sick of it. Their patience and loyalty has been tested to the limit. How can we expect the sport to be taken seriously by the media or non-fans when teams are so heavily dependent on guests and the rider replacement facility? There is clearly a shortage of quality riders but for most of them to be doubling-up (or doubling-down) and appearing for different clubs each week is farcical and leaves speedway’s credibility in tatters. Even if disenfranchised supporters can be lured back and much-needed new ones found from somewhere, how will British speedway keep them when so much about the way the sport is being run is wrong? Stadium facilities are an issue at many places but clubs who rent their tracks where greyhounds, and maybe stock cars, are also staged have their hands tied. The woeful state of dilapidated stands and toilet facilities are beyond their control. All the continental countries have youth training schemes or community stadiums which encourage kids to become speedway riders. Too many of our tracks are bound by council regulations and curfews.

How is failing to make former favourites welcome logical or sound business practice? On the contrary. It's obvious that that vast majority of ex-riders wouldn't pay to get in anyway, so the promoters would lose nothing financially. But then consider the potential positives from their presence on race night . . . As Steve has previously tried to explain, there is anecdotal evidence that a number of supporters, both existing and past, enjoy meeting up with old faces who remind them of their younger days and a better time for speedway. Let's face it, too many speedway meetings drag on so long these days that a friendly chat with an ex-rider will often be the highlight of that fan's night. If he or she leaves the stadium feeling good, or at least believing that their time and money showed some tangible reward, then they are more likely to return. Think of the goodwill factor, too. Does it do any speedway promoter good to make ex-riders even slightly unwelcome or made to feel like parasites? If a track's legends and former favourites help spread the word about their local former track it can possibly lead to newer fans coming along - and help to keep some who are in despair and thinking of abandoning the sport. Imagine the fan's thought process: "I can't really be bothered go to (insert track name) tonight, its cold and damp, I'll be waiting around for ages between heats, fuel and admission costs have gone up . . . but, then again, I KNOW I'll enjoy meeting and speaking to my old heroes, so, sod it, I'll go." Whether you agree with PC's stance on passes or not (he and I don't agree on everything he has written about every subject in the book), it doesn't do Belle Vue or any other track any good to have this perpetual public debate. It's a needless negative for the best racetrack in the UK where, by general consensus, average crowd figures for domestic meetings were poor last season in relation to the success achieved by the Aces. I'm not suggesting that letting 20 ex-riders into the NSS every home meeting will make much difference to the paying attendance, but it certainly won't do any harm. Some promoters 'get it' (Berwick gave Craig Pendlebury a life-long stadium pass even though he rode so little for them) but they all need to dig their heads out of the sand on this and many other issues. British speedway needs all the goodwill it can possible muster. It should look at the bigger picture.

It's a fact confirmed by Graham Brodie, the UK's former No.1 referee.

Here's the link to the full five-minute extended version of Claire Hannah's interview with PC which was broadcast on ITV Granada Reports tonight. Thank you, Claire - another great plug for the book and speedway in general. Speedway legend Peter Collins 'Keeping it on the Tyres' life story out | ITV News Granada

Reporter Claire Hannah's piece with Peter Collins will be on ITV Granada Reports, in the north-west region, from 6:29pm tonight (Friday, Dec 30). An extended version of this interview will appear on Granada Report's website later. I'll post a link as soon as it's available. Signed copies of PC's book can still be obtained from us at www.retro-speedway.com

Maybe a bit disingenuous of you there, Gordon, although it's good that you have acknowledged George Carswell's role and the price he and his family ultimately paid for helping to prop up BV at various stages. When I wrote earlier in this thread that George was 'financial involved' in all regimes from Perrin onwards and therefore provided support and insights to PC's printed take on events, I didn't necessarily mean he had money invested as a listed co-promoter or director of BV. To put the record straight, some of the insights and factual recollections provided by George to Peter and I during the course of putting the book together include matters pertaining to the Tony Mole-Ian Thomas era, too. Ian contacted George asking if he would be prepared to sponsor any riders (essentially to facilitate the cost of including them in the team) and he did so in the case of Simon Stead. He'd also agreed to back Rory Schlein but Thomas U-turned and Aces signed Andy Smith instead. More importantly, as mentioned in PC's book, George also told Mole and Thomas that he would finance a deal to bring Tai Woffinden to Kirky Lane. George explained: "One other interesting situation arose during one of my visits to Belle Vue. Tai Woffinden was reportedly going to Wolverhampton for the reported sum of £10,000 plus extras. "As Tai had cut his teeth with the Colts I told Tony and Ian that I would match or beat the offer for him to become a Belle Vue asset. To my surprise, they said they weren’t interested." George's input was also sought by the BV promotion after Mole sold out to David Gordon and Chris Morton, presumably during some of the period of your involvement. GC writes: "As the (2007 takeover) deal had come so late into the off-season they had great difficulty in putting out a competitive team. Chris phoned me in Vancouver and asked whether I would still sponsor Simon Stead, which I agreed to do. Chris and I had known each other for a considerable amount of time - in fact for a short period I had worked with Chris and Steve Casey at Allied Dunbar. The team predictably finished bottom of the league in 2007. "Chris and I talked regularly by phone and discussed the potential of several up and coming riders. Prior to the start of 2011 Chris phoned asking if there was a possibility of getting Rory Schlein to rejoin the club. I contacted Rory and offered to sponsor him, to which he agreed and he was able to come to terms with Chris and David. Rory had a banner year and I felt things were on the rise." George has told us much more about what happened behind the scenes in the period leading up to the 2016 but it was not relevant to the book.

