TonyMac Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Issue 42 has just gone to press. Full details to appear soon, but just to whet your appetite... It includes a nice four-page piece on the Pusey brothers, Chris and Geoff, including a new interview with the younger of the Polka Dot Kids. Plus in-depth interviews with Richard Green,very much a marked man in the NL era, and part 2 of our chat with Peter Adams. Also . . . Bernard Crapper tribute, Ernst Bogh, Geoff Bouchard. And John Berry's Top 20 Foreigners of the 80s. So who do you reckon came out on top? Let the debate begin, or is it cut and dried? Not forgetting Bruce Penhall's opinions on his main rivals in the 80s. Or Simmo, reminiscing about the Golden Helmet and why he thinks it should be brought back, and the World Pairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw42 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks Tony, looking forward to this one, I'm sure I will enjoy reading the article on Chris (RIP) & Geoff, I wonder if Geoff will mention the Leicester incident @ Hyde Rd in 73(?), I was 13 at the time but if I close my eyes I can still see him jumping the fence from the riders viewing area and piling in along a good few other riders. It was the first and last proper brawl I saw at a speedway track. Other than that I have many memories of watching them both ride, mainly Chris, he was always good value for money and seemed to be able to team ride with any of his team mates. He was also always happy to sign my autograph books. Keep up the good work with Backtrack, I have subscribed from the start and have no plans to stop. Please pass my regards to Suzie, always helpful when I have ordered books or DVDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamBouchard Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Very much doubt Geoff will mention Belle Vue v Leicester as he wasn't riding. That infamous meeting took place in 1971 when Geoff was still at Long Eaton. I had the privilege of interviewing him a few months back for the third issue of "Trackin' Down" (interviews with ex-Long Eaton riders which raises money for injured ex-riders) and he is - as he always was - the complete gentleman. I will look forward to Issue 42 of Backtrack with renewed vigour knowing one of my favourites is in it and I'm sure he'll prove to be a very popular read for many fans. Incidentally, the next "Trackin' Down" (Issue 3) will be launched on June 17th 2011 at the Annual Long Eaton Speedway Reunion and as well as 30+ pages of Geoff's stories, full length interviews with Phil Whittaker and Paul Evitts will also feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw42 Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Well I stand corrected on the year but I was unsure anyway, as for Geoff not riding, agreed on that, he was wearing civvies at the time, but he was there in the pits, probably spannering for Chris. Either way they were both entertainers and the type of characters speedway could well do with today. TeamBouchard, my cousin had a spell @ Station Rd, Jon Roberts, have you chased him up for your publication yet? Is "Trackin' Down" available online anywhere, if so I'd be happy to pay for a read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 GREAT to see some Division 2 stuff starting to be a bit more prominent. No point in saying that I am looking forward to the new Issue - I ALWAYS DO!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 GREAT to see some Division 2 stuff starting to be a bit more prominent. No point in saying that I am looking forward to the new Issue - I ALWAYS DO!!!!! Tony kindly invited me to join the Backtrack team to strengthen the BL2/NL coverage Ian so I'm glad the increase in coverage is noted and hopefully enjoyed. I hope you enjoy the Richard Green piece - he had a great deal to say. Regards, Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 And John Berry's Top 20 Foreigners of the 80s. So who do you reckon came out on top? Let the debate begin, or is it cut and dried? I would imagine a shoo in for Nielsen, closely followed by Erik. Honourable mentions for Sam, Janno, Tommy K, Jan Andersson, Siggy, Bo, Kai, Armando etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamBouchard Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 NW42 - thanks for the additional information regarding the Belle Vue incident. Geoff didn't mention it in the interview (though, I didn't ask him about it). I'm in touch with Geoff, so will try and get a definitive answer in the next day or so. Jon was a good lad who didn't have the breaks at the right time. He was in a couple of poor Long Eaton squads and always seemed to be under pressure to perform when he had the odd outing, which was a bit unfair. As I self-publish the Trackin' Down books, they are not on-line. However, if you go to my website at http://trackindown.webs.com/ you will find a number of extracts from the interviews which