Ross Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Well as Tommy and Rick had one, only fair Kelvin had a thread. What a rider he was, have to say i think he was at his peak at coventry riding with Tommy in that 88 season. He had alot put on him in the seasons that followed and the team as a whole struggled and although i followed his progress after he left the bees i always thought it would be great if he had stayed. a few highlights i remember * finishing 3rd in the world in 87 i think it was * those really hot sunny days when the British final was on and he went on to be British champion. * Heat 15`s with Tommy. Not always like we needed a 5-1 as we had a strong side with riders always pulling there weight and getting good scores. then last season with arena essex and the meeting was delayed and few riders didn`t want to ride then some one said something to Kelvin and what ever it was did something as he rolled back the years and put a vintage display on in what i guess would be his last meeting at Brandon so kelvin, if you read this or some one knows Kelvin pls ask him to add his thoughts, oh and he can say hi to rick again !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehone Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 (edited) well my memories are from when he started with Wimbledon in 1983 ... as a number 7 he was absolutely brilliant from the gate and scored loads more than we expected. i even had one of the sunstrips that said 'Kelvin Tatum - Go For It' for years i thought he was a gater with fast bikes but when i went to Scheessel in 1995 (i think) and saw him win his first longtrack title my opinions changed. the way he adapted his style to the big, fast track was fantastic. even after losing his chain in one race he still went out and won beating Simon Wigg in a run-off Edited February 20, 2005 by stevehone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Saw Rick's request,but didn't want to start a thread because Kelvin always seems to attract as many negative comments as he does positive,which i really can't understand But like Steve said he really burst onto the scene at Wimbledon and was fantastic at reserve and just got better.Was definitely in the elite for a period.Be interesting to hear what Rick has to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chivs Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Ive still got my King Kelvin board somewhere from the 1990 season, got it 2 weeks before he won the British Final - superb day. He will always be popular with any Bees fan between 1985 and 1990, mainly because he was one of our best ever riders, and his Heat 15's with TK were just awesome. Got a lot of stick from fans of other clubs, and still does - but the guy is a speedway legend. Did tend to have one "bad ride" in a lot of individual meetings, but he won so many races for the Bees, he is one rider that should also be honoured by the sport, and Coventry in particular when he does stop for good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfslayer Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Ross,Kelvin finished 3rd in the '86 World Final.You remember Heat 15 don't you? When Hans Nielsen put Tommy Knudsen into the fence,Tommy's bike bouncing back & hitting Armando Castagna in the right leg? I think that left Armando with a broken leg,not sure.Sam Ermolenko finished 3rd in '87 after being beaten by Erik Gundersen in a run off for 2nd & 3rd place. Whilst we're down memory lane & the Heat 15's with Tommy & what a strong side the Bees had,they couldn't pull off the Leauge & KO Cup double in '87 & '88 though could they. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G the Bee Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Ross,Kelvin finished 3rd in the '86 World Final.You remember Heat 15 don't you? When Hans Nielsen put Tommy Knudsen into the fence,Tommy's bike bouncing back & hitting Armando Castagna in the right leg? I think that left Armando with a broken leg,not sure.Sam Ermolenko finished 3rd in '87 after being beaten by Erik Gundersen in a run off for 2nd & 3rd place. Whilst we're down memory lane & the Heat 15's with Tommy & what a strong side the Bees had,they couldn't pull off the Leauge & KO Cup double in '87 & '88 though could they. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And why? Certainly in 1987 one of the reasons was because Kelvin was injured in his first ride of the first leg of the KO Cup, and missed the whole of the first and second legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shazzybird Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 What a rider he was, <{POST_SNAPBACK}> WAS You just know he'll be back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Jasper Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Kelvin was excellent for the bees! His british final wins were excellent and it seemed all the better because it seemed nobody else liked him apart from his own track fans!!! Oh and he does an excellent job on Sky much better than anybody else!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil_L Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 A few thoughts in no particular order (I'm at work you see ) ... kelvin's time at Coventry was very successful to both rider and club. His British Final win in '87 even made the front cover on the coventry evening telegraph ... those were the days when the British final was one gr8 day out with massive crowds, beer in the Brandon bar and sunshine Sunday of hard racing. Kelvin seemed to get a lot of booing in the late 80's (something to do with knocking off evitts in the '88 british final !) but he was rightly British no1 at the time and no-one likes a winner ! His move away from Coventry in Winter '91 was sad but perhaps not unexpected. Perhaps he felt stale who knows ? One thing for sure the late 80's were golden times at Brandon and the Bees boasted a TK / KT top pairing. Mr Charles Ochilltree must have been a very proud man. Kelvin had a reputation as a gater but he could also line up some great passing manouvers. He could be pretty hard ..... even on his own team riders when they got in the way ! But speedway is a hard sport and you don't get paid for coming last. very much an individual rider he struggled to team ride when taking the no 1 jacket in the team. He was much better suited out with a reserve in his trusted no3 position. Ironic that his last meeting at Brandon for AE I think he got 0 0 3 3 3 and won them the match ... after going on strike midway through the meeting because the track was tricky ! KT got the ref to order the track to be graded, KT then gated his way to 3 consecutive wins ... what can you say ? love him or hate him you can't deny that KT had a very successful speedway career. I hope he stays involved in the sport and as per my other forum discussion I'd love to see one day a reunion of the gr8 Coventry Bees side of '87. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Jasper Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 yep i am surprised him and JJ never had a slugfest with the amount of times they cut each other up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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