TonyMac

Issue No.55 – Vol 14 No.3 – Autumn 2006 LIONEL VAN PRAAG SEVENTY years on from his historic victory in the first-ever official World Final, Lionel Van Praag continues to intrigue and cause controversy among speedway aficionados all over the world. Now the 1936 World Champion will no doubt provoke more lively debate following the production of a compelling, new documentary film, entitled The Flying Dutchman. Narrated and produced by Aussie historian Tony Durant, who kindly passed a preview copy of it to VSM for viewing before it goes on general release later this year. It’s the nearest anyone can expect by way of a definitive analysis of Van Praag, the rider and the person. With the co-operation of Van Praag’s daughter, Cherie, and another interview with one of Lionel’s closest friends in Australia, Durant delivers a candid and compelling insight into the former Wembley star. We learn more of the alleged ‘deal’ that Van Praag struck – and then apparently reneged upon – with England star Eric Langton just prior to their decisive 1936 World Final run-off. We hear about Lionel’s life away from the track, including his fighting prowess that made his a feared man in his Sydney neighbourhood. We get to know more about Van Praag’s resistance to his son Barry’s own quest for speedway stardom and how they never spoke after the crash that tragically ended Barry’s career and left him paralysed. England’s first World Champion Tommy Price reveals how LVP once flattened him with a punch. But in this well balanced documentary, we also get the full story behind Van Praag’s heroic war effort that earned him the George Medal for bravery. Also in issue 55… BLUEY WILKINSON The latest in our popular Leg-Trailers series, John Chaplin looks back on the former World Champion who was killed just a year after his famous Wembley victory . . . and before he could capitalise upon his status and riches. GLASGOW v EDINBURGH To coincide with the 60th anniversary of Glasgow Speedway, former Tigers promoter Ian Hoskins recalls Glasgow and Edinburgh teams and matches of the past. OVE FUNDIN Why the five times World Champion is still greatly revered by old supporters of Norwich Stars…and why the brilliant Swede is to be made a freeman of the city. Also…what Ove and fellow countryman Olle Nygren have been up to in the desert! JIM GREGORY A tribute to the former Wembley, Wimbledon, Oxford and Rayleigh stalwart who is to finally retire from riding a speedway bike…at the age of 79! SIXTIES CHARACTERS Philip Dalling takes a personal dip back intro the early 60s, his childhood memories and his first Long Eaton favourite, ‘Slant’ Payling. SPEEDWAY MUSEUM UPDATE Latest news on the progress of the first Speedway Museum at Paradise Wildlife Park, including some rare gems that have been donated for display in the museum that is on schedule to open in April 2007. On the museum front, find out how you can boost the overall fund and stay warm this winter with one of the new Speedway Museum fleece’s. DAVE COLLINS Part two of our interview with the London who went to race in South Africa in the klate 40s, but returned to Britain to race again. Plus the regulars . . . ERIC LINDEN, YOUR LETTERS & COLLECTING. ________ A subscription to VSM costs as little as £12 a year in the UK (4 issues), £15 in Europe or £18 Rest of World. To subscribe, click: http://www.retro-speedway.com

Can anybody please help with the loan or otherwise of any Ipswich Speedway souvenirs from the 70s period, ideally the early-to-mid 70s when the Witches were rampant in the BL? I'm thinking in particular of car stickers (Ipswich general and/or individual riders - Louis/Davey/Sanders, etc?) that so many fans of all clubs used to proudly display in their car windows and which invariably provoked a friendly 'toot' from other passing motorists with a love of our sport. Rather than post anything to us at Retro Speedway, I'd be very happy to receive a scan of any images by email to: editorial@retro-speedway.com I'm only asking for Ipswich-related stuff, as it is for use in our next book project . . . John Berry's 'More Confessions', which will be out in November. Many thanks for your help.

VSM contributor Ian Hoskins has written to us with the sad news from New Zealand... Les Whaley died a few weeks ago in Wales, aged 93. Les became a promoter in the l960s when he purchased Trevor Redmond's shares in the Glasgow White City promotion. His son Brian was a rider with the Tigers. Les also opened Bradford (at Odsal) for a while when the Tigers went to Hampden Park. Does anyone have any good memories of Les that they would like to share with forum members?

