Wayne Briggs

[boston five]

any one know what happened to wayne was he barry,s son or brother seem to remember him at poole ,southampton then up in scotland early 60,s

[DavyH]

Wayne is Barry's brother and I well remember seeing him raing for the Monarchs at Old Meadowbank in the sixties. He seemed to have a lot of bad luck with injuries.

[Tsunami]

any one know what happened to wayne was he barry,s son or brother seem to remember him at poole ,southampton then up in scotland early 60,s

 

Wayne is Barry's younger brother, who came over to ride for Edinburgh at Old Meadowbank in about 1961. A raw talent, who was not frightened to ride flat out, and subsequently seemed to get injured quite a bit. Always seemed to have broken wrists. Good rider to watch though.

[Sprog1]

Wayne is Barry's younger brother, who came over to ride for Edinburgh at Old Meadowbank in about 1961. A raw talent, who was not frightened to ride flat out, and subsequently seemed to get injured quite a bit. Always seemed to have broken wrists. Good rider to watch though.

 

Yes he hardly finished a season without some form of serious injury, including the loss of sight in one eye. I saw him at the end of his career at Exeter in the early 70's. He was finished in speedway by the age of about 27 I think. Most of his injuries seemed to be for very unlucky reasons like broken frames and things.

 

I believe I read somewhere that he is/ was until recently living in Scotland and running a haulage company I think.

[Ian]

Yes he hardly finished a season without some form of serious injury, including the loss of sight in one eye. I saw him at the end of his career at Exeter in the early 70's. He was finished in speedway by the age of about 27 I think. Most of his injuries seemed to be for very unlucky reasons like broken frames and things.

 

I believe I read somewhere that he is/ was until recently living in Scotland and running a haulage company I think.

 

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

[britmet]

.

Briggo's other (middle) brother Murray Briggs was a little more successful than Wayne when he came oover here for a short spell in 1958.

 

see http://speedwaychampions.com/GrassTrackChamps.aspx

 

He was Bristish Grass track Champion in both the 500cc Class and the 350cc class in the same year that his big brother was World Champ.

[Fromafar]

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

Wayne would have been a great rider IMO if his career had not been blighted by serios injuries Wayne and George Hunter had very similier styles and were heading for the top till varoius mishaps took their toll.Those were the days!!

[Grachan]

Raced for Exeter in 1967 and raced against Barry in the Golden Helemt match race at Swindon. Lost.

[BOBBATH]

I don't think Murray Briggs ever achieved the same level of success as Wayne-wasn't Wayne the runner up to Ivan Mauger in the 1963 PLRC?? Wayne was a top performer for Edinburgh in PL 1963-64.I recall seeing a picture of him and Theresa when they got married in the mid sixties-glad they hung in over all these years.

[britmet]

I don't think Murray Briggs ever achieved the same level of success as Wayne-wasn't Wayne the runner up to Ivan Mauger in the 1963 PLRC?? Wayne was a top performer for Edinburgh in PL 1963-64.I recall seeing a picture of him and Theresa when they got married in the mid sixties-glad they hung in over all these years.

 

So its Runner-Up in a 2nd Div'n competition v/v. a 2x National Champion, - ?

Surely there's no comparison. What do others think?

[Ian]

So its Runner-Up in a 2nd Div'n competition v/v. a 2x National Champion, - ?

Surely there's no comparison. What do others think?

 

The difference is that you're speaking about two different sports - speedway and grasstrack. Do you generally compare apples with oranges?

[Fromafar]

.

Briggo's other (middle) brother Murray Briggs was a little more successful than Wayne when he came oover here for a short spell in 1958.

 

see http://speedwaychampions.com/GrassTrackChamps.aspx

 

He was Bristish Grass track Champion in both the 500cc Class and the 350cc class in the same year that his big brother was World Champ.

 

Personally I don't Murray would even claim that fact.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Fromafar

[britmet]

The difference is that you're speaking about two different sports - speedway and grasstrack. Do you generally compare apples with oranges?

 

Both riding 500cc Japs round an oval circuit ! - ? One won and one didn't.

Edited September 20, 2010 by britmet

[Tsunami]

Both riding 500cc Japs round an oval circuit ! - ? One won and one didn't.

