TonyMac

Excellent research, Bob. How can you tell tell the difference between Poole and Liverpool's jacket? On the subject of colours, can someone please confirm the main background colour of the old Odsal Tudors body colour (obviously the Yorkshire rose was white!). We have some old Tudors pics to upload to the site but I need to get their racejacket drawn up first.

Cheers, Jim. I was never worried! I guessed the Brummie was Peter Craven, but the racejacket put doubts in my mind, and I'm glad that you've cleared that up. Guest riders, eh. Looks like they've been part and parcel of the sport for donkey's years.

Jim, I did, but I prefer confirmed 'orders' that state which size prints (A4 or 6x4) you require, along with appropriate payment via our PayPal email address of subs@retro-speedway.com!!!

Have just added some more to the site - all from 1972 - featuring Barrow, Cradley Heath, Ipswich (team practice), Long Eaton. Many thanks for your help. Tony Mac

Well done, chaps. Great work. Please keep 'em coming. Rather than update the corrected captions and move them to their appropriate club sections, I'll leave them in the 'Mystery' section for now, in case anyone wishes to offer other alternative opinions! We will be adding some of the older clubs' racejackets - (eg, New Cross, Harringay, Norwich, Southampton, etc) to the club section fairly soonish, so that pics of riders from those defuct tracks can be showcased. Many thanks for all your help.

OK, you knowledgeable types...Can we please have your help in identifying pictures of 'Mystery Men' (and women!) on our Retro Speedway website? We now have more than 200 old photos of former riders, promoters, officials, etc (with hundreds more still to upload), that need to be correctly identified before we can place them in the appropriate club section of the site, so your help would be much appreciated. Pleae either reply on this forum or, if you'd prefer, email me at editorial@retro-speedway.com. It would be nice to confine all responses to this thread, though, so that others can share in this voyage of discovery! Some of the faces will seem very familiar to you. Where we know the year in which the photo was taken, it has been added to the end of file name, so that may help. Even if you don't manage to put a name to many faces, just browsing through all of these lovely old pics should prove a pleasure and hopefully bring back happy memories. By the way, we've also uploaded more early 70s pics to the club pages of the Gallery in the last few days, so you may also want to check those out... Here's the link to the Mystery Men section: http://www.retro-speedway.com/extras/autog...autogallery.php Many thanks for your help. Tony Mac

Songs played regularly in my first couple of seasons around the southern tracks (mainly Hackney & West Ham in 1971 & 1972) were: Chirpy, Chirpy Cheep Cheep (Middle of the Road) Son of My Father (Chickory Tip) Craklin' Rose (Neil Diamond) Rose Garden (Lynn Anderson) Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Tony Orlando & Dawn)

