TonyMac

Said it after the recent fiasco in Warsaw . . . sometimes we all have to be thankful that the national media in Britain DON'T show much or any interest in speedway these days. Imagine how they would have covered events at the first GP of 2015? They would have absolutely slaughtered speedway as a whole and the sport's image would have again taken a massive hit in the eyes of the general public. The tabloids, had they been interested in speedway, would have also torn the FIM to shreds, killed any credibility they might have left, over their farcically protracted (mis)handling of the Darcy Ward case. So instead of, as they see it, wasting valuable column inches on a sport that is hell bent on shooting itself in both feet time and again, they choose to ignore it altogether (apart from whatever Peter Oakes manages to get published due to his well established connections). If you want to know the many reasons why the nationals no longer have any time for speedway, most were contained in our two-part interview with Dave Lanning in Backtrack. As you know, Dave was The Sun's speedway man for years, his sensationalised stories read by up to four million (yes, FOUR MILLION) people each day. Speedway couldn't buy that level of exposure, yet the promoters of the day were generally very clueless in maximising this coverage to the sport's advantage. Dave would get calls saying: 'I've got a story for you.... we're changing our start time from 7.30 to 8.00' - and they would actually expect The Sun to print it. What Dave's son, Russell, did last year, by persuading The Sun to publish a two-page interview with Tai Woffinden, to tie in with the British GP at Cardiff, was little short of miraculous. A key factor is that speedway has no apparent friends or fans among Fleet Street's (Canary Wharf's) 'finest' who are prepared to fight its corner. Oakesy (Daily Star), Phil Rising (Daily Express), Keir Radnedge (Daily Mail), Dick Bott (Sunday Express) have, or had, a genuine affection for and deep knowledge of the sport and they filed good stories on a daily basis. Now the sport has to be grateful for that same enthusiasm from most of the hacks covering the sport for the local press. Having a weak GB team at world level doesn't help either.

The Belle Vue opener is bound to be a complete sell out - and deservedly so after all the effort that has gone in to make it happen. Fans will travel from all over the UK, and some from overseas, to be part of an historic track opening. After all, it's not any old venue - it's BELLE VUE, the most famous club name in world speedway. I'm sure Mort and David Gordon will also ensure there is a strong nostalgic feel to the evening, in addition to honouring Peter Craven's name. Be great to see the likes of Alan Wilkie, Eric Broadbelt, Norman Nevitt, Jim Yacoby, Bill Powell, etc, there, along with the obligatory appearance of Peter Collins and more recent favourites such as Shawn Moran, Joe Screen and Jason Crump.

Delighted to confirm that Retro Speedway will be publishing Ipswich and England legend John Louis' autobiography, scheduled for release in August. We are also working with Alan Carter on an update to his sell-out Light in the Darkness book. We'll be making an announcement very soon about publishing our previously sold out printed books (Kenny Carter: Tragedy and Simmo: The Whole Truth, etc) in eBook format via Amazon Kindle.

