fatface Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Steve, while it was a shame that Per didn't return in 1987, I didn't mind, because it meant Rambo Razzer returned for another season instead and he was something of a favourite of mine. My list: Arne Pander - injury and politics stopped Oxford's first World Class rider from reaching a single World Final. Martin Dugard - after Oxford, he should have moved to a big track, rather than go back at Eastbourne. The 2000 British Grand Prix showed what he was capable of. Andrew Silver - for exactly the reasons already stated. Wasted his very considerable talent. Dalle Anderson - brilliant at Oxford in 1995. Robbed of the World Under-21 that year in the run-off. And then... nothing really. It just didn't happen for him at Cradley/Stoke in 1996. Nigel De'Ath - massive talent who had the confidence knocked out of him by a series of falls in 1987, following by a scary crash over the top of the Oxford safety fence on 1988's opening night. Alastair Stevens - even bigger talent. The fall through the roof in 1986, while doing a building job, was a set-back, and later on, he just didn't prepare his machinery properly. Carl Blackbird - seemed destined for big things when he - almost unbelievably - passed Hans Nielsen from the back three times on the same night at Oxford in 1986. But it didn't happen. Brian Andersen - he surely would have been World Champion, but for the ill-advised decision to plate his broken collarbone, shortly after winning the 1997 British Grand Prix. So classy on the bike. All the best Rob Isn't that basically a list of riders who rode Oxford well? Martin Dugard granted should have done better, Brian Andersen was unlucky, Carl Blackbird just wasn't professional enough and Andrew Silver didn't have the right style or technique to make it at the very sharp end of the sport. I'd have Joe Screen up there. From more recent times, I'd say the Swedes Freddie Lindgren, Andreas Jonsson and Antonio Lindback could - and should - have achieved more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Chris Pusey - Very exciting rider but a serious injury in 1973 seemed to slow him up just as he appeared to be making a break through. Eventually moved to Halifax and although put in some stellar seasons gradually declined and ended up making a comeback at Weymouth of all places. Last saw him at Oxford riding for Weymouth and it was like turning the clock back. I've read that he was badly effected by the serious injury to his good mate Alan Wilkinson. Chris later succumbed to alcohol (he was once a landlord and I remember talking to Ian Cartwright who mentioned that he was the wrong person to be running a pub!) A sad loss but holds many memories with his trade mark polka dot leathers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Lance king. Dennis siglos. Steve Lucero. Ron Preston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Lance king. Dennis siglos. Steve Lucero. Ron Preston. Never really rated Lance King but saw a lot of Ron Preston at Eastbourne during 1982 and he was superb! His first and second bend sweeps caught many an opposition rider out. Shame that he never returned to Britain. In fact 'The Eagles' suffered a triple whammy prior to the 1983 season in that they lost their three heat leaders - Gordon Kennett, Kelly Moran and Ron - from the previous season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Never really rated Lance King but saw a lot of Ron Preston at Eastbourne during 1982 and he was superb! His first and second bend sweeps caught many an opposition rider out. Shame that he never returned to Britain. In fact 'The Eagles' suffered a triple whammy prior to the 1983 season in that they lost their three heat leaders - Gordon Kennett, Kelly Moran and Ron - from the previous season!Really surprised with that Steve really rated King had a nice tidy style his biggest day being third in the WC in 1984 and winning the Overseas Final at Hyde Rd.If i remember rightly he badly injured his knee and was never quite the same rider after.Other riders to mention who could have had better careers Rick Woods/ David Shields. Edited May 10, 2016 by Sidney the robin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Really surprised with that Steve really rated King had a nice tidy style his biggest day being third in the WC in 1984 and winning the Overseas Final at Hyde Rd.If i remember rightly he badly injured his knee and was never quite the same rider after.Other riders to mention who could had better careers Rick Woods/ David Shields. Never really took to him...don't know why. Now David Shields...sensational for Oxford in 1978. Scored a maximum in his first appearance for 'The Cheetahs!' Re-surfaced at Cradley (1982?) but the spark had gone by then. Rick Woods - Never saw him ride during his brief period for Newport. Saw his brother, Gene, however during his time at Birmingham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Never really took to him...don't know why. Now David Shields...sensational for Oxford in 1978. Scored a maximum in his first appearance for 'The Cheetahs!' Re-surfaced at Cradley (1982?) but the spark had gone by then. Rick Woods - Never saw him ride during his brief period for Newport. Saw his brother, Gene, however during his time at Birmingham. Saw Shields ride quite a lot for Oxford top scoring a max i think with George Hunter against a supporters select 1979?Rick Woods i only saw once at Newport in 73 he could of made great strides Gene Woods i think was down to ride in a Sheffield V Birmingham meeting i don't think he rode Nielsen was very good and can remember American Keith Crisco really impressing that night. Edited May 10, 2016 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Really surprised with that Steve really rated King had a nice tidy style his biggest day being third in the WC in 1984 and winning the Overseas Final at Hyde Rd.If i remember rightly he badly injured his knee and was never quite the same rider after.Other riders to mention who could have had better careers Rick Woods/ David Shields.I was at Hyde Rd for that 15pt max in the overseas final, untouchable apart from his heat with s Moran when Moran had an ef while getting the better of a great battle.King could then have been the youngest ever world champ had he beaten gunners en in his final ride - I believe he anticipated the start but failed to drop the clutch and Erik was gone. He didn't return to the bl in 85 and never got close to the title again. Preston was very good in 82, genuine heatleader- did he then retire? You are right eastbound went from having an excellent hl trio (arguably bettered that season inky by the aces and cradley), to having an absolutely awful team in 83, even worse than the swindon team of that season! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I was at Hyde Rd for that 15pt max in the overseas final, untouchable apart from his heat with s Moran when Moran had an ef while getting the better of a great battle. King could then have been the youngest ever world champ had he beaten gunners en in his final ride - I believe he anticipated the start but failed to drop the clutch and Erik was gone. He didn't return to the bl in 85 and never got close to the title again. Preston was very good in 82, genuine heatleader- did he then retire? You are right eastbound went from having an excellent hl trio (arguably bettered that season inky by the aces and cradley), to having an absolutely awful team in 83, even worse than the swindon team of that season! I can remember Crump senior just qualifying at Hyde Rd have a picture of him/Lance in there battle.That performance and the Carter BLRC wins stick out in the mind the 1983 BLRC is my favourite memory though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Really surprised with that Steve really rated King had a nice tidy style his biggest day being third in the WC in 1984 and winning the Overseas Final at Hyde Rd.If i remember rightly he badly injured his knee and was never quite the same rider after.Other riders to mention who could have had better careers Rick Woods/ David Shields. Sid, it wasn't an injury as such. Lance King didn't return to the UK in 1985, because Cradley could only afford him or Erik Gundersen, and perhaps not surprisingly, they went for the World Champ. It killed the momentum of King's career - until then he looked like a future champion. All the best Rob Edited May 10, 2016 by lucifer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Really surprised with that Steve really rated King had a nice tidy style his biggest day being third in the WC in 1984 and winning the Overseas Final at Hyde Rd.If i remember rightly he badly injured his knee and was never quite the same rider after.Other riders to mention who could have had better careers Rick Woods/ David Shields. Yes I recall he wore a support on his injured knee and lent it to Simon Wigg when he was having problems with his knee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Isn't that basically a list of riders who rode Oxford well? Not really. For example, Nigel De'ath led Erik Gundersen for three laps at Cradley in the opening meeting of 1987. His career seemed to be taking off, then he started to find out how much speedway can hurt. Sadly, that's probably the case with hundreds of riders. All the best Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