FORMER Sheffield team boss and Yorkshire speedway legend Eric Boocock is back at Owlerton on Sunday . . . to sign copies of his brilliant brand new book, BOOEY: Around in Circles. There will be many reading this who have had the pleasure of encountering the charismatic Booey – be it as a supporter of some years who will recall his brilliance on the shale for Halifax and England throughout the 60s and early 70s; or as one who has an appreciation of his sterling efforts as manager of England, Belle Vue, Sheffield, Bradford, Long Eaton, Edinburgh and Hull over a long and distinguished career on both sides of the fence. So if you want to chat about the ‘good old days’ and reminisce with Booey, pop along to Mick Gregory’s track shop in front of the main grandstand and pick up a personally signed copy from this true track hero while you’re at it. BOOEY: Around in Circles is published by Retro Speedway and if you don’t have a spare £15.99 in cash with you at Sheffield, then you can still order this 256-page book direct from the publishers by sending a cheque (payable to Retro Speedway) to: Retro Speedway (Booey), 103 Douglas Road, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 1AW. You can also order by phoning their Credit Card Hotline on 01708 734 502, or online via the website: www.retro-speedway.com.

Just to let you all know that issue 16 is at the printers and will be mailed out to subscribers next Tuesday (Sept 12th). Main interviews/features to look forward to... GORDON KENNETT - on coping with diabetes, thoughts on becoming a Dane, his ex-wife, his fall out with Ole Olsen, his brothers and nephew, etc, etc. VACLAV VERNER DEFUNCT TRACK – HALIFAX (The Shay as it looks today - very sad!) TED HOWGEGO NIGEL CRABTREE DENNY PYEATT Remembered ALAN EMERSON MITCH GRAHAM MIKE BROADBANK MASTERMIND QUIZ 2 Plus full colour pics of: Ole Olsen/Tommy Knudsen/Mitch Shirra (Coventry 1979) Kelly Moran (Sheffield) Jeremy Doncaster (Ipswich) Alan Wilkinson (Belle Vue 73) Karl Fiala (Rye House 76) George Hunter (Wolves 76) Tormod Langli (Bristol) Andrzej Tkocz (Poole) Have you forgotten to renew is you expired after issue 15? Better get it done, or miss out on another feast of pure nostalgia! Remember, you now save £5.00 on the normal cover price at the tracks by taking out a subscription for £16 (UK) – and you'll receive your copy first!

Can anyne pse help with career details of the late Toni Kasper (jnr) after he left Eastbourne in 1984? Also, was Stanislav Urban, who rode for Reading in 1983, Czech or Polish? Mazny thanks. Tony Mac

Gordon Kennett has just phoned the Backtrack office to confirm that he's up for an interview, so he'll be the next Main Man subject in issue 16. Can we have your GK memories, please...or anything you'd like us to ask him before next week (keep it relevant!)? Is it right to acclaim him as Eastbourne's All Time Greatest Rider (sorry, only those who rode at senior league level need apply)? Can anyone put up a serious argument, given the length of service GK gave the Eagles? Just to jog any dodgy memories, GK's notable achievements include: 1977 - BL champion (White City) 1978 - World No.2 and World Pairs Champion (with Simmo) Teams: Eastbourne, Oxford, White City, King's Lynn, Wimbledon, Milton Keynes, Wolves (last rode 1995). A personal favourite memory of him was the way in which he completely ignored the diabolical, wet track conditions in the 1979 World Team Cup UK qualifier at Reading to carry the fight to the Kiwis and Americans virtually single-handedly. Brave, determined and hard as nails. A small track specialist with the quality to adapt very successfully to the big 'uns too.

And Tiger Beech and Red Ott!

Try... Jessup, Knudsen, G. Kennett, Sanders, Doncaster, Tatum, Jan O. Pedersen, Bengt Jansson, Ermolenko, Ray Wilson, Ashby, Briggo, Sigalos, Plech.

Please spare us, unless you want this to turn into a cure for insomnia. And, needless to say, the 'we' used before the start of the self-serving, so-called 'interview' in question on this thread was most definitely NOT VSM.

Christ, this is desperate stuff, eh? Herbie, Brian and whoever....please go and hijack another more appropriate forum thread somewhere else and leave the Backtrack section of this site to matters concerning the magazine and our era (if you haven't worked it out yet, that's the 70s & 80s). Thank you. Tony Mac

Well said, Dekker. For a minute there, I thought this was a speedway forum. That's decided it then...no more music (or SPs) in Backtrack!

