Interview-down Memory Lane

[speedy den boy]

Many thanks to jerry for taking time out to answer some questions.Hopefully we can go back at a latter date for more stories

 

JERRY Please can you tell us how you became involved with speedway as a spanner man?

 

I begaon my love affair with speedway in 1969,

when the Witches reopened in the old Division

Two. It also happened to correspond with the

beginning of a certain John Louis' career.

I followed the club as a huge fan for many years,

seeing JL win the Div Two Riders Title, then those

back to back Div One titles in 1975 & 1976.

I really became more involved after I met the Tiger

at a Youth Club I belonged to in the 70's. John did

a talk and film show at the club, with some spotty

teenager piping up with the answers to everything

that was asked of John during the evening. But,

far from being annoyed, JL actually pulled me to one

side and said I was to go to his Fan Club Secretary's

house the next evening and he would leave me a

signed colour poster as a reward. In fact I can still

remember JL saying how impressed he was with my

overall knowledge of speedway, particularly the

machinery, gearing etc.

Anyhow, I continued to go to Foxhall every week for

many years, during which time I found out that I had

a family connection to Trevor Jones, who rode for

the Witches at reserve and also Canterbury during the

70's. I remember Trevor having his 'workshop' in a

shed in his garden back then and me going along with

my dad to collect a trailer full of bent frames, wheels

and a discarded monkey mask. Needless to say that

the monkey mask soon became mine, as I wore it to

race around my own cycle speedway track, that we

had built in the garden where I lived.

During the 80's and 90's I finally started racing

speedway, although not a really fast and competetive

racer, I was steady and did more than a few 2nd

Halves all over the place, although my only claim to

fame was a thrid place in a best pairs meeting at

Iwade in 1989, now known as Sittingbourne.

Forward to 1995 and I was at a Charity

Pre season football match between the Witches and

a team of Ex Ipswich Town players at Humberdoucy

Lane in Ipswich, when I bumped into JL again. We got

chatting and before I knew what was happening I was

on my way to work on the track staff at Foxhall.

From just taking down the safety fence, I was soon

involved in many aspects of the track side of things,

helping Bob Ellis out with the track prep, ferrying

riders about, spannering for more than a few and

also getting stuck into other things like trying to

gain sponsors for the club and so on. I even did a

radio and press interviews at one stage.

I ended up a the Track Curator at Mildenhall, on top

of my duties at Ipswich and was pretty much working

non stop all year around.

That is my entrance into the world of speedway and

I wouldn't change a thing.

 

 

2: Riders you have worked with over the Years?

 

Crikey, where to start. I can go back to about

1979, I was involved with a friend of mine, David,

whose surname escapes me after all these years,

but I do remember he had an old JAP, that he

rode in 2nd halves at Ipswich. I kind of helped him

out and that was my first ever go on a speedway

bike on my own. We used to do practice starts in

his parents back garden, they had a plastic green

house and we destroyed it with the dirt chucked out

from the rear wheel. I then helped out Preben

Eriksen when he came to Ipswich, he lived just over

the road and I was in awe, having an Ipswich rider

living so near. Myself and my best mate Trevor

ended up washing his bikes and leathers and also

being taught how to recut the rear tyres with a

hacksaw blade, with the back side sharpened like

a razor blade.

The next rider I helped out was I think Tomasz

Gollob, I went to a meeting at Swindon, with Elvin

King, the Evening Star speedway scribe. I was in

my decent gear, wandered to the pits fence, where

JL grabbed me and had me over the wall and

spannering for Tomasz. We fell out in a big way,

mainly due to the language barrier. I couldn't

understand what he wanted doing when he was on

2 minutes and I ended up against the pits wall in a

big heap. But we ended up getting on brilliantly after

that, just so long as I didn't spanner for him.

 

I also helped out Chris Slabon, Kevin Teager,

Jem Doncaster, which was the funniest thing I have

ever done in speedway.... poor old Donkey.

I also used to help some juniors out, like young

David Osborne, the son of former Witch Brian

Osborne, Matt Wright was another, in fact I cant

honestly remember all of them, although Jarek Hampel

was another. Just remembered another, spannering

for Matej Ferjan at Oxford.... now that was an

experience I won't forget.

 

3: Biggest Meeting you have been to as a spanner man

for a rider?

They were all big to me to be honest. The pressure

on a mechanic at any speedway meeting is huge,

despite what some will tell you. One mistake can

cost both your rider and the club a meeting/

League title and money.

