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Riders You Would Pay To Watch


TonyMac

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Which riders, from the 60s-to-late-80s eras, would you pay good money and travel hundreds of miles to watch?

 

I'll throw a few names into the ring to get the memory juices flowing...but what about some of the more obscure names we shouldn't forget?

 

Christer Lofqvist, Barry Thomas, John Cook, Kenny Carter, Henka Gustafsson, most of the 'wild' Czechs, Zenon Plech, Chris Mort, PC, Jan O Pedersen.

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On the subject of favourites....

In no particular order,

Ivan Mauger, Terry Betts, Chris Morton, Peter Collins, Ray Wilson, Dave Jessup, Malcolm Simmons, Barry Thomas, Zenon Plech.

The Infradex Rockets era, Tom & Joe Owen, Alan Sage.

 

Memory has gone.... be back later to edit......

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From the mid 70's and thru the 80's.....

 

Ivan Mauger, Scott Autrey, and Mike Farrell round the County Ground 1977.

Barry Thomas, Bo Petersen, Zenon Plech from the Hawks League runners up season of 1980

The Infradex Rockets with Fiala, Hubbard, Garrard, and Mullarkey round Hoddesdon in the 1979 league winning season.

 

outside of teams i supported..

 

at Hackney, i used to love the Dukes visiting with Kenny Carter, the Bees with Tommy Knudsen and Ole Olson, the Aces with PC, Racers with John Davis, Ippo with Sanders and Louis...the list is endless.

 

i could go on all night..

 

but there will be complaints! :o

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Any of the Fen Tigers, particularly '79 NL league champs!! see above.

 

Yes,the Rockets were entertaining but waited til 1980 to win the League.

 

Also Mitch Shirra, Mauger, Briggs, Bert Harkins, Gary Gugliemi (who'll he knock off next?), John Jackson, either Louis, Lee, Boley Proch, Jack Millen,Barry Thomas (game legtrailing made the Feb78 Golden Jubilee meeting warmer!), Martin Yeates, Simon Wigg,Vic Harding,Alan Cowland,Bobby Schwartz, Len Silver on the mike, Peter Collins, Peter Collins and Peter Collins.

Oh yes, John Noakes and Peter Purves. Mike Patrick's funny trousers, that crazy flag waving Aussie bloke Johnson,Dick Barrie and any rider that fought with handbags at 10 paces or could overtake after lap 1.........

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Falcons and Aces excepted. I'll go for Tomasz Gollob, Alan Mogridge, Shawn Moran, Kenny Carter, Bruce Penhall, Martin Goodwin, Thierry Hillaire, Dennis Sigalos, Per Jonsson, Roman Matousek, Les Collins, Mike Lee - all for different reasons, but more often than not, things "happened" when these guys raced.

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No one has mentioned John Louis yet, but what a race he had with Bruce Penhall at the 1979 BLRC. 'Tiger John' could mix it with the best when he had to.

 

That meeting was better than most World Finals for pure quality, class in depth. If you scored six points you had done well!

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Andrew Silver, Shawn McConnell, Peter Collins, John Cook, Michael Lee, Per Jonsson, Ivan Mauger.

 

It was always worth watching Hans Nielsen just to see if someone could beat him.

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Mr Gundersen's name did pop into my mind as I was writing that. I was thinking more about league matches though. Not many riders could have finished a season with a perfect 12 point league average away from home.

 

He wasn't unbeatable by any means, but if one of your own riders beat him it was always an event and, even more importantly, annoyed the Oxford supporters!

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Mr Gundersen's name did pop into my mind as I was writing that. I was thinking more about league matches though. Not many riders could have finished a season with a perfect 12 point league average away from home.

 

He wasn't unbeatable by any means, but if one of your own riders beat him it was always an event and, even more importantly, annoyed the Oxford supporters!

I know exactly where you are coming from Grachan. I remember crossing the Pennines a couple of times in th 80s to see Nielsen race at Sheffield. Head to heads like Moran-Nielsen are the sort of thing any speedway fan would want to see.

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Sverre Harrfeldt, Christer Lofqvist, Peter Collins, Ove Fundin, Aub Lawson (just makes it as he rode in 1960!), Boris Samorodov, John Cook, Michael Lee, Barry Thomas, Chris Julian.

 

 

Can only be one man! Sverre Harrfeldt

 

I would add Ray Wilson! And perhaps Christer Lofqvist (only saw him for about a season and a half)

 

Another one who I admired O Olsen (not a fan Though)

 

Out of the top boys at the time I'd go for Briggo over I Mauger (again not much of a fan if either ! :( Too succsesfull perhaps!)

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yer showin yer age chk..:oops:

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I don't think I have unfortunately. If anyone has got some, though, I'd gladly make a copy of it and put it up. Wouldn't mind seeing it myself come to that!

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So many to name, obviously my beloved Canterbury Crusaders....Graham Banks, Barney Kennett, Jamie & Jeremy Luckhurst, Neville Tatum, Robert Dolman, Mark Lyndon, Denzil Kent, Robert Tilbury, Richard Pettman, Dave Mullett, Uncle Ted (was old enough in '81 to appreciate racing by then!) etc etc

 

Rye House "INFRADEX" Rockets.... Uncle Ted, Karl Fiala, Kelvin Mudlark, Ashley Pullen, Bobby Garrod, Hughie Saunders, Bob Cooper, Marvyn Cox, Andrew Silver (Troy Pratt & John Wainwright in the intervals) etc etc

 

Hackney Hawks ....... Barry, Zenon, Bo, Uncle Ted (again :wink: ) Mark Loram, Paul Whittaker etc etc

 

Eastbourne Eagles......... Has to be Dave Kennett entertaining fiery little git :lol: Colin Richardson, Gordon Kennett Dean Barker (yes I can remember when he started riding all those years ago!)

 

Shawn & Kelly Moran, Bruce Penhall, Bobby Schwartz, Dennis Sigalos, Billy Sanders, Kenny Carter, Michael Lee, PC, Merv Salt and Ross Gilbertson like I said the list is endless........... off back to my garage now need a sleep after that xx

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