Issue 29 highlights.... MAIN MAN: BARRY BRIGGS WHEN Barry Briggs beat big rival Ivan Mauger in his first race of the 1972 World Final, it seemed a fourth world title was within his grasp. Just minutes later, Briggo’s title dreams lie in tatters . . . a serious crash at Wembley saw him on his way to hospital requiring emergency surgery and the amputation of a finger. For the first time since his ordeal 36 years ago, the four times World Champion talks candidly and in great depth about the incident that he believes robbed him of a fifth crown. BB has never forgiven Bernt Persson, the Swede he accuses of knocking him off on the first bend, but with the refreshing honest that runs throughout our exclusive interview, he admits: “When I look back at the TV replay of the incident, I can see that I wasn’t smart. I left Persson too much room.” As well as taking a closer look back at that ’72 drama, Briggo explains why age didn’t deter him from making a comeback with Wimbledon in 1974, at the age of 39, and going on to enjoy a few more seasons for the Dons and, finally, Hull in 1976. He talks about his rivalry and friendship with Ivan Mauger, on and off the track . . . how he couldn’t cope when his former idol Ronnie Moore nearly died at a World Champions Series meeting that was promoted by him and Mauger...how the Kiwis conned the Poles at Exeter...helping Swindon team,-mate Martin Ashby to second place in the BLRC and why ‘Crash’ couldn’t repeat his performance that night at Belle Vue in 1972...in his role as mentor and advisor in the 80s, Barry explains why he thinks Kelvin Tatum never fulfilled his potential...and the difficulty he had trying to help Kelly Moran win the World Final...why his Golden Greats idea led to the invention of the dirt deflector – and the frustrations that followed...he names the two things that have done British speedway most damage (and it’s not the GP!)...what Briggo is up to these days, his latest invention and why hip replacement surgery and dodgy knee can’t keep him off a bike for long! To complement our major, eight-page interview with the biggest personality speedway has ever known, our top columnist JOHN BERRY also takes a close look at the massive impact Briggs made on the sport. JB recalls the time Briggo revealed how he had pumped oxygen pumped into his blood to help keep him fit and feeling younger than ever. JOHN TITMAN We catch up with the former Australian star at home in Brisbane, where he recently made a one-off comeback at the Ekka track where it all began for him back in 1968. John looks back on his BL career with Halifax, Exeter, Leicester, Hackney and Wimbledon, plus his two World Final appearances and what riding for Australia meant to him. He pays tribute to a few of the promoters he rode for and explains why leaving Leicester in 1983 proved a good move for all concerned. A reputable engine tuner, John admits that perhaps doing all the work on his bikes backfired on him and stopped him achieving greater success. IAN TURNER One of the smallest and most spectacular riders throughout the 70s, ‘Tiddler’ explains why just riding for his beloved King’s Lynn was a dream come true and that he never had any aspirations to become World Champion. The little man with the big heart recalls team-mates such as Terry Betts, Michael Lee and the people who helped him to become an unsung hero at Saddlebow Road. RICK FRANCE After 12 years with Coventry, the early 70s heralded a fresh start for Rick, who enjoyed his later years in Yorkshire with firstly Sheffield and then Halifax. The 1967 World Finalist and former England international quit at the end of 1975 and he explains why – plagued by persistent problems with his shoulder - he had no thoughts of dropping into Division Two. READING HEROES So just who did Bob Radford include in his Top 20 of people who made the most significant contribution to Reading Racers from 1970 to 1990 inclusive? Anders Michanek and Jan Andersson are certainly in there, of course, but who else joins them in our colourful four-page tribute . . . and who didn’t make it? Definitely cause for debate among former Tilehurst and Smallmead devotees... BLRCs of the 80s Following on from our look at British League Riders’ Championships of the 70s in our last issue, we fast-forward to the 80s decade and review the Belle Vue biggie that saw Englishmen and Danes dominate this annual classic before it passed into American hands. Read how Collins, Carter, Gundersen, Nielsen, Pedersen and Moran took the main honours. Plus Q&A's with Stuart Cope & announcer Peter Morrish, your letters and more.. http://www.retro-speedway.com

John Titman fans or admirers may be interested to know that we've got a chunky four-page interview with the former Aussie champ in the latest issue (No.29) of Backtrack, which subscribers should receive in the post this weekend or Monday. Must say it was a pleasure talking to this down-to-earth Aussie, who gained such well-earned respect during his spells with Halifax, Exeter, Leicester, Hackney and Wimbledon before returning to Oz at the end of 1984. In the meantime, you can view some new pics of John on our website: http://www.retro-speedway.com/

Big Arthur Caton, who could be heard from the other side of the stadium! '76 was the year Wolves came down and George Hunter took a swipe at Plechy after he charged past him in one race. Also the year Len was banned by the SCB for a meeting (for an altercation in the Swindon ref's box following Zenon's exclusion) and watched the next home meeting at The Wick from the terraces in the main stand.