If I was pushed to choose one, I suppose it would

be at Wolverhampton for Jarek. There is always a

good healthy rivalry between the two clubs and

I was to spanner for Jarek at Monmore. He hated

the place and we needed the points. I think that

must have been around 2001, although the old

memory isn't what it was, as I suffer with Menieres

Disease these days and it affects the memory at

times, one day I can remember everything in detail,

then the next day its hazy. But I remember the

Wolves match because Jarek was under pressure

to score. It started badly, as I took a huge lump

out of my leg unloading the bikes, then Jareks crash

helmet failed scrutineering, the face area was like

mush, so he borrowed one off of Donkey I think,

which was too big for him. He also had a major oil

leak on his bike, cracked crank case or something

I think it was.

It just went from bad to worse, as we lost and

everyone was feeling lousy about it that night.

 

4: Worst & Best moment in speedway working as a

Spannerman?

 

There's two that actually spring to mind. The

Swindon meeting with Tomasz Gollob, as I mentioned

above, but also the Oxford meeting with Matej

Ferjan, when Matej and Toni Svab crashed into

eachother on the first bend and all hell broke loose

both on track and in the pits. Its awkward as you

are there for the team, but also for your rider.

Luckily we had Greg Hancock as a guest that night

and he worked his magic and calmed things down.

Its hard enough racing a speedway bike and trying

to win meetings, but when riders start going at

eachother, then thats about as low as you can

go as far as moral is concerned.

 

The Best Meeting I attended as a spannerman is

another hard one to choose. I was helping Donkey

at Belle Vue, which was hilarious from the moment

we set off in the van to go up there, to the

moment we got home.

I was allowed to drive, when we neared Manchester,

we were going across the moors, down a really steep

hill, with a sheer drop off to the left and a sharp

corner at the bottom, I was happily trundling down

this hill when Donkey wakes up from his snooze in

the back and says, quite normally, " This is where

we lost a wheel off the van last time"... cue one

mechanic/driver gripping the sterring so tightly that

my nuckles turned white and praying to God that we

made the decent and turn at the bottom.

We did make it, to be passed by Lol Hare in his VW

van on the climb up the other side. Donkey told me

to stick with Lol as he knew ehere to go, so I did,

ending up doing about 50 in a 30 limit in Manchester

to stay with him.... at which point Donkey beats me

on the leg and says slow the heck down as he knew

where to go. Then arriving at the track, walking

the circuit and deciding on gearing, tyre pressures

etc. Back in the pits Donkey hands me a lid from a

kids plastic pirate chest, complete with tools and a

piece of rag. Donkey says " These are the tools,

that is a spanner, that is a screwdriver and that is

your own piece of rag to wipe your hands on".

I stood there dumbfounded, why was he talking to

me like I was simple. It turns out that JL had told

Donkey that I was hard of hearing and for some

reason he took that as meaning I was a bit thick.

When I explained I was partially deaf, but knew

speedway bikes inside out, he fell about laughing.

 

The other stand out meeting was the one at Poole,

when we came back from 16 points down to beat

the Pirates on their own turf. Now that was special,

with Boycey turning Chris Louis bike into what he

called a slug. Its a trade secret as to how he did

that, but it softened the engine so much that Chris

was like a different rider afterwards.

It became a bit of a standing joke whenever we

went to a track that was ultra slick..." Where's

Boycey, we need a Slug doing over here".

 

5: Best Speedway Engine worked on?

 

Without a doubt it was the MK4 Weslake.

I'm biased as it was the last bike I ever owned

and raced. I did all my own work on it, apart from

when I blew it up in a big way at Iwade and Dave

the trackman there at the time rebuilt it for me.

It was just so easy to work on and getting parts

was as easy as anything. I actually got everything

I needed from Goddens of all places would you

believe. I asked if they might have a complete

gasket set for a Wessie laying about, as they used

to do work on riders engines back then, they

brought out a big cardboard box of bits and pieces,

I think it cost me £20 for the lot, including two

complete gasket sets and piston rings, plus a fair

few other odds and ends.

Apart from that blowup, it never ever let me down

and was the most reliable engine I have ever known,

that includes cars.

I eventually sold the bike to a taxi driver called

Stefan in Ipswich, as I had to retire with serious

injuries to my knee and back, he got it for £150.

It turns out it was Scott Nicholls very first 500 and

the very one he started out on. Some years later,

I was talking to Scotts dad and he said he

remembered the bike well, it was in an aweful state,

as the methanol had jellyfied in the carb. I hadn't

drained it down after my accident, so they got it

as it was.

 

6: Fav Track:

 

I have three tracks that I absolutely loved,

both to race on and also to watch at.

Ipswich is the obvious one, although with the

introduction of the Airfence it reduced the

quality a lot, with the entrance and exits of the

bends drastically reduced in width, but with the

alterations that have been done over the past

few weeks, I think it will once again be a track

for true racers to have a go at.

 

Wolverhampton is just so well prepared everytime

I have seen it. It has numerous racing lines and

just produces such great races time and again.