 

 

:D

[Sprog1]

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

 

 

Thanks for that. Its all slowly coming back through the fog of time. I do now remember reading that he emigrated and was married to an Edinburgh girl. I think the Haulage company bit was before he emigrated but if Barry is not sure what he does maybe what I read about the haulage company was just a story for the interview.

 

You have reminded me as well that he had hardly been on a bike before he came to Edinburgh, and I vaguely recall that he had never actually raced until he lined up for the Monarchs. Is that correct ? Only going by what I read. I only ever saw him race the once, he was always injured before that, and when I did see him he was just back from injury and well of the pace so it was a disappointment.

 

Incidently I thought Murray was the oldest brother, was I wrong on that. I never actually saw him ride.

 

As for THE man, THE Briggo, the one and only, he was without doubt the greatest ever in my opinion. Not the most consisitent ever, but at his best absolutely breathtaking.

[Ian]

Thanks for that. Its all slowly coming back through the fog of time. I do now remember reading that he emigrated and was married to an Edinburgh girl. I think the Haulage company bit was before he emigrated but if Barry is not sure what he does maybe what I read about the haulage company was just a story for the interview.

 

You have reminded me as well that he had hardly been on a bike before he came to Edinburgh, and I vaguely recall that he had never actually raced until he lined up for the Monarchs. Is that correct ? Only going by what I read. I only ever saw him race the once, he was always injured before that, and when I did see him he was just back from injury and well of the pace so it was a disappointment.

 

Incidently I thought Murray was the oldest brother, was I wrong on that. I never actually saw him ride.

 

As for THE man, THE Briggo, the one and only, he was without doubt the greatest ever in my opinion. Not the most consisitent ever, but at his best absolutely breathtaking.

 

 

I'm not sure how many (if any) races Wayne had before lining up for Edinburgh, but it wasn't many.

 

I also was under the impression that Murray was the eldest brother, but I'm not sure.

 

As for THE Briggo, he's a remarkable man. It's hard to believe he's actually 75 years old. As you say, he was breathtaking. I might quibble with you about him being the greatest (my having been a Fundin fan) but there can be no doubting the huge role he has played in the sport's history.

 

I mentioned to him that last time I was in Christchurch I was struck by the thought that there was a time when that city could have won the World Team Cup, spearheaded by Barry, Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger. You could have added pretty much anyone else to that lineup (Trevor Redmond and Geoff Mardon, maybe?) and they'd still have been far too good for anything the rest of the world could have thrown at them. Wouldn't you agree?

[britmet]

 

I mentioned to him that last time I was in Christchurch I was struck by the thought that there was a time when that city could have won the World Team Cup, spearheaded by Barry, Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger. You could have added pretty much anyone else to that lineup (Trevor Redmond and Geoff Mardon, maybe?) and they'd still have been far too good for anything the rest of the world could have thrown at them. Wouldn't you agree?

 

Definately agree.

Yet how strange that since their emergence not one New Zealander has stood on the World Final rostrum since!

[yesterdaysman]

I always had Murray down as the middle brother, don't know why though. Remember him when he ran the Jawa place for Barry in Southampton, under the railway arch. I was told many years ago that Wayne was running some lorries contracted to the council in or around Edinburgh, but that was just after he had stopped riding. Never saw him at any meetings up there after he finished though, not that I was a regular visitor, but wondered if he cut off completely!

[cityrebel]

as a youngster i saw wayne ride plenty of times for the lions when wembley reopened in 1970. did he finish his british career at exeter.

[tonyd]

as a youngster i saw wayne ride plenty of times for the lions when wembley reopened in 1970. did he finish his british career at exeter.

 

Wayne became my hero in 1970 (I was a 12/13 year old spotty oik at the time) when he rode for Wembley because the first time I went there and before we went into the stadium my uncle and I went to the pits and looked through those big double doors at the riders and machines. A rider came strolling out the pits clad in black leathers with football socks turned over the top of his boots took my programe out of my hand,signed it and returned it with the words come back after the meeting kid and get the rest of the riders to sign.

That was it from that night thanks to Wayne speedway went from a sport one watched to a passion one followed.

 

(On a side note I wonder what happened to that Wembley cannon they used to fire at the end of each heat as the winner crossed the line)