lucifer sam

It wasn't in Backtrack. It's from the Kenny Carter book, "Tragedy". I did make that clear. And it's worth reading the whole quote (not just the bits that caught your eye!), including the first couple of paragraphs, which state that Bruce was uneasy talking about Kenny Carter in the first place. All the best Rob

Here's Bruce from the Kenny Carter book by Tony Mac: "I really don't want to say two words about Kenny Carter. In my eyes he was an absolute mental coward for the way he went and left his kids without parents. There are probably stronger words I could use, but that's what comes to my mind right now. "The only reason I agreed to talk about him for this book is that the book is going to make some money for his kids. So good luck with the book. I hope it goes well. "I am a true father, with four kids, and I couldn't, even on my worst day, imagine doing what he did, therefore I don't have one bit of respect for the kid." AND: "I've seen that incident (from the 1982 World Final) with Carter from hundreds of different angles, from footage from the people filming CHiPS, and it clearly shows from the back angle that I never hit Kenny when he fell. "But, you know what... the way I look at it now, after what he did to his wife and children, I wish I would've frickin' put him up in the middle of the grandstand." No controversial at all, in my eyes. Just saying how it is. Many people would agree with such sentiments. All the best Rob

He said that, as a father, he could never forgive Kenny Carter for what he had done - leaving two young kids without their mother. All the best Rob

The Overseas Final crowds at White City were highly hypocritical. The previous year (1981) one of the final races had featured Ivan Mauger, Michael Lee, Dave Jessup and Larry Ross. Mauger and Lee were in desperate need of points and received them finishing in a co-ordinated 1-2 finish that moved both onto eight points, DJ needed a single point to clinch the title and took it, Larry Ross had already qualified, had only a faint chance of winning (he needed to win the race, with DJ last to get a run-off) and was happy to cruise around in forth place. Poor Les Collins was the victim, as Lee and Mauger's extra points put him out of the World Championship. Did the "sporting Brits" boo Dave Jessup and Larry Ross? Not a sausage. Was it obvious what was happening? Well, no-one was going around pulling wheelies, but even as an 8-year-old at the meeting, I realised what was happening. It was very obvious. The following year I was an extremely annoyed 9-year-old in the White City crowd after Bruce - my hero - was jeered. I really couldn't see any difference between what he'd done and what DJ and Larry Ross had done 12 months previously. All the best Rob

Interestingly, Rickardsson never once reached an 11.00 average. The three most recent riders to do that were Jason Crump, Sam Ermolenko and Hans Nielsen. Rickardsson didn't seem to possess the same determination to totally dominate every single meeting across a season in the same manner as Fundin, Mauger or Nielsen. All the best Rob

If you consider the upcoming destruction of one of the most historic and famous speedway stadiums in the UK as "exciting", then maybe you're on the wrong forum. Dreadful news. All the best Rob

Sid, so Briggo had Ove's measure because he won six British titles and six BLRC titles, even though Ove wasn't in these meetings?? I think the figures speak for themselves. Briggo was a fabulous rider, but Ove was just a little bit better. Ronnie Moore was the best rider in the world, and overtaken by Fundin. Briggo hit a real purple patch around 1958, but slipped back after missing most of the 1959 season. From 1960 up until Craven's death, Craven was a little ahead of Briggo. Briggo was the best rider in the world for around a 3-4 year spell, after Fundin slipped into semi-retirement after the closure of Norwich. The 1967 World Final is notable. Fundin had only done a handful of meetings all year but still won it. All the best Rob

Although he was a vital part of their 1977 championship winning side.... his name was in every programme All the best Rob PS Steve, I can thoroughly recommend the Bank Holiday double-headers at Scunthorpe.

More based on what my dad used to tell me. He was very relieved when Oxford turned down Ole Olsen in 1975 and ended up with Dag Lovaas instead. All the best Rob

Olsen bothered turning up at Oxford for once? An unusual occurrence then I think Cowley was his 'Exeter' All the best Rob

Three times from the back as well! I can think of riders who beat Hans twice in the same night at Cowley (rare as that was), but I think Carl Blackbird was the only one who completed a hat-trick. The 1986 season was weird. Oxford spent the first month of the season unable to win at home, and then clicked into gear and become almost completely unbeatable everywhere!! I think we're still the only team to have two riders on a BL average of more than 11.00 in a season (Hans 11.83, Wiggy 11.01). All the best Rob

Steve, I'm not sure if I agree with that sentiment. I quite liked the fact there was so many instalments to the story each season. For example, there was September 1984. Erik became World Champion, and was nominated to face Hans (the holder) in the Golden Helmet. Erik came, saw and conquered, with a 2-0 win at Cowley, breaking the track record in the process. It was in the days of the proper Golden Helmet, when it preceded the main meeting, and that was all we saw of Erik that night. The following week he was back again... this time for Cradley. Everyone was wondering if Erik could whip Hans around Oxford for the second week running. Instead Erik's scorechart read something like TX, EF, F, 0, 2. And then there was October '85. At the start of month, Hans scored a 15-point max at Cowley, beating Erik three times, including once from behind. That was a delight to watch, especially as these two knew each other so well, they rarely passed each other. The Midland Cup final promised a rematch. Instead both riders had a nightmare. Hans had his only genuinely bad meeting of the year for the Cheetahs and it ended with his bike seizing solid and Hans stepping off the bike onto the centre green before the bike careered straight into the fence and was written off. Erik had a better evening, until he met a determined Jens Rasmussen. The two tangled and Jens accidentally rode over Erik's head. Lord knows how Erik escaped with just bruising. There were so many instalments to this story, and I think it benefitted from regular rematches. And of course occasionally another rider stole the thunder from Hans or Erik. Cue Cocker passing Erik from behind in the Golden Helmet at Oxford in 1986!! All the best Rob