From a retro perspective, I'd just like to say what a privilege it was to know and interview the riders of the pre-95 era, when men were men and, by and large, they got on with it no matter how bad track conditions were. Coming as the first GP of 2015 did In the week of the funeral of Nigel Boocock, one of the most courageous and injury-plagued riders ever to grace the world stage, the actions of the GP prima donnas in Warsaw was contemptible. Booey must have been turning in his grave at the complete disregard the 'Warsaw 18' showed for the supporters who had invested money and time travelling to Poland. This was Rider Power at its most destructive worst. Nowadays, if they insist they will not ride, then there is nothing anyone - the referee, BSI, PZM, Ole Olsen et al - can possibly do about it. Whoever had the idea of sending out the riders to further insult the intelligence of the 55,000 crowd with a 'lap of dishonour' after the meeting was curtailed should receive the 'P***-Take Of The Year' Award. The damage inflicted on the sport and the GP series as a whole by their refusal to complete the meeting beyond the 12th heat, in conditions no worse than many other big meetings we have witnessed down the years, is incalculable. One of the worst aspects was what seemed a complete lack of communication with the viewing public and the thousands watching at home on TV. I always Sky+ the GPs, because the delays between races are invariably interminable, but the lack of information coming from the commentators working for British Eurosport throughout the ridiculous delay was unprecedented in televised sporting history. I don't doubt that the comms themselves didn't know any more than we did about what was happening behind the scenes, where the riders debunked to the dressing room to agree on their sickening rebellion pact - but they should have done. In this digital communications age, was it really beyond the wit of a Eurosport producer or member of staff in London to dial or text from a mobile phone and connect with a contact in the pits at Warsaw (Steve Brandon?) to try and establish what was going on, so that the likes of Nigel Pearson/Kelvin Tatum and Andy Jaye/Scott Nicholls could, in turn, relay updates to their viewers? Poor Scott, he deserved a 'Man of the Meeting' award for the way he had to fend off one rhetoric question after another from Andy Jaye, whose lack of speedway knowledge was put to the test. The 'padding' was cringeworthy, but at the same time you had to feel sorry for them. Eurosport need to look very closely at how it handles presentation of GPs in future and, if need be, it should insist that the GP organisers BSI always provide a clear line of communication at all times. Viewers of live TV events simply cannot be left in the dark for 30-40 minutes, or whatever it was before the plug was finally pulled. The one saving grace (if there can possibly be one given the dire circumstances) is that the sad, lamentable events of Saturday are confined to the pages of Speedway Star, one column in MCN and social media. The British press probably won't have even heard about it, let alone report on the farce that unfolded. On wretched occasions such as this, we have to be thankful that the national media ignore our sport, otherwise you dread to think what they would have made of it. If you think I'm being unkind to the riders who compete (or don't, as the case may be) today, check out video footage of numerous meetings from the 70s, notably the 1975 and 1977 World Finals, plus the 1984 British Final, the 1978 BLRC and the 1979 UK WTC round at Reading, which was run in horrendously wet conditions. Safety standards for riders barely existed back in the day but they still got on with it. There were no dirt deflectors, no air fences to cushion the fall. Just totally committed riders who cared a lot more about the sport that gave them their living - the bigger picture - rather than themselves.

We've got an in-depth feature in the new issue (67) of Backtrack headed 'Just For Kicks', which explores the links between speedway and football, including interviews with promoters at the only two tracks (Glasgow and Berwick) where the sports still co-exist. Football fans are much less tolerant of their team's failings than their speedway counterparts, hence the endless stream of managerial sackings and ownership changes, much of which results from pressure applied by disgruntled supporters never slow to voice their opinions in every way possible. Also, consider the amount of personal abuse directed at football players and managers, inside the stadiums and on social media, and you realise that those on the 'inside' of speedway get off relatively lightly in times of discord. OK, so the vast majority in football are very handsomely rewarded for their trouble - ludicrously so - but the day will thankfully never come when 40,000-50,000 neanderthals are jeering and abusing one rider for some perceived wrongdoing, or merely for being in the opposition team. The many ridiculous things speedway fans are expected to put up with . . . delayed start-times, endless delays between races, fixture chaos, willy-nilly abuse of the guest rider system, constant rule changes, riders picking and choosing their meetings (add your own personal gripes), etc, etc . . . would not be tolerated by fans of professional football clubs, who invariably pay much more at the turnstiles, even though the game is awash with billions of TV revenue. A major reason for the abuse levelled at those employed in football is due to the obscene amount of money swilling around the game today. Fans, who are paying through the nose to attend games, have a greater sense of entitlement, so they are naturally more demanding. And those who can't afford to attend live games feel equally aggrieved because they have been priced out of what was once the working class men's game. We wouldn't love speedway the way we do if it was ever anywhere near as 'big' as football.

