whowasthatberntpersson

Pioneer Park have been allocated the Queensland Sidecar Championship and Queensland Junior Solo Championship. Good news for North Queensland.

A very classy rider in his prime particularly at Arlington where he was a world beater. In the early eighties when Cradley were dominant it was always a feature seeing Gordon up against the top Heathens and quite often he came out on top. Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but didn't he have to overcome diabetes to keep his career going, another fine feat.

I'll give it a go Laurence, as I said previously they have both changed mobile numbers. Maybe one of the Brisbane brigade can make contact.

Venues for the 2006 Queensland State Championships are due for release today. I failed in my attempt to get a sneak preview however someone has already reported that the Mike Hather Park venue on the Gold Coast will get the Senior Solo Title. So still waiting on Junior Solo Title and Sidecars.

It sounds terrible, hope its nothing too serious.

I'm hoping to do the Czech Golden Helmet weekend next year, staying in Eastern Europe for a week and hopefully seeing a Polish meeting or two also. Has anyone done anything similar? Do the Poles run meetings during the week? or are they all held on Sunday's? Basically I want to see as much speedway as possible in the seven or eight days I'm in Eastern Europe.

Hi Lunchy, I think you hit the nail on the head, lack of riders wanting to commit was the main reason for last years no go, compounded by John Jorgensen's early return to Europe. Looks like a goer this time though. I think the fact that the North Queensland scene is currently quite active is really helping things, two tracks within a few hundred metres of each other and promoters working together helps too. For anything like this to work logistically and financially you really need meetings on two consecutive nights, not too many riders will drive 17 hours for one meeting these days. Obviously financial assistance will help and on that I believe sponsorship from the Southern side of the border may be forthcoming. No idea of Southern State involvement at this stage, although I'd say its doubtful. However the last time Australia unearthed a crop of International riders (Boyce, Poole, Adams, Lyons, Parker, etc) it was all helped along with additional winter meetings at Appin promoted by Bob Sharpe. Maybe a little help from the Flying Kangaroo is a possibility....:<)) On a personal note I'm hoping my young fella gets a race jacket for the NQ Junior team.

Following on from the very successful Queensland v New South Wales series comes more very encouraging news for riders and fans in the Sunshine State. Negotiations are currently taking place between Motorcycling Queensland and various riders and promoters to stage a series of meetings for domestic (Australian based) riders only. At this stage the meetings should comprise of a North Queensland v South Queensland solos series covering both Juniors and Seniors, all the tracks mentioned so far have infield Junior tracks and Juniors will be part of the programme. Exact details to follow however at this stage it looks like being five man teams with weekend racing on consecutive days/night. An example of the way things may run ; Saturday night Gold Coast Sunday afternoon North Brisbane or Friday night - Pioneer Park Saturday night - Brandon Still a little work going on behind the scenes to make this happen but it looks a real possibility and will be a huge boost for domestic racing in the State of Queensland. Let the good times roll

Check out the brand new Pioneer Park Speedway website at http://www.pioneerpark.homestead.com/

I'm very impressed with Chris Holder. As you say Lunchy he's a class above the rest in this series he hasn't really been tested. I'd go so far as to say he's the best stay at home Aussie I've seen in a very long time. I go back to the mid eighties when Craig Boyce stood out in a similar way at Appin West of Sydney..the very same small country town where the Holder's come from..I believe they've put in one or two hours at the old track too...it shows. Chris looks unbelievably smooth and stylish for someone as young, he reminds me of the unlucky Pole Cegielski. As for my young falla, he's doing well, making some real progress and riding regularly on the two Junior tracks out at Brandon and putting in some good practice sessions at the local beaches amongst other places.

Can anyone give me some kind of indication where next year's Speedway World Cup will be held?

It appears that John Oliver may be drafted into the Queensland team after all. Maybe you alerted someone MM? Not 100% sure yet though.

Howard Cole settled on the East Cost of Australia just North of Sydney. He became the head of mathematics at a top Sydney High School, and retired last year. He still has his Wolverhampton accent and regularly attends veteran speedway riders functions in New South Wales.

This Saturday night will see the first of three QLD v NSW matches taking place in North Queensland. This is the first Peter White led NSW team to venture North since 1989, it will also be the youngest ever NSW team, led by World Under 21 Semi Finalsist Chris Holder This weeks meeting takes place at the Ayr Motorcycle Club's Brandon complex, a very large 450 metre speedway track which provides great racing on a regular basis. The local Queensland team has been depleted with the injury to veteran Rodney Heathcote who was involved in a huge pile up at Pioneer Park just over a week ago. Heathcote's place has gone to first reserve 16 year old Steven Reid, Reid has shown fine form recently, he was involved in the crash that looks like ending Heathcotes career which incidentally was the A Final involving four of the selected Queensland team. NSW v QLD starts at 7pm with the Juniors kicking off at 6pm...the show also includes sidecars and stockbikes. Should be a great night, hopefully the weather forecast proves incorrect with showers predicted for the next few days...Typical as this is the dry part of the year in Tropical North Queensland.

Bernie Persson. When I was very young Cradley Heath were a very unfashionable club, Bernie took the weight of the team on his shoulders and was an out and out number one, he was hugely popular with me and thousands of other Black Country fans. I still watch the video of the 1972 World Final at Wembley and I've got the 1973 World Team Cup final tape also from Wembley as reminders of Bernie Persson's on track performances. Over 32 years after I first saw Bernie ride I finally met him in person at a veteran riders dinner in Sydney Australia, it was the night before the Australian Grand Prix, a very nice man who showed great interest in Peter Foster's Cradley Heath book which I had taken along for him to sign, we enjoyed a drink or two, took a few photos and then the night after the GP I stood next to Bernie during a meeting at Gosford Speedway. Got a photo of me and Bernie at the dinner if you are interested TMC.

