clevelandbay Posted May 5, 2014 Report Share Posted May 5, 2014 Buzz Burrows - we had him as the talisman of the Cleveland Bays in 2007 and he was so unpredictable on track you never quite knew what you were going to get with him. He always caused a reaction wherever he raced. He would produce 4/5 very different rides in one meeting. My first memory of him in Middlesbrough colours goes back to 1987 when he joined us from Edinburgh via Scunthorpe, it was indeed Martin 'Mad Dog' Dixon who ghad recommended we sign him to promoter Tim Swales. i remember him having an altercation with Peterborough's Pete Chapman at Cleveland Park. As they both came off the fourth bend they somehow managed to get their handlebars tangled up and both came crashing down. There was a bit of argy bargy but to these eyes it was purely a racing accident. After the meeting that was not the way Chapman and his mechanic had viewed the incident and a heated discussion with Buzz took place as they left the pits. Just as if it looked like it was ettting out of hand the pits marshal Jimmy Elsdon went over and separated them and told Chapman and his mechanic to sling ther hook. Away from the track Buzz was a gentleman but at several away tracks he would make moves on opposing riders that no-one else would. We took Plymouth to a last heat decider at St.Boniface Arena even though they had beaten us 49-40 at home. As they came down the third bend Buzz flew under both Devils riders and moved them out as they came out of the fourth bend one of the Devils riders bailed out and the referee blamed Buzz and promptly excluded him. it wasn't dirty and I have seen other riders do exactly the same move on that bend with Redcar. At Weymouth he got involved in a last bend last lap incident whilst racing for the points to the finish line but both riders came off yards from the starting line. The Wildcats rider was not happy and tried to take revenge on the way back to the pits and also inside them - once again it was purely a racing incident. At King's Lynn against Boston Barracudas, Buzz and his former Wimbledon teammate Matthew Wright got their handlebars locked up as they left the tapes and went headfirst at frigntening speed into the safety fence - both riders took heavy falls into a very unforgiving fence. It took some time before both riders got to their feet and Buzz was down for what seemed an eternity and looked concussed to these eyes. They were both checked over by the medical crew on duty that night and it was classed as first bend bunching by the referee. Buzz came out and duly won the re-run! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsloes 1928 nearly Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 A landmark birthday for my good friend Buzz next month! we miss you out on track mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) If there were more riders like Buzz in today's speedway... there would be more bodies on the terraces. The man was a bread and butter rider, no messing about with this guy. I remember seeing him scare the life out of newcomer (to British racing) Tomasz Gollob at Belle Vue in the late-90s, actually leading the Pole for a period and Gollob looking a little shell shocked, to say the least. Burrows dragged a lot of his make up from the 60s, 70s and 80s form of speedway, where it wasn't important what a guy turned out like... no fancy-dan leathers or gleaming machine. He was more inclined to turn up with the tools he had to hand and blame the person on the straddle for a poor evening's work, not the equipment. A no-nonsense guy that speedway really needs more of... and I put him up there with the likes of Millen, Middleton, Gresham etc. During Belle Vue's first meet with the wooden spoon in many a long year - the 1994 campaign - Burrows was introduced to the side as a make-weight in a move to help introduce Gustafsson's scoring power, to help encourage the Aces to better results. Gustafsson's input did work... but it was Buzz, a rider I had never actually noticed much about before, who really caught the eye and admiration. Though not a big scorer as such, what he lacked on the old final match tally he more than made up for with effort, determination and gusto. With Buzz, a one pont return didn't tell the whole truth. But I had a feeling, as long a she thought he had done his best, all was well. And I gather most terrace fans felt the same... it's not what you score, it's what you put in. Buzz was worth double figures, by effort alone. Edited May 6, 2014 by moxey63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Buzz was a legend in wimbledon's CL era. He took many risks on that tricky plough lane track in the dons cause. His battles with lewis bridger home and away were not for the faint hearted! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratton Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 Buzz was a legend in wimbledon's CL era. He took many risks on that tricky plough lane track in the dons cause. His battles with lewis bridger home and away were not for the faint hearted!He had some great CL races with Malc Holloway, awesome i think Malc scored 20 in one meeting Burrows was tough and gutsy but fair and great value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arson fire Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 Most natural speedway rider never to be world champ I heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratton Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 Most natural speedway rider never to be world champ I heard.Who said that Parsloes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 Who said that Parsloes? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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