Sincere congratulations to Speedway Star editors Richard Clark and Andrew Skeels, in particular, and everyone else concerned - including contributors and the designers - on producing today's mammoth 128-page Season Preview Special. Without hesitation, I would say it is the best EVER single edition of any magazine ever produced on the sport. Actually, it's a book, not a magazine, and easily worth twice the £2.90 cover price. There is so much to admire in the variation of in-depth content and presentation - I loved the UK, Swedish and Polish graphic maps with track info. A small but nice touch. Tony Mac Retro Speedway

TICH READ SAD to report that former Norwich favourite Tich Read has died today, aged 84. Tich had been ill for the last couple of years, spending time in hospital and in a care home. Although never a world-beater, he made history by winning the last-ever meeting at his beloved Norwich, the Supporters Trophy, on October 31, 1964, before the Firs Stadium closed. The final meeting there was run on a handicap basis. Tich, from Skeyton, near Norwich, spent one other season with the Stars, in 1958. He had previously ridden for Ipswich from 1952 to 1956 and returned for further spells with the Witches in 1958 and 1962. In 1963 he and his great friend and neighbour Trevor Hedge rode together in the same Hackney team. Tich was Best Man at Trevor and Pam Hedge's wedding. Former Hackney PRO Tony Hurren recalls: "Tich was very popular at Hackney in the '63 season. He was a full throttle merchant and his favoured wide racing line meant he knocked down the fence a few times!" Hurren revealed that Tich has never been known in speedway circles by his unusual real name of George Snailum. "I spoke to Tich about this a couple of years ago," says Hurren. "I have always known him as George but he explained to me that his real surname was Snailum. But he said: 'I couldn't possibly ride speedway under that name!' "He confirmed that Read was, in fact, his mother's maiden name. I think he gave himself the nickname 'Tich'."

Welcome aboard 'OveFundinFan'! Hope it brings you enjoyment and rekindles many happy memories - that's our aim.

Issue 67 of the bi-monthly Backtrack retro magazine is out now and the full colour, 56-page edition includes . . . CYRIL CRANE INTERVIEW One of the most controversial and outspoken characters of his time, Cyril Crane built two speedway tracks (and another one that was ruled illegal!) in the east of England with his own hands. In this typically forthright interview with Tony McDonald, the long-serving former King's Lynn and Boston co-promoter, now almost 80, is still calling a spade a spade. JOHN McNEILL INTERVIEW One of the best riders and most intriguing characters to emerge from Victoria state in Australia in the mid-70s, guitar-playing John McNeill recalls the night injury denied him a serious crack at the national title. In part one of his revealing interview, he also looks back with Rob Peasley on a British career that spanned eight teams, brought him a league winners' medal with Cradley Heath and a memorable victory over his boyhood idol. WHO COULD BOOST BRITISH SPEEDWAY? We invite our readers and supporters everywhere to respond to this question: Q: If you could bring back one former rider (in his prime) to inject new life into modern speedway, who would it be - and why? FOOTBALL AND SPEEDWAY Speedway and football clubs have been uneasy bedfellows through the years when most stadiums were multi-purpose arenas. But the endless links between these two starkly contrasting sports and the people involved in them are undeniable. In this report we examine those connections and interview promoters of Glasgow and Berwick, the only two remaining tracks that share their homes with the No.1 national sport. GEOFF MALONEY INTERVIEW A fire fighter who attended some of the nation's biggest disasters, a window cleaner, a chimney sweep and one of the top riders produced by British League Division Two, at the age of 70 former Rayleigh and Hackney favourite Geoff Maloney looks back with Keith McGhie on an interesting career on and off the track. TONY COUPLAND - Team Manager's Tales In part two of his interview with Andrew Skeels, straight-talking former Middlesbrough team manager Tony Coupland recalls more tales from the days when he had a hard job taming his Tigers . BIRMINGHAM BRUMMIES: 50 MEMORABLE MOMENTS Looking back on the turbulent history of the Brummies, including past heroes and stars Graham Warren, George Major, Arthur Browning, Phil Herne, Soren Sjosten, Hans Nielsen, Kelly Moran, Andy Grahame, Doug Wyer, etc. KLAUS LOHMANN INTERVIEW As a young rider, Klaus Lohmann spent less than three full seasons in England with Halifax and Sheffield. But as the likeable Dane explains, he faced a bigger challenge off the track when struck down by MS in his early twenties. OPENING TIMES - Mildenhall v Scunthorpe, 1975 As Mildenhall Speedway celebrates its 40th anniversary, we talk to a few of those involved in the first official meeting at the West Row raceway in May, 1975. ANDRZEJ HUSZCZA INTERVIEW After riding for Zielona Gora in the Polish league for an unbroken 30 years, Andrej Huszcza fully deserves the title of Mr Loyalty. Vitek Formanek interviews the former Leicester, Hackney and Reading man. GLASGOW'S 'HAZY HEROES' Doug Nicolson looks at Glasgow and Coatbridge Tigers' shadowy and at times almost mythical riders who earned their place in local folklore . . . Plus... WHATEVER HAPPENED TO . . . DARREN HARTLEY? WSRA ANNUAL DINNER/DANCE PHOTO COVERAGE COLLECTING with speedway artist STEVE IRVING And many classic, evocative photos from the 70s and 80s that simply ooze nostalgia! To order this single issue or to subscribe, please visit www.retro-speedway.com

