Issue 63: Simmo, Michael Lee, Newcastle, World Pairs

[TonyMac]

Issue 63 of Backtrack is out now and here's what you can look forward to in another feast of 70s and 80s nostalgia . . .

SUPER SIMMO - Goodbye to a true great
As the world of speedway mourns the loss of one of its all-time greats, Tony McDonald pays tribute to a supreme all-round motorcyclist whom he was proud to call a friend.

McDonald writes: "Because Simmo always told it like it was, he made the job of every speedway journalist he willingly gave up his time for very easy. He was a hack's dream. Whilst working with him on his 2006 book Simmo: The Whole Truth and his columns for Backtrack, Simmo never needed any prompting or encouragement to spice things up with hard-hitting comment or a controversy angle. On the contrary, it was often the case that Id rein him in.

"When he spoke out or confessed in print to some wrongdoing or other, he did so knowing the truth didn't always portray HIM in the best possible light. When he criticised the powers that be, it was because he cared about grass-track and speedway and it drove him mad to see both his sports lose popularity."

In our Memories of a Legend feature, supporters from all over the world also pay tribute to Malcolm, while we have a report and pictures from Simmo's funeral in Kent his 'super send-off.'

MICHAEL LEE INTERVIEW - The price of freedom
In a new four-page Backtrack exclusive, former World Champion Michael Lee reveals the full horror of his recent costly battle to clear his name in court, where he was proved innocent of all charges at the end of a gruelling 13-day trial. Lee's biographer Tony McDonald has the full story, or at least as much as the legal system would allow us to print.

"Nightmare is the only way of putting it," says Michael, who is now rebuilding his engine tuning business. "It's been a very unpleasant, nasty time. Obviously the accusations against me were totally unfounded, I was proved innocent in court, but over that period leading up to it, it took its toll mentally and physically. It made me feel sick inside."

WORLD PAIRS FINALS OF THE 70s
Ron Peasley traces the origins and heyday of what was considered the third of the FIM's speedway World Championships, including victories for New Zealand, Sweden, Poland, England and Denmark.

NEWCASTLE: 50 MEMORABLE MOMENTS
The Diamonds helped to produce four world champions and dominated the second tier for long periods in the 70s and 80s. We recall the highs and lows at Brough Park, where Ivan Mauger, Ole Olsen, Anders Michanek, Tom and Joe Owen, Rod Hunter, David Bargh and Kenny Carter graced the black and white racejacket.

MICK BELL INTERVIEW: Team Manager's Tales
Catching up with a man who won league championships as both a rider and team manager with two different top flight clubs, Reading and Coventry. Mick talks about working for Bees supremo Charles Ochiltree and explains why he couldn't support Dave Lanning in his court case against the Reading promoters.

BIG STRUGGLE FOR MINNOWS - Inter-league Knockout Cup
Boston made history when they beat Hackney and became the first National League team to topple a top flight team in the ILKOC but that shock result proved to be the exception rather than the rule. Doug Nicolson looks back at the few shocks and many disasters of the all too brief time when British speedway ran an all-inclusive knockout cup competition.

GONE . . . BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Coinciding the release of Retro Speedways new Defunct British Speedway Tracks DVD, we lament the loss of many old venues in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

REG FEARMAN ON READING'S DEMISE AND POOLE DISASTERS
As chairman of the BSPA during British speedways last golden era and senior promoter at tracks as far afield as Middlesbrough, Stoke, Long Eaton, Halifax, Leicester, Reading and Poole, Reg Fearman knows the sport inside out. Although not actively involved since his company at Poole went into liquidation in 1984, Fearman has now committed his extraordinary experiences and memories to print with the publication of his autobiography, Both Sides of the Fence. In our latest issue we bring you a couple of excerpts relevant to the Backtrack era, concerning the demise of Reading and what he describes as the Poole disasters.
Full details of how you can purchase this book direct from Retro Speedway are included in this issue.

OPENING TIMES
White City opened in 1976 and were league champions in only their second season before closing down just a year later. Through the eyes of Trevor Geer and former promoter Bob Dugard, we recall the costly rise and fall of the Rebels following their curtain-raiser against London rivals Wimbledon.

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH . . . JOSEF ANGERMULLER
Josef Angermuller, or simply 'Sepp', wrote his name in the history books when he signed for Reading in 1971 and became the first German to race in the British League. He also rode briefly for Hull in 1974 and was killed in a track crash three years later. Vitek Formanek talks to Sepp's former friend and mechanic.

COLLECTING
Belle Vue fan Tom Newey, a technician on the Apache attack helicopter in the British Army, talks about his collection of racejackets, bikes, helmets and saddles.


Plus . . .
Martin Neal's Q&As with GARRY MAY and IAN ATKINSON, your letters and some more Mystery Men to try and identify.

Buy this issue, order back issues, or subscribe at http://www.retro-speedway.com

Edited July 25, 2014 by tmc