Most responses so far relate to success and winning trophies....for me it has to be 1976 purely for a season of great racing at Hackney (not much hope of a trophy there!) and that long, hot glorious summer when we could travel the length and breadth of the country without fear of too many rain-offs. The year of the drought. Zenon Plech and Dave Morton were both at their thrilling best. Peter Collins and Simmo dominated the year at the top level, culminating in a long train journey to Katowice for many of us on the Warnersports Express,, but wasn't it all worthwhile! PC passing just about everybody from the back in '76, in the days when real racers still found enough grip to show their skill. Michael Lee, the new rising young English star, and Joe Owen and his Diamonds sparkling wherever they went in the National League. For me, the NL meant Sunday afternoons at Rye House, where we saw the most professionally turned out team in the league with their indentical Infradex leathers.

All subscribers should have received Issue 3 by now... Four times World Champion and the biggest personality in the sport’s history, BARRY BRIGGS looks back at the start and through the peak years of his illustrious career in our major exclusive that runs over 12 pages. Briggo recalls his early struggles to find his way under no-nonsense promoter Ronnie Greene at Wimbledon in the early 50s and why he wanted away from the Dons all for the sake of £30. He remembers happier days at Southampton and riding for showman Charles Knott, who paid him a fiver to deliberately miss the start in the second-half final at Bannister Court. Barry led Swindon to the British League championship in 1967 but read why he believes he was not as good a captain as his Kiwi mate Ivan Mauger. BB talks about his stormy relationship with great rival Ove Fundin, including their controversial clash that decided the 1957 World Final. In 1964 Barry was officially declared runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award but speedway people still insist the voting was rigged. Briggo shares his own thoughts on that and what it was like being the most famous face in the sport throughout the 60s. RICK FRANCE He was a leading England international, BL star for Coventry and 1967 World Finalist but, as RICK FRANCE explains why a persistent shoulder problem hampered his once promising career . Rick, now 70 and a great-grandad, recalls his escapades with the Bees and how he and his old pal and business partner Ron Mountford once landed themselves in trouble with promoter Charles Ochiltree. He talks about his Coventry team-mates, including Nigel Boocock. Rick says: “At Newcastle one night we didn’t like the track, so we had words and pulled out – except for Nigel and John Harrhy. They were in every other race while the rest of us cleared off to the bar because we weren’t going to be taken for idiots. That was another one of Mike Parker’s tracks – it was terribly prepared. “I remember Nigel being at a Control Board hearing after something or other had gone on and him saying that he’d ride on broken glass if he had to. Well, we wouldn’t.” IVOR BROWN and the Internationale IT was a big day out for Cradley Heath fans who had travelled down to south-west London from the Black Country for the 1965 Internationale. The amalgamation of the National League and Provincial League prior to the 1965 season had heralded the Heathens’ arrival in big-time speedway and the massed ranks of supporters bedecked in green-and-white were determined to enjoy themselves and show their support for their man Ivor Brown, one of the leading lights and tough guys of the Provincial era who had earned his call-up for this prestige meeting with a string of fine scores in the opening months of the season. We look back at that meeting – in words and pictures (cheers, Britmet!) – that proved a disaster for the seriously injured Brown, who was stretchered off after a first bend incident with Ove Fundin in his opening ride. The Dudley Wood legend hardly rode again that season and he was never the same rider again. LUBOS TOMICEK On the 40th anniversary of his father’s tragic death in Prague, Lubos Tomicek talks movingly about the heartbreak and devastation of seeing his dad killed in action. The father of current Lakeside Hammer Lubos Tomicek junior also reveals how lucky he is to still be alive today. ALAN HUNT Alan, or ‘Whacker’ as the Birmingham legend was widely known, is one of speedway's immortals who lost his life in a racing crash. It happened in South Africa and he had risen to eminence, excellence and fame the hard way. When the Alan Hunt whirlwind first hit the cinder tracks of the Midlands, one promoter begged for him to be banned before other riders racing with him came to serious harm. In this eight-page special on Hunt, we examine the eventful career of the former Cradley Heath, Birmingham and England. To order a copy or subscribe for the year, go to http://www.retro-speedway.com Please let us have your feedback - always much appreciated. Cheers, Tony Mac