The only minus point for me is the gap in the

fence on the exit of the 2nd bend, where the track

has an adverse camber and any rider going over

is sucked into the backstraight fence and its game

over. Other than that its a fantastic place.

 

Saddlebow Road, Kings Lynn. When its prepared

with plenty of grip, a better race track you will

be hard pressed to find. Fantastic place, plenty

of room to overtake. Again, it has one major

flaw, that solid safety fence is a killer. I still suffer

from a badly broken and dislocated shoulder I

suffered there many moons ago. The shoulder is

so weak it takes only the slightest wrong move to

pop it out of joint and then its agony for a few

days, although I learned a long time ago how to

put the thing back in myself.

 

7: Have I been to any other Countries

to spanner?

 

Not to date, although I was on standby more than

a few times to make trips abroad for riders.

Toni Svab was the main one and I swapped a trip

to Denmark to deliver some engines with my

brother, 24 hours + on a Ferry wasn't possible

with everything else I was doing. There's only

so many hours in a day.

 

8: Funny Stories:

 

Where do I start.

There really have been so many its hard to choose.

 

One that got more than a few laughs was Chris

Louis asking me if I would cut down two pine tree's

in his front garden.

I hate heights, but drew the short straw and had

to climb to the top of each one to 'top' them,

cutting the top part away by hand. There was a

slight breeze blowing, well Chris said it was slight,

but it felt like a hurricane up there, some 30 feet

up in the air, with the trees swaying back and

forth like a pendulum.

We finally came to actually chopping them down and

realised we might hit the house. I disappeared back

to the stadium and came back with a long piece of

rope, to guide the trees away from the house.

It worked a treat, apart from a slight miscalculation

on where they would finally end up, right across

Foxhall road. That must have been the quickest

that two very large pine trees had been logged.

We also discovered afterwards that we should have

gained permssion from the council to fell them, as

they were over a certain height. Chris looked

bemused as we thought about trying to replant

these giant tree's, akin to a giant wooden jigsaw

puzzle.

Another really funny one was with Tony Rickardsson.

I took him back to Heathrow after a meeting.

He had no hotel booked and we drove up and down

to find a hotel with a room to spare. We finally

found one, at which point we unloaded a filthy

engine onto a very plush luggage trolley, all red

velvet and gold handles. We then proceeded to have

a standup row in the middle of the lobby, with the

hotel receptionist looking on in bewilderment.

Tony had taken the wrong wallet into the motorway

services, so we paid for dinner. He wanted to repay

us, but we wouldn't take it as he now had to pay

in the region of £300 just for a room for the night,

no food or anything, just a room and bed.

So, there we were going at hammer and tongs with

this dirty engine on this really posh trolley... I

learn't some good Swedish that night, unfortunately

I can't repeat it here..

 

And finally, the night Chris Louis and Scott Nicholls

tried to pay me off over the upcoming British Final.

I have only ever attended 3 British Finals and a

Louis won it each time. Chris wanted to pay me to

go, as I seemed like a lucky talisman for the Louis

household and there was Scott offering to pay me

not to go, sat with Jarek Hampel in the middle in the

back of JL's car outside a hotel at Heathrow

Airport... Jarek had no idea why they were offering

all of this money to me at the time... the look on

his face was priceless.

 

At the end of the day, I have had a brilliant time

being involved in speedway, from fan to rider, back

to a fan and then the involvement with Ipswich on

the trackstaff side of things and all the other odds

and ends I got involved in. I no longer live on the

Mainland these days, ill health dictates that I live an

altogether quieter lifestyle, but I do watch on Sky

and have my friends who keep me updated as best

they can. I suppose I am lucky, with having made

friends with some of the best riders to have ever

worn the famous flying Witch, like Tony Rickardsson,

Ben Eriksen, John Louis, Shrimp Davey, all of the

98 winning team, Jarek Hampel, who used to call me

on New Years Eve with his then girlfriend, who he is

now married to, Tomasz Gollob, who is one of the

nicest guys I know, despite our initial falling out,

Jem Doncaster, Kev Teager and last but not least

Chris Louis, wonder if his Mrs has forgiven me yet...

I put my foot in it after his serious crash in Sweden,

when he had that back injury....never ask an injured

rider about his comback just 2 weeks after the crash

and specially when his wife walks in the room as you

ask.... sorry Julie...honest.

 

I could have told a lot more stories, mostly hilarious,

of some of the antics, on the road to and from

meetings, at the track working to get the prep done,

Bob used to laugh til he cried sometimes,

in fact so many I could probably write a book.

Its ok, your safe, I'll save that for my retirement

fund in about 20 years time.

 

Hope you enjoyed some of Jerrys tales and many thanks again to him for agreeing to share some of his moments in speedway

Edited February 10, 2010 by speedy den boy