I'm sure you will find interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw42 Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 thanks for the response. I'm sure it is just something that has stuck with me rather than anyone else, including those involved. I remember seeing the pictures in the Star & News the following week, it was news at the time. Anyway, thanks for the link, I have previously enjoyed an hour or two on your website and you are right in that there is plenty of intresting content. I have left you a message there. thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Tony kindly invited me to join the Backtrack team to strengthen the BL2/NL coverage Ian so I'm glad the increase in coverage is noted and hopefully enjoyed. I hope you enjoy the Richard Green piece - he had a great deal to say. Regards, Rob McCaffery. This BackTrack is superb (it usually is) but this one excels. I have been happily reading about the 'good old days' Division 2 style. Thank you Rob - will this continue - I DO hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Thought this was a good issue. The article on team management was particularly good, and simply reinforces my belief that team racing is 'real speedway' rather than the one-dimensional individual stuff that seems to be in vogue nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamBouchard Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 For NW42. I got in touch with Geoff and this was his response. "I think he's been misimformed !!!!! I can remember reading about the incident. You're perfectly right, it certainly wasn't me. I cant see me jumping over the fence to join in , in fact I think I'd probably run the other way!!! I think I had my first ever Div 1 ride at Hyde Rd in 1971 for Cradley. The only other time I might have visited in 1971 would have been to watch the BLRC late on in the season." So there we have it! I recall seeing 'that' photograph and I wonder if it was Graham Plant who was leaping over the fence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw42 Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 thanks for checking it out, oh well Geoff's memory has held up better than mine, although I know I've always thought it was him so it's clearly of a case of mistaken identity on my part. As for Graham Plant, maybe but assuming he was riding that night he would have had leathers on, this character didn't, probably just a mate or brother of one of the riders, come to think of it back then the riders viewing area was always pretty full @ Hyde Rd, plenty of blokes got in with pit passes etc, my dad managed it a couple of times. Anyway, thanks for clearing it up, makes me wonder just what else I have misremembered, did the Aces really win 3 league titles in a row back then or was it just the way I saw it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 interested to know others thoughts on the top 20 foreigners of the 80s (there sure were a lot of quality riders), there's a separate thread on this in years gone by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 I would imagine a shoo in for Nielsen, closely followed by Erik. Honourable mentions for Sam, Janno, Tommy K, Jan Andersson, Siggy, Bo, Kai, Armando etc. is your omission of a certain other American from this list deliberate? a hint - I'm sure dirt would have voted him No1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMac Posted February 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) BACKTRACK MAGAZINE Issue 42 January-February 2011 Look what we have for all you nostalgia fans who loved speedway in the 70s & 80s... TOP 20 FOREIGNERS OF THE 80s Of the 10 World Finals staged in the 80s, only England’s Michael Lee and Germany’s Egon Muller – cashing in on home ground at Norden in ’83 – managed to interrupt a decade of domination by three genuine superstars of the sport. American Bruce Penhall succeeded Lee as World No.1 in 1981, in the last final held at Wembley, before retaining his crown in his native California a year later. After Penhall suddenly quit racing that year, the sport was monopolised throughout the rest of the 80s by Danes, and Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen in particular. They both won three individual world titles apiece between 1984 and 1989, not to mention a host of World Team Cup and World Pairs gold medals as Denmark emerged as the super power of the decade. But how to split the top three in a list of Top 20 Foreigners from the 80s? Once again, we’ve entrusted John Berry with that difficult task . . . BRUCE PENHALL COLUMN Following on from the Top 20, the American former double World Champion gives his insight into his main rivals of the 80s, including the Great Danes, his fellow Californians and Kenny Carter. MALCOLM SIMMONS COLUMN Super Simmo hankers for the return of the Golden Helmet mnatch-race championship and the World Pairs. He also voices his fears for his former club