Thanks to all for your responses. Britmet, your account is very detailed. Can I please use your real name and include your view of events (above) with the pic of the fans that I'm going to use? If you'd rather reply by PM than on the forum, pse email me at editorial@retro-speedway.com tonight or first thing in the morning. It's just that real names always look better in print. Hope you don't mind. Cheers, TMc

That's great, many thanks. I have a picture of a group of Cradley fans, holding a large Ivor Brown banner, marching along the greyhound track in front of the main stand at Wimbledon - presumably to show their disgust towards Ove and his supporters? I'd like to use the pic in the next issue of Classic Speedway, so do you remember any fans protest of this kind? Thanks for your help anyway. TMc

Quick one for all your Cradley Heathens or anybody who was at the Wills Internationale at Wimbledon in the early 60s, when Ivor Brown was badly injured. A search hasn't thrown up the answer, so can anyone confirm exactly what happened, pse? I believe the Cradley fans were none too happy with the treatment their idol received. Cheers, TMc

Oops! The Dons are there now. Re. the Swindon team pic, can anyone confirm the two officials, please?

Can anyone please help us to confirm the identities of some riders/team managers who appear in the photos on our Gallery (follow link below). This is what we know so far, but can anyone please fill in the gaps (assuming left to right order): SOUTHAMPTON Back row: Alby Golden, Barry Briggs, ?????? (team manager), Reg Luckhurst, Bjorn Knutson. Front: ??????????, Cyril Roger, Peter Vandenberg. DONS IN BATH Front: Geoff Mardon, Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs. Back: Dom Perry (is this correct?), ??????? and ??????? (partly hidden). DONS 1954 Back row: Geoff Mardon, Barry Briggs, Cyril Brine, Ronnie Moore, Peter Moore. Front: Reg Trott, Dom Perry (?), Cyril Maidment. We'll be adding lots more 'Mystery Men' to the site, which we hope you may be able to identify for us, in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, here's the link for these first three pics: http://www.retro-speedway.com/extras/autog...w=Mystery%20Men Many thanks. Tony Mac

We're in touch with John's son in Brisbane, with a view to interviewing his Dad for the next issue. John recently made a comeback and did a few exhibition laps in Oz. Do you have any particular memories of him that you'd like to share....?

Gem, you seem to have 'dropped a Rick' here. We're talking Rick France, not Miller!

The great Barry Briggs will be our Main Man for Issue 29 of Backtrack and also in the next edition (No. 3) of Classic Speedway. We'll be intervewing Briggo face-to-face next week, so does anybody have any specific questions you would like us to put to the four times world champion, about his career and all the many other things he has been involved in since he stopped riding in the BL in 1976?

Sorry it's very short notice, but we'll be interviewing Riock france tomorrow evening for the next issue of Classic Speedway. I wondered if anyone has any particualr memories of Rick's racing days, or any specific questions you'd like us to put to him? He qualifird for the 1967 World Final but suffered a shoulder injury at Hackney shortly before. Indeed, he was plagued with recurring shoulder problems from then on and had to undergo numerous operation to it. Here's a brief summary of where he rode: In pre-BL days, he rode for Coventry (1960 & 64), Middlesbrough (61), Leicester (62), Wolves (63), Oxford (63), Wimbkledon (63) BRITISH LEAGUE 1965-72 Coventry 1973 Sheffield 1974-75 Halifax Many thanks Tony Mac

Calling anyone who has yet to renew their Backtrack subscription or who may be considering doing so - possibly for a friend as a Xmas gift or for themselves... The annual cost of a subscription to the magazine (6 issues a year) will be slightly increased with effect from December 1, 2008 as follows: UK SUBSCRIBERS - Increasing from £16.00 to £17.50. EUROPEAN SUBSCRIBERS - From £22.00 to £24.00. REST of the WORLD SUBSCRIBERS - From £30.00 to £32.00. But if you renew or take out a new subscription before December 1st, you will receive each issue at the old price, so don't miss out. The saving of £3.50 a year (UK) on the cover price means you will effectively receive one of your six issues per year FREE! It's with great reluctance that we have had to increase the subs price, but print and production costs have increased significantly since we launched the mag way back in March 2004. So hopefully this first increase in four-and-half-years will be acceptable to our loyal readers, for whom we thank sincerely for your support in these difficult economic times. Believe me when I say that we don't take any of you for granted and without your backing there simply wouldn't be a Backtrack or a Classic Speedway. You can renew/subscribe either by phoning Susie on 01708 734 502, or: Online at: http://www.retro-speedway.com Many thanks, Tony Mac & Susie Retro Speedway