Thankfully, the paper wasn't that bad!

Nothing gets past our readers. The names just dissolved off the page. Ok then, if you must know... 1. Alan Witt 2. Ivor Brown 3. Bengt Jansson & Garry Middleton 4. Ian Bottomley 5. Terry Lee 6. Mick Handley

A very good answer (sorry, I didn't trawl back through the pages to see your original post).

So who would YOUR nomination be? Lots of interesting names put forward here but not sure how many (in their prime) would genuinely make a real difference, an impact on a national scale, and improve modern speedway, which is the answer we're searching for. I didn't spell it out in the original question, but modern track conditions and equipment must be factors to consider. Ask yourselves if the thrill merchants of yesteryear would get far on today's 'roads', where passing is at a premium and the bikes are so much easier to ride (leading to fewer mistakes from the trappers)? We're not talking about What we should be looking at is modern speedway's biggest weaknesses in a more general sense, what it is lacking most of all, and how a past rider could make a difference to British speedway today. So PERSONALITY and AURA would surely play a bigger part. We are ideally looking at a past rider who will: 1. Generate national as well as media interest. 2. Be an instant drawcard at tracks wherever he rode, either through his riding style or his personality (good or bad!), or a combination of both. 3. This sounds parochial, but nationality and the ability to communicate his personality to fans and media must also count for a lot, because they are obviously important elements to putting British speedway back on the international map. So, for example, are we looking at a Brit, as opposed to a Dane or any other foreigner, here? Let's face it, it was in many respects the rise and domination of the Danes in the 80s that put the final nail in the coffin of media interest in British speedway. Whether we like it or not, the UK press and media are not interested in niche, poorly supported sports where the Brits are so far off the top tier. Would a former Kiwi superstar be the answer to British speedway's current malaise? Some of you may wish to revise your choices!

Nicely put. Also, If I'm honest, I know relatively little about the sport in the 90s compared to the 70s & 80s, which is the 20-year period in speedway's history that I enjoyed most. I'd drifted away from the sport to pursue another career angle and didn't get back involved in speedway publishing until 2003-ish. Yes, of course, a lot happened in the 90s - including some major changes (World Championship to GP, for example) - but in my book, there weren't many good things happening in the sport. Not long before I left Speedway Mail completely in 1992, track closures were rife, crowds everywhere were down, virtually all the 'professional' promoters had taken their ball home, foreign leagues were gaining momentum and London had ceased to have a track. Did anything other than the introduction of Sky's coverage fall into the 'good' category?

Thanks for your kind comments. It's a very good and valid question. My reluctance to extend to include the 90s is based on the fact that our remit, if you like, is to give what fans of speedway in the 70s and 80s want to read about. By adding the later decade, I'd be concerned that while it might attract new, younger readers, at the same time we might alienate our existing loyal customers. We can't afford the extra cost of adding to the 56 pages (we added another 8 last year), nor would we want to increase the cover price to pay for it, so space for 90s coverage would naturally chew up pages that would normally be filled by 70s/80s content. It's a tough one and I do 'get' it. Maybe we should run a readers' survey to gauge reaction? Or perhaps some Backtrack readers on the BSF could offer more instant feedback...?