Aren't all autobiographies by definition a one-sided take. But, as I mentioned previously, much of what PC has written about respective BV managements is supported in print by George Carswell, who was financially involved under all regimes from John Perrin to David Gordon/Chris Morton. Believe me, PC didn't decide to write his story for money. If so, he would have done it many years ago, when speedway had a far bigger following and more fans from his peak racing era were still around. I accept your view that riders know the risks when they begin and that they go into it hoping to earn a living. And PC did very well out of speedway - no doubt - as did the sport out of him. But, come on, some goodwill from all tracks towards their past employees wouldn't go amiss - and wouldn't cost them a penny. To make ex-riders pay (or ask) to get in is, of course, not a crime and it's every promoter's right to dictate his own policy. But it's churlish, mean-spirited and short-sighted when tracks need all the good PR they can muster in these financially ominous times.

Again, your facts appear to be wrong. According to PC, Perrin didn't put in any money at the outset (it's all in the book, which you don't seem to have read). On the other hand, as front man, PC raised all the money needed to buy the riding assets and BL1 licence from Stuart Bamforth through sponsorship and donations. Norman Smith was repaid the tens of thousands he spent building the speedway track out of gate receipts, not Perrin's pocket.

It's about context and respect. As keepturningleft pointed out: 'How many former Belle Vue riders can there be that live in or near Manchester? A tiny handful. It seems quite mean spirited of the BV management to stick with such rigid formality rather than show some heart, waive the entrance fee and instead wave these valued old timers in.' In fairness to the current BV regime, my understanding from speaking to several ex-Aces who have attended meetings this year, the club management's policy seems to be that all-ex BV riders ARE admitted free of charge . . . BUT they first have to contact Mark Lemon to get the OK from him. That obviously wouldn't be necessarily (and would save Mark time having to reply to requests) if BV simply issued the handful who wish to attend a seasonal pass with a passport-style photo that cannot be transferred to a mate or anyone else. It must be a little demeaning for prominent ex-riders, including one legend (not PC), to have to phone or text Lemon to get his permission. For this reason I know of one ex-Ace who, to avoid embarrassment, either just stays away or pays to get in. It shouldn't be this way. As for the lesser lights you mentioned, my purely personal view if that everyone who put their neck on the line for any club in at least six official senior matches should be offered a season pass. If I was running a track, I'd want the ex-riders to feel welcome. If they are, they are so much more likely to spread positive vibes about the speedway, which can only be a good thing when the paying support is diminishing at most venues.

Dave's bad crash which badly broke his thigh was on May 13, 1977 - Hackney v Poole. He had averaged a career-best 10.18 from 36 league and KO Cup matches in a brilliant 1976. Or 10.28 from 32 BL matches, which saw him finish eighth in the overall BL averages.

He certainly does have inside knowledge of the unhappy (for him) 18 months or so when he WAS part of the original consortium at Kirky Lane, along with John Perrin, Norman Smith and Don Bowes, as he recalls in great detail in the book. In the book, PC knowledge of events involving subsequent regimes is largely supported and embellished by George Carswell, who was heavily involved through the years with numerous promotions as a major investor who ultimately lost hundreds of thousands of pounds financing BV. As for your comments re. passes, they are wide of the mark. Again, PC states the facts in his book.

PC's account of that turbulent period is laid bare in later chapters.

If you live in or not far from Lymm in Cheshire, then you might want to drop into the Lymm Heritage Centre this Thursday (Dec 15, 6.30-8.30pm), when PC will be there signing copies of his book. The full address is: Lymm Heritage Centre, Legh Street, Lymm, WA13 0DA.

What does it matter? PC has no personal affinity with the NSS and no-one from Belle Vue's management has made contact with him or us as his publisher to express any interest in hosting such an event. It's not as if it could be held to coincide with a speedway meeting either. Besides, the Longsight social club - who did approach us and are keen to make use of their facilities - is festooned with Aces memorabilia, proudly celebrating Belle Vue's history.

If you live in or near Manchester, then you might be interested to know that PC is returning to the Longsight & District Sports & Social Club this Friday (Dec 9) for an 'Evening with Peter Collins' Q&A that I'll be conducting with him. It's also another ideal opportunity to buy his acclaimed new autobiography for £20 (a fiver off the RRP) and get it signed by the sporting legend. You may also like to take a selfie incorporating his 1976 world title-winning bike, leathers and body colour. Doors open at 7.30pm, with the main event starting at 8.00. As well as selling the book, Susie will also be there with a number of Retro Speedway's selected DVDs. The full address is: Longsight & District Sports & Social Club 140 Kirkmanshulme Lane (next to the NSS) Manchester M12 4WP Admission: £10.00 (inc buffet). You can pre-order a ticket via PayPal from Lesleyrourke33@hotmail.com or pay at the door on the night. Hope to see you there . . .

You can pay £10 at the door on the night. Books are £20 each.

You can pay £10 at the door on the night. Books are £20 each.

Yes, you are right - PC will be there. Here are the details: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 London Classic Off Road & Racing Show, Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ. 8.00am-3.00pm. Admission: Early Bird (from 8.00am) £10, adult from 9.30am £7, child (under-15) free. Free car parking.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 Longsight & District Sports & Social Club, 140 Kirkmanshulme Lane, Manchester M12 4WP. 7.30pm. £10.00 for an ‘Evening with PC’ Q&A (inc buffet).