King’s Lynn and runs the rule over the GM engine. CHRIS & GEOFF PUSEY He was one of the most colourful characters of the 70s but talented Chris Pusey never fulfilled his enormous potential and died prematurely. We reveal what happened to the Belle Vue and Halifax star who became a near recluse. We also talk to Geoff Pusey, who has his strong views on what happened to his elder brother, as well as reflecting on his career that took in spells with Belle Vue, Stoke, Long Eaton and his NL title-winning heroics for Middlesbrough. PETER ADAMS INTERVIEW In the second of our two-part interview with Peter Adams, the Wolverhampton team manager tells how he came back to the sport, the key to his success, future ambitions, why he has never wanted to manage the Brits, as well as revealing a funny side that few have seen. AND ANOTHER THING... Introducing a new series in which we examine the major issues that changed the shape of British speedway during the Backtrack era. This time we look at ‘Foreign Flops’ and the Anzacs who flooded into the British Leagues, including a full list of every Australian and New Zealander who rode here from 1970-90. RICHARD GREEN INTERVIEW His never-say-die attitude to racing made him a cult hero at Exeter. But as former King’s Lynn and Mildenhall youngster Richard Green reveals, his hard riding reputation made him a marked man elsewhere. BERNARD CRAPPER A tribute to a key man from the Oxford Cheetahs’ glory days whose commitment and caring nature continues to benefit others. THE ART OF MANAGING John Berry (along with Ron Bagley) guided Ipswich to back-to-back league titles in the mid-70s before managing England to World Team Cup glory in Poland in 1977. Here he explains the now dying art of team management and names those he rated most highly. Plus... Time to salute Briggo, plus Q&As with Geoff Bouchard and Ernst Bogh and more... To subscribe for £17.50 a year in the UK (the price rises to £20 from Feb 21, so get in quick to save money!, go to http:// www.retro-speedway.com Edited February 8, 2011 by tmc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatface Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Looks good Tony. I must say, I thought you'd be struggling for material by now. But I couldn't have been more wrong. The top 20s and other discussion pieces have really brought a fresh bit of life to it. I'll particularly look forward to the piece on Richard Green. As someone who grew up on Mort and PC at Hyde Road, I didn't think that my new "home" track of National League Exeter could ever come anywhere near in terms of excitement. But Greeny served up a treat virtually every week in the late 80s/early 90s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Looks good Tony. I must say, I thought you'd be struggling for material by now. But I couldn't have been more wrong. The top 20s and other discussion pieces have really brought a fresh bit of life to it. I'll particularly look forward to the piece on Richard Green. As someone who grew up on Mort and PC at Hyde Road, I didn't think that my new "home" track of National League Exeter could ever come anywhere near in terms of excitement. But Greeny served up a treat virtually every week in the late 80s/early 90s. What shone through in the interview was how much Richard cares still for Exeter Speedway and its supporters and how highly they regard him. I hope the published version does justice. As is often the case wheen looking back to good times, they just didn't last long enough, often for riders as much as the fans. Regards, Rob McCaffery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 What shone through in the interview was how much Richard cares still for Exeter Speedway and its supporters and how highly they regard him. I hope the published version does justice. As is often the case wheen looking back to good times, they just didn't last long enough, often for riders as much as the fans. Regards, Rob McCaffery. i agree rob. when i was a kid just starting out in this great sport, i had two and a bit seasons of racing at west ham and only two years of the lions riding at wembley. losing both were shattering blows to me at the time, but they were great times that i still miss today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 i agree rob. when i was a kid just starting out in this great sport, i had two and a bit seasons of racing at west ham and only two years of the lions riding at wembley. losing both were shattering blows to me at the time, but they were great times that i still miss today. BUT!! - cityrebel - That is the beauty of BackTrack and Classic Speedway Magazines - they CAN and DO bring back the Memories. Even the black and white Photographs evoke thoughts of the GOOD days in British Speedway. I think the Sport was better then - and - these Photographs confirm and reflect that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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