Issue 28 is out now, including: MAIN MAN: FINN THOMSEN He was one of Denmark¹s leading riders, but few who saw him doubt that Finn Thomsen could have achieved even more than three World Team Cup and two World Pairs medals to his name. In our new in-depth, six-page exclusive interview with the former Wolverhampton and Hackney favourite, he candidly admits: "My downfall, and it was always my problem as a rider, is that I never had the ambition or desire in me to become World Champion. There was always a little something missing." Tony Mac caught up with Finn, who also had BLK spells with Poole and Swindon before retiring in 1986, in Spain, where he reflects on what might have been. As forthright as ever, our lead columnist JOHN BERRY also runs the rule over Thomsen¹s career and he admits: "We were never bosom pals and would not have made a natural mix." ANDY SMITH Three times British Champion and twice a World Finalist before going on to become one of England¹s original GP stars, ever-spectacular England star Andy Smith invited Martin Neal into his Stoke home to look back on the early part of his career for Belle Vue and Bradford. Andy told Backtrack: "I took out a Polish licence because I had no choice. I had to work. Sometimes I felt like quitting and I think most people in my position would have - but I still had ambition and I still wanted to race." BLRCs of the 70s We look back over the decade of the 70s at the 10 stagings of the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, recalling the major incidents, spills and thrills of this annual individual classic that regularly attracted 20,000-plus crowds to the famous Manchester track. Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Peter Collins, hat-trick hero Ole Olsen and John Louis all added their name to this prestigious title during the period under review. PAT BLISS As Reading leave their home after 23 years, Bob Radford recalls old times with Pat Bliss, who had the longest period of those involved in the Racers' management in the Smallmead era. Pat, who is now retired, says: "I've missed the day-to-day running of the Racers and the people, but not the politics of the sport." RUDY MUTS Following his chat with Henny Kroeze in our previous issue, Vitek Formanek caught up with Rudy Muts, another one-time leading Dutchman of the 70s, who had a lengthy spell in the British League with Wimbledon before a broken neck curtailed his track career. Looking back, Rudy admits: "Some people told me I was too nice to be a speedway rider. I think I was fair and didn't do anything bad to anyone. Maybe, if I had my time again, I would try to be a bit tougher." ROBBIE GARDNER A feature on the Northern scene in the early 70s, Robbie Gardner tells Richard Bott that it was the tragic death of a Newcastle team-mate that made him decide to end his own once promising racing career. FELTON There are precious few learning opportunities for would-be riders in Britain today but there was once a thriving training facility in the North-East of England. Martin Neal talks to Ken Marshall about how he, partner Will Hunter and other far-sighted enthusiasts helped to make some dreams come true at Felton. Plus...Rod Haynes' column, Ipswich in Pictures, Q&As with Sean Courtney and announcer Laurence Rogers, your letters and, of course, another huge helping of speedway nostalgia from the 70s and 80s. You can order this issue, or subscribe, online now direct from us at Retro Speedway http://www.retro-speedway.com

Six of 'em with a regular Saturday race night.

Sorry, Salt, you're right. Got a bit ahead of meself there! She's been deleted from my post now. Maybe not, but from a Midlands angle, we have a pic here (and will possibly use it in the 70s mag) of 'Miss Diane' (Susan Hanson from the Crossroads Motel) handing out the medals at the Midland Riders' Championship at Coventry in the very early 70s. Yeah, feeling all optimistic if you read your team had been allocated a well-known Swedish star; or gutted if it was an unknown Pole who you knew either would never turn up or wouldn't last two minutes if he did.