The Cost is a problem but the biggest problem of all is lack of rides or lack of tracks. A Kid is 15, whether he lives in Birmingham or Brisbane he isn't going to get too many opportunities to ride his 125 or 250cc speedway bike is he?.......He can ride his MX bike any weekend, very likely within an hour of his home....Now Junior speedway is cheap compared to the 500's..believe me I've seen plenty of money spent on normal upkeep, the local Jawa dealer is making a mint....its so specialised people have to use one of only a handful of people... Some very good points are being made here, maybe its about time the Honda's are given another chance in Senior Speedway. Having said that people will always find ways to go faster, how long before a honda engine would be transformed into an expensive finely tuned beast that costs a fortune to keep going.

I'm sure he'll mention the very thick concrete wall, the fast speeds, great shape and tropical environment....this track is set amongst sugar cane fields. The racing on Saturday night was top shelf...One of the locals who has been around for a very long time told me that Peter Collins once said it was one of the best tracks in the world..I'd have to agree with that, especially if it was said by one of the best racers ever.

I've only become aware of Ricky Barney since I moved up here in January so I wasn't aware of any mishap at Tamworth..I think he's ok though, his old man was making plans to get the bike fixed last night so that a good sign. Unfortunately Rod Heathcote wasn't so lucky, he aggrivated rib injuries and also suffered groin ligament idamage..the latter doesn't sound too nice does it? As for the temperature...well it was quite crisp for these parts...must of been the sudden drop from a wintery 25 degrees once the sun went down that made it feel so cool...it was definately well below the low 20's later on.

The meeting at Pioneer Park was absolutely outstanding, the best speedway racing I’ve seen in years. The track was tremendous and a good crowd was in attendance for new owners Shelley and Rhino Ryan. Unfortunately the Solo final ended with a very very nasty pileup close to the finish line, Rod Heathcote was leading but was being pushed all the way by Ricky Barney, whilst Steven Reid was snapping at Barney’s heels, Roy Stout was not far behind, Heathcote seemed to slow very slightly as they approached the finish line on the fourth lap and Barney ran into the back of him, they both fell and Reid who was very close rode straight over Barney. All three were able to walk away but Heathcote and Barney were very badly shaken, with their bikes battered. All four finalists are in the North QLD squad to take on NSW, the three fallers have two weeks to get themselves and their machines into shape before the first hit out at Brandon….without doubt Heathcote has the toughest task, he was in a lot of pain and looked to have suffered rib injuries…or should I say worsened the rib injuries he already had..so reserve Reid is in with a shout. The sidecar racing was awesome, with a final worthy of an Australian Championship, the Wayne Munck/O’Brien pairing pulling off a very impressive final victory ahead of Australian Champions Christopher/Koppe with Gary Moon/ Sinnot third. The combinations of Christopher/Koppe and Moon/Sinnot will represent Australia in Germany shortly

The new owners of Pioneer Park Speedway in North Queensland have their big opener tomorrow night at 6pm. The programme consists of Junior and Senior Solos and Sidecars, Formula 200's and stock bikes, there will also be a firworks display. The place has been given a real spruce up and looks in fine shape. The snackbar will have a new menu and the new advertising campaign should ensure a bumper opening night crowd. Can't wait. Co owner Shelley Ryan informs me that the Juniors will be incorporated in the main programme, with give aways and encouragement awards for the Under 16's .... Pioneer Park is located in the town of Brandon just over 70km South of Townsville on the Bruce Highway.

This weekend anyone in NQ area South of Townsville are in for a double dose of speedway action. On Saturday afternoon starting at 1300 the new owners of Pioneer Park speedway have an official practice to dust off any cobwebs, these Guys have put in a tremendous amount of work on this potentially superb racing venue and I for one will be supporting them, starting off with the practice then with the official opening on the 25th June. The new owners informed me today that the infield Junior track which was around the 220 metre mark has been shortened to around 120 metres which brings it in to line with other Junior Speedway tracks around Aust/the World. After the Saturday afternoon practice the speedway brigade will head just down the road to the Ayr Motorcycle Club complex for an evening of racing at Brandon. Almost a full day of speedway....what more could we ask for? Oh and don't forget the Queensland v New South Wales series coming up in July, three consecutive Saturday nights of top quality racing at Rockhampton, Pioneer Park and Brandon...great lineups including some of Australia's best young riders (Chris Holder - World U21 Semi Finalist included)

I've ordered a few items from the official Crumpy website. The products are top quality and the service is fast and efficient. I'll be flying the flag at the local tracks in North Queensland this weekend.

Thanks to all who have replied so far. So we have Sheffield, Eastborne and Sittingbourne available for 125's. I've just got to keep my fingers crossed that they all have training days during the three weeks I'm in the UK. Does anyone know the track lengths? The two Junior tracks we ride at are 180 and 200 metres, both quite large for the smaller bikes but the youngster gets around them ok.

An interview with Cribby would be fantastic, he's been around a while and would certainly have a story or two to tell.....Both on and off track. Another interesting character is Alan Grahame, one of the greatest team men of all time.

Looking at this result I'm starting to think its going to be very tough for the North Queensland boys when NSW came up for three meetings in July. The evener could well be the large fast tracks, historically NQ have done very well on home soil... The main thing is the young riders are getting the competition, which they need to continue improving. Just for the record the meetings are at Brandon, Pioneer Park and Rockhampton, they are all biggies 400 metre +