Well said, Tsunami. And thanks, Jim, for stirring me into action... Jim, your post is anything but respectful to Booey who is, unquestionably, one of the greatest servants to British speedway throughout his 40-plus years in the sport. He's done the lot and the only role he hasn't undertaken in all those years of passionate devotion to the sport is BSPA chairman. For my money, Eric should have been awarded at least an MBE for his servives to speedway some time ago – and he's still in love with the sport today, assisting young Josh Auty at Scunthorpe. All this comes shining through in this excellent book about a man who clearly cares more about speedway than most. Apart from winning the British Championship in 1974 (at a time when it was a damn sight harder to win than it is now), he was capped more than 50 times for England and rode regularly for GB when greats like Mauger and Briggo were also included in the Test team. But perhaps what sets Booey apart from much of the rest of his era is that, for 10 consecutive seasons, he averaged at least 10 points a match for Halifax and was the top Englishman at one time. No other Englishmen has achieved this remarkable feat – not to mention the loyalty to one club. And you'll see from reading Peter Collins' foreword to the book just how important a role Eric played in the development of PC as a rider and, in fact, the invaluable help Booey gave him in the pits on the day he won the World Final in 1976. And the tremendous efforts he personally made to help Peter retain the title in '77, when he had to settle for second after suffering his bad leg injury. We could talk about his managerial success at Belle Vue, where Alan Wilkie's injury cost Aces the league title in 1978 and they finished runners-up on another two occasions, and the treble win at Hull two years ago and so on and so on. Oh yeah, and he managed the small feat (with Ian Thomas) of winning the 1980 World Championship grand slam with England (don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen again). Finally, as Tsunami points out, Eric Boocock is also a genuine, honest guy with stacks of amusing anecdotes to tell. So why shouldn't he have the chance to tell his story just like anybody else? For your info, Eric didn't approach us about a book – he's too modest for that. We recognise what he has done for the sport over a very long period and decided to put the idea of a book to him. The book is great value at 256 pages, contains more than 200 pictures (many from Booey's own collection) and is well written in collobaration with a respected and pukka speedway and sports journalist in Martin Neal, who writes for Backtrack and the Middlesbrough Evening Gazzette. As for Ivan, you're quite right Jim...a follow up to Triple Crown Plus is long overdue and, in fact, Ivan told us last week that he is beginning work on his next book now, with either a 2007 or 08 launch. In the meantime, why not read what a real character like Eric Boocock has to say, from both sides of the speedway fence...

ERIC BOOCOCK is the latest big-name star from the past who has put his life story into print. BOOEY – AROUND IN CIRCLES (15.99 post-free, direct from Retro Speedway (see link on this site) – will be launched on Sunday week. Booey will be signing copies of his new book at the World Speedway Riders’ Association’s Northern Lunch, to be held at The Wool Merchants Hotel, Halifax on Sunday, August 13 (1pm start). Tickets for the lunch, priced £14 each, can be ordered from: Terry Hardaker, 39 Ashfield Drive, Ovenden, Halifax, West Yorks, HX3 5PQ. Tel: 07886 323 451. If you don't wish to attend the luncheon, but still want to buy the book there that day and get Eric to sign it, why not turn up AFTERWARDS – at around 3pm. Copies will be available from that time ...and Booey will be delighted to sign it for you there and then! If you can't make it to Halifax, don't worry...just order a SIGNED COPY direct from Retro Speedway.

KTL, I thought I understood our readers, and that they were paragons of good taste, but you have proved me hopelessly wrong! And there was me thinking that we'd lose half our readership at the mere inclusion of a Sex Pistols pic! If that was a 'classic' single, then God Help Us, let alone The Queen! I guess I was old well before my time. Still, as you say, it's all about opinions. And you are, of course, entitled to yours. I promise we'll never say a detrimental word against the SPs again. Now where are my Sinatra LPs....