Dave, you're quite right to be disappointed about the inferior quality paper used in issue 28 of Classic Speedway - and believe me, I was even more alarmed than you when our office supply was delivered in. This is the first issue printed by our new printer (they also print Speedway Star) - we had to find a new one at short notice after the previous one suddenly went bust. Despite receiving their assurances that both Backtrack and Classic would continue to be printed on the same grade and quality of paper as used by our previous printer (the new one inherited most of the old one's clients), I was dismayed and angry to see how much lighter and the degree of 'show-through' on the new issue of CS. We have already taken it up with the printer and await their response. I'm glad you've mentioned that the editorial content hasn't suffered in any way but your point is well made about the paper usage. It should never have happened and is bloody annoying to say the least. I just wanted to assure you and other readers that this was most certainly not a deliberate move on our part. As for the prospect of a weekly tabloid or a paper/mag of any printed format to be introduced alongside Speedway Star, no-one in the right mind would bother even attempting to do it now. Didn't a few enthusiasts launch a colour mag last year that lasted no more than two minutes? It was never going to work. The market is just not there to make more than one weekly viable with UK speedway in its current state. Production and postage costs are constantly on the increase, while speedway crowds, in general, continue to dwindle. Is there room for a good quality, hard-hitting, more investigative monthly packed with feature-led articles, in-depth analysis, longer interviews and written by quality writers offering a broad range of content that can't be found online? Possibly. But it would be a brave person with deep pockets who tries it. And you wouldn't be able to factor in any track sales revenue, because you would quite probably be banned from every one! Not that track sales income is anything like as strong as it was back in the good, old days, when my old boss Alf Weedon and his right-hand man Harry used to drive to Bristol on a Friday and sell 1,000 (yes, you did read that correctly - ONE THOUSAND) copies of Speedway Mail per week throughout the season. As for us at Retro Speedway, I'm pleased to say that our market is stable and showing no sign of decline. That's the truth. Yes, sadly, we inevitably lose a number of readers who die off each year but, thankfully, there are always new customers discovering us online. Yesterday's kids are tomorrow's veterans! I guess we are fortunate in that a large proportion of our readers are now happily retired, have liveable pensions and some disposable income that they are happy to spend on things that bring them pleasure. And we all like to remember happy times, don't we.

Jeez! Why do people do that . . . post a person's name in the subject line and nothing else! Always makes me fear the worst. Wouldn't 'Dave Morton book enquiry' or 'Dave Morton's book?' be a more apt thread title? The fact that TWO identically titled threads have had 64 views (and only one reply before this) says it all. Get a grip! According to the publishers who contacted us recently (no, we're not publishing it but we've given help), Mort's book will be out this coming May.

We now have all the info we require. Thank you.

Sadly, I never saw Craven.

PC was probably my all-time favourite, but how would he fare on today's tracks that are more akin to a road?

Ok, we like your answer (ha-ha), but can we keep this serious and rule Darcy out of the reckoning....

We would like your input, please, in to a readers/supporters' survey for Backtrack magazine. Our question is: If you could bring back one former rider (in his prime) to inject new life into modern speedway, who would it be - and why? You only get one shot at it - no multiple answers, please (we could all rattle off most of the stars of the 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s!) The best responses will be reproduced in our next issue. Thanks. Tony Mac

Brough & Grand Central, Thanks for pointing out what looks like an error we have repeated by using the Complete History Book (CHB) as our source of reference, which is a bit annoying as we also possess the 1966 BSPA Handbook, as mentioned above. One question, though: The averages printed in the CHB relate to all OFFICIAL matches (ie, league and KO Cup), so would that make, for example, Nigel Booey's figures of 11.91 correct? He asks, desperately clutching at straws. As an aside, we are in touch with Bryan Seery, who was the official BSPA statistician from 1965-81 and Manager from 1978-81. He will be 80 this year (he's currently 79.98, to be precise). If we interview Bryan, do any of you have any specific questions you would like us to put to him?

Can anyone please help us by confirming which SHEFFIELD HOME MEETINGS Kelly Moran rode in during the 1988 season? Not interested in away matches, only meetings at Owlerton from that '88 year. Our email is editorial@retro-speedway.com Many thanks for your help. Tony Mac

Blame the editor - the fool put Cyril's name on the front cover and forgot to remove it when we decided to hold his interview over to our next issue!