I'm intrigued in Max Grosskreutz, who apparently had a very unconventional style. He might he been the first-ever World Champion as well, but for an injury in 1936. All the best Rob

Really it was Fundin, Craven, Briggs and Moore. Knutsson was younger than others. He first reached the World Final in 1961, by which time the other four had seven World Championships between them. Knutsson was very similar in age to Mauger, but retired early. But yes I'd have loved to see these riders competing against each other. All the best Rob

Massive load of sour grapes. Szczakiel was the best rider on the day. He beat Mauger not once, but twice. Mauger was behind Szczakiel when he fell off. Szczakiel had to really race for the points in his last couple of rides. In his fourth ride, the Russian barged him all over the place, and he was last at one point, but then battled back up to second place. Plech was 'gifted' an extra point by Jancarz. Szczakiel received no such gifts, he earned 13 points the hard way. The one-off World Final was won by the best rider on that particular day. In 1973, at Katowice, that was Jerzy Szczakiel. Therefore, he was a deserving World Champion. Ivan Mauger certainly never tried to detract from Szczakiel's achievement - quite the opposite. As Mauger pointed out in his autobiography, from 1971 to 1973, they met 13 times and it stood: Mauger 7, Sczcakiel 6. More-or-less 50/50. Szczakiel clearly had a lot of talent to achieve that. All the best Rob

Try Swindon 21 Oxford 56, and you'd be correct. Per Sorensen unbeaten by an opponent, as was Nielsen, Wigg and Cox. We even gifted you a 5-1 in Heat 2 (De'ath machinery problems while leading) to give you a chance. Around 2,000 Oxford fans made the trip, and by the end, all the Budgies fans had disappeared into the woodwork, to leave us celebrating our second successive BL title. Happy days :D All the best Rob

Taylor Poole needs to finish in top 4 of his Aussie state championship, not the national title. All the best Rob

Wrong again. Sky showed all 30 heats from both meetings from that night. When it became obvious that Peterborough were crushing BV, they made sure Heat 15 of that match came first, therefore leaving everyone hanging on the final race at King's Lynn. Leigh Adams won the race for King's Lynn, ensuring Poole lost, at which point they cut back across to Peterborough to show the celebrations. Both the 1999 and 2000 showdowns were shown in full. It needed dual coverage of two meetings in 1999; in 2000, it only needed one, since the last meeting involved both championship protagonists. It's in 2001, that Sky miscalculated. They didn't show Oxford's penultimate match at Ipswich, assuming Oxford were going to lose, and instead the Cheetahs forced a draw to win the title, and the only coverage that Sky had was brief bulletins on Sky News. In 2002, the play-offs started. All the best Rob

Er... wrong. It went down to the wire in both 1999 and 2000. In 2000, it was decided by the final Eastbourne vs King's Lynn fixture. Oxford won with one match to spare in 2001, after a draw at Ipswich in the penultimate fixture. After that, play-offs were brought in. All the best Rob

Norbold, have you noticed the almost exact match in most years between the No 1s from the Stenners and Speedway Star lists, and the discussion a few years ago between four or five of us about the respective Grand Prix champions from those years? All the best Rob

I think, by the end of the season, Craig Cook's performances were almost demanding selection. Of course, it depends to how Nicholls and Cook adapt to their new circuit, but at the moment, I would say the World Cup team should be Woffinden, Bomber and Cook, plus one other (Nicholls or Lambert). If Nicholls wants to do it in the first place, of course. All the best Rob

Interestingly, although the Aussies gained their own ACU circa 1975, New Zealand didn't until 1984. It could be argued that Great Britain, represented by five Kiwis, won the 1979 World Team Cup. All the best Rob

Hear, hear. Mind you, some people are not interested in the actual facts. Tai Woffinden is British. End of. All the best Rob

Blimey, only took you a year to reply to my post. I guess Coventry could be a big test for the Parliamentary Group... can they keep Brandon open? All the best Rob

Yup, I believe so. I think Rickardsson's best season was 2002, and he got up to something like 10.90. All the best Rob EDIT: Confirmed from the excellent WWOS speedway stats site that TR never quite got there: 1991..Ipswich..22..109..209..13..8.15..1F 1992..Ipswich..27..133..259..18..8.33..2F..1P 1993..Ipswich..35..190..417..11..9.01..1F..2P 1994..Ipswich..2..10..23..2..10.00..1P 1997..Ipswich..13..67..163..6..10.09..1P 1998..Ipswich..46..255..618.5..41..10.35..3F..9P 1999..King's Lynn..34..181..416..20..9.64..4F..4P 2001..Poole..35..171..393..20..9.66..3F..3P 2002..Poole..35..186..500..6..10.88..11F..1P 2003..Poole..32..159..364..19..9.64..1F..3P 2004..Poole..11..54..136..11..10.89..1F..2P 2005..Arena Essex..7..35..86..2..10.06..1P 2006..Oxford..7..34..83..0..9.76..1F Read more: http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/2468#ixzz3qXB3SJ3y