tyretrax Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Jim Beaton of Glasgow sustained dreadful injuries to his right arm which rendered it practically useless. He switched the throttle controls to the left side where he employed a thumb-operated lever system. He simply tied his right arm to the handlebars. Jim's arm wasn't really tied on to the handlebars. He used a piece of a tyre inner tube (which would snap in the event of him coming off) to hold his hand onto the handlebars. He could use his arm to push the handlebars but couldn't flex his fingers to grip the bars. The only other rider to race Jim's bike was Merve Janke a couple had a try on it but couldn't ride it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boffy Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Just trawling through some old programmes & found out about an Aussie rider, Stephen Barr, who was deaf & dumb. Stephen rode second-halfs at Stoke in 1977, with compatriot Robert Dole. Not sure how he faired, but can't remember him. Initially I was quite surprised, but I guess this is no real handicap in Motorsport. Just wondered if anyone knew of any other riders with handicaps Stephen Barr also rode second-halfs at Wolverhampton during the late 70`s....He was a cult hero of mine....didn`t know he was an Aussie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Stephen Barr also rode second-halfs at Wolverhampton during the late 70`s....He was a cult hero of mine....didn`t know he was an Aussie Here's a little background on Stephen Barr's speedway career. http://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/438 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Crusader Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Jake Rennison who rode for Canterbury late 60's suffered with polio as a child. I'm not sure how it affected him as a rider though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Was it Arne Hendrikson used to ride Grasstrack with one leg,? not sure if he rode Speedway but was a friend of Briggo's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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