As Stan Stevens (briefly a Bomber in 1971) told us in the latest issue of VSM, “people kept on about the concrete fence, but I just stayed away from it!" I'd never heard of that Belle Vue rider getting hurt at Romford - the Czechs were of course notorious visitors but one or two of the Rayleigh boys also got hurt there - Alan Jackson for one. I didn't start going to watch until 1971, the last of their three seasons. Kevin Holden, Phil Woodcock, Bob Coles and Charlie Benham...absolute legends! I once saw the Aussie Bruce Edgar buying a paper in WH Smith's in the town – it was the only time I'd seen him upright for longer than 30 seconds! Long after the stadium was demolished, I used to live just two roads away from Brooklands and it was always difficult to turn the corner and see that horrible housing estate where the Thursday night mecca once stood. It took just one local resident – a Mr Stretch - to get the track shut down on noise grounds...and then he buggered off out of the area within a tear or two. The dog track is a complete non-starter, though, and yes, a number of people have considered it. It's completely hemmed in by houses. But if anyone could find a new site relatively close to the town, with its main rail connections from London Liverpool St. to Southend, it would stand a good chance of being a success. When I win the lottery, the Bombers will be back ... in the Elite League! And with an air fence, naturally! Interestingly, in the latest Backtrack, Lew Stripp comments that Romford was the most intimidating place for him to referee, because of the close proximity of the crowd to the ref's box, low down by the starting gate. Must go now, otherwise I'll feel the urge to write a book about the Bombers era...

Issue 54 of VSM is out now and includes... Eric Boocock To mark the 40th anniversary of Halifax’s triple success in 1966 and the publication of his fascinating new book, Around in Circles, England star Booey looks back on some of his early racing days with Middlesbrough and then the Dukes. Stan Stevens In part 2 of our candid exclusive, Lokeren survivor Stan recalls the full horror of the accident that killed five of his British speedway colleagues and sent the sport reeling in 1970. Stan, who astonishingly returned to the saddle the following season, provides the most gripping account of the Lokeren disaster ever published. Malcolm Simmons As his new autobiography continues to provoke great debate throughout the sport, Super Simmo reflects on his early league days at Hackney and West Ham. Aub Lawson The legendary Aussie is the latest in our series of spectacular leg-trailers, one who quickly adapted to the foot-forward style too. Bluey Wilkinson He only had one year in charge at Sheffield, but former Tigers promoter Ray Glover explains why the former World Champion made such a big impression there in 1939. Carlo Biagi MBE Tribute to the Miracle Doc. Attendances – do they always add up? We ask if crowd figures were all they seemed to be. Dave Collins Part one of an interview with a Brit who emigrated to South Africa and made a success of himself. St Austell Reviewing another historic book on defunct tracks. Speedway Museum More great developments on the fund-raising front and how runaway Grand Prix leader Jason Crump has given the Speedway Museum a massive boost. Plus…Eric Linden, Ian Hoskins, your letters and much more…

Issue 15 will be posted out this weekend...and it includes a brighter look of eight pages in full colour, plus other new features. The cover price increases by 50p, but NOT to subscribers! It will continue to cost only £16 for a year's subscription in the UK, £22 in Europe and £30 Rest of World. Contents of issue 15 include: TOMMY JANSSON, including eyewitness accounts from those who were at the track in Stockholm that fateful night in May 1976, including the other rider involved - Lars Jansson. Quotes too from Anders Michanek, Bengt Jansson – and Tommy's parents, Joel and Inga-Lill, and his brother Bosse. Peter Collins also gives his views on Tommy. It's the first of our new, regular 'Lest We Forget' features on riders who paid the ultimate price. Also in this time... DEFUNCT TRACKS: LEICESTER ERIC BOOCOCK JAN STAECHMANN SCOTT AUTREY/AMA DISPUTE PAUL TYRER TERRY STONE LEW STRIPP – the ref in charge of the infamous 1985 British Final. Should it have gone ahead? GRAHAME DAWSON REMEMBER...1977? ...and enter our new MASTERMIND QUIZ. How much do you REALLY know about speedway in the 70s & 80s???? If you're smart, you could win two tickets to the 2007 British GP... BACK COVER COLOUR – PENHALL, GUNDERSEN & NIELSEN __________ So why pay 50p more than you need to at the track? Sign up now, save yourself £5 on the new cover price and have every copy of Backtrack delivered direct to your door BEFORE it goes on sale at tracks. You know it makes sense! Cheers, Tony Mac

Thanks for asking, Spin King. Issue 15 will be posted out next weekend...and it includes a brighter look of eight pages in full colour, plus other new features. The cover price increases by 50p, but NOT to subscribers! It will continue to cost only £16 for a year's subscription in the UK, £22 in Europe and £30 Rest of World. Contents of issue 15 include: TOMMY JANSSON, including eyewitness accounts from those who were at the track in Stockholm that fateful night in May 1976, including the other rider involved - Lars Jansson. Quotes too from Anders Michanek, Bengt Jansson – and Tommy's parents, Joel and Inga-Lill, and his brother Bosse. Peter Collins also gives his views on Tommy. It's the first of our new, regular 'Lest We Forget' features on riders who paid the ultimate price. Also in this time... DEFUNCT TRACKS: LEICESTER ERIC BOOCOCK JAN STAECHMANN SCOTT AUTREY/AMA DISPUTE PAUL TYRER TERRY STONE LEW STRIPP – the ref in charge of the infamous 1985 British Final. Should it have gone ahead? GRAHAME DAWSON REMEMBER...1977? ...and enter our new MASTERMIND QUIZ. How much do you REALLY know about speedway in the 70s & 80s???? If you're smart, you could win two tickets to the 2007 British GP... BACK COVER COLOUR – PENHALL, GUNDERSEN & NIELSEN __________ So why pay 50p more than you need to at the track? Sign up now, save yourself £5 on the new cover price and have every copy of Backtrack delivered direct to your door BEFORE it goes on sale at tracks. You know it makes sense! Tony Mac

Just to confirm that Malcolm Simmons will be at Rye this Saturday to sign copies of his new book, SIMMO: THE WHOLE TRUTH, which will be available for £15.99. Simmo actually had his very first speedway rides at the Rye training school in the winter of 1962-63, so this return visit by him is appropriate. Oh, and he also used to prepare the Rye track for Ronnie Russell in the early 90s! As for the England game...now no-one likes their football more than I do but it will surely be possible for most people who want to see the Portugal game (well, most of it) AND the Vic Harding Memorial to watch BOTH. The football kicks-off at 4pm, some three hours before the speedway is due to start. For those who have further to travel, but who are prepared to arrive early, I'd think they'll be showing the football on telly in the Rye House pub. Or if not, there will be plenty of others pubs very near to, or en route to, the track who'll be screening the game. Besides, who wants to endure another 90 minutes of self-torture, mind-numbing rubbish from the inept Eriksson's overhyped and overpaid 'players' against a team of diving cheats and prima donnas? Final option: the 'highlights' (of Portugal's win) will be shown later that night, at around 11.30pm. Bring on the speedway and let's turn out to support a meeting in honour of a great guy and a very good team-man who was on the brink of really good things at The Wick before fate intervened on June 8, 1979. I hope to see plenty of blue-and-white checked Hawks scarves and badges in evident on Saturday night. I might even wear the one Dave Mort kindly gave me! (Now Uncle Len, how much do you owe me for that piece of PR!!!!)....

In the next issue, we wil be starting a regular, new series on riders who gave their lives to the sport. Tommy Jansson (whose biography we are currently in the process of producing, with a late July on-sale date) wil be the first rider featured. We would like to accompany our story on Tommy with memories and stories about him from our readers, so please post anything of relevant interest here, or, if you'd prefer, send me a private message. Ideally, though, I'd like to use the full names of the posters (with their city or town location) in the actual issue of Backtrack. For those who might not know all of Tommy's basic career details, he rode briefly for Wembley Lions in 1971 before joining Wimbledon in 1972. After all the commuting Swedes were banned from the BL in 1974, TJ returned to Plough Lane for the 1975 and '76 seasons. In his native Sweden, Tommy rode only for Smederna, his home-town team from Eskilstuna, that was run by his father, Joel, and where his elder brother Bo also rode in the early 70s. He was tragically killed during a World Championship qualifier in Stockholm on May 20, 1976 after tangling with Bengt Jansson's brother, Lars. Perhaps you knew Tommy personally, or have a special personal memory of him that you think might be worth sharing with other readers? Or maybe just a view of his all too brief career? Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to contribute to our special Tommy Jansson memorial feature.

One of our subscribers to VSM and Backtrack is going to have some replica Norwich racejackets made up and wants to know this: WHAT COLOUR WERE THE NUMBERS ON THE BACK OF THE RIDERS' BODY COLOURS? Presumably, they were yellow, to match the star on the front? Then again, it's possible they were white! Can someone out there please confirm asap. Cheers, Tony Mac

Now well into our third year of publication, issue 14 is packed with another batch of exclusives, including what must be the most explosive and controversial speedway interview ever published... Main Man – Malcolm Simmons To coincide with the launch of his new book, Simmo: The Whole Truth, which has set speedway buzzing, we talk in-depth to Malcolm Simmons. The former World No.2, British Champion, four times World Team Cup winner and three times World Pairs champion reveals all about his turbulent career spanning three decades and more. Super Simmo, a legend at Poole, talks for the first time about the incident that led to his sacking from the south coast track in 1980, as well as lifting the lid on the infamous race-fixing scandal of 1984 when he admits he deliberately didn’t try to win a vital World Championship heat. Malc also confesses the shame he still feels at ‘throwing’ four consecutive races during his season with Swindon in 1985. He recalls the humiliation of the six months he spent in prison which damaged the early part of his spell with King’s Lynn; why he disliked the fact that some of the American riders were involved in drugs; why he really lost the 1976 World Final to England rival Peter Collins; how he found National League racing with Hackney "easy" before injury halted his illustrious career; his acrimonious departure from King’s Lynn in 1988 after he was accused of fraud and police were called. All this, and much, much more, in our sensational interview that will send reverberations throughout the sport. As Malcolm tells Backtrack, "I understand that what I’ve said in the book will no go down very well with a lot of people," he continues, "but that’s the way it was back then. I’m not saying speedway was or is corrupt – far from it – but I want to tell my story the way it is. Other people might wish to brush these things under the carpet but I’m not one of them. It happened. Fact." After reading Simmo’s ground-breaking interview in the latest Backtrack, you will find his compelling new book irresistible . . . But it’s not all Simmo. For your enjoyment, we also present… Bernt Persson A cracking, new exclusive with the former Swedish star and World No.2, who reflects on his successful British League days at Cradley Heath, where he remains an all-time legend among supporters of the sadly defunct Heathens. Bernie recalls the pain of losing the 1972 World Final run-off to Ivan Mauger and his previous high profile clash with the Kiwi legend at the 1967 final, also at Wembley. Dave Morton Injuries stopped the elder Morton brother from reaching the very top and reaching a World Final, but in this interview we look back with Dave on his succesful career at Crewe, where he wrote himself into the Guinness Book of Records, and Hackney, as well as his spells with Wolves, Sheffield, Ellesmere Port and Newcastle. Readers may be surprised to find out his individual highlight. Bob Garrad One of the all-time greats of National League, Bobby G talks about his rise to stardom with Rye House in the 70s and why he chose Hackney, and, not Leicester, when he tried his luck in the top flight. Graham Miles The latest in our series of interviews with wheelchair victims, the former Canterbury and Hackney rider vividly recalls the crash, at Waterden Road in 1971, that cost him the use of his legs . . . and how he has reinvented himself as a cabaret artist! Ken Eyre Long-term Belle Vue fans will readily recall the distinctive bespectacled Ken, one of the unsung heroes of the dominant Aces team of the early 70s. Ken moved to Wolves and reveals why he decided to quit racing so early in his career. Who’s to Blame? A controversial talking point from our top columnist John Berry, who examines what went wrong in British speedway after the golden era of the 70s. Remember…1985? Looking back in detail at the ’85 season, when the World Final came to Bradford, Oxford were BL champions and Ellesmere Port were kings of the NL, although their title win was overshadowed by the serious injury to Joe Owen. _________________ It's Father's Day on June 18, so why not treat your Dad (or yourself!) with a subscription to Backtrack (still only £16 a year in the UK), or a copy of the new Simmo book. Got to http://www.retro-speedway.com and filll in the online form or phone our credit/debit card hotline on 01708 734 502. Cheers, Tony Mac

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and Simmo himself says that not everyone will like or approve of what he's written in his book, but just bear this comparison in mind... Diego Maradona is remembered as a cheat, for deliberately handling the ball into the England net in the 1986 World Cup...but he is also remembered as one of the greatest-ever footballers on the planet. All views and feedback on the book are very interesting and appreciated, whether it's positive or negative, so please keep it coming.

For anybody else keen to read Simmo's introduction to his book that we've published, visit our website at www.retro-speedway.com. The following link should take you straight there... http://www.retro-speedway.com/readers_offe...immointro.shtml The number of pre-orders we've received for Malcolm's ground-breaking book has been phenomenal. It has got everybody talking. Just to confirm that we will be launching SIMMO: THE WHOLE TRUTH at the collectors' fayre at Cardiff this Saturday from around 10.30am. Simmo will be there in person to sign every copy. For those who have pre-order signed copies, these will be despatched tonight. Issue 14 of Backtrack also arrives back from the printer this evening and will be sent out immediately. Thanks for your patience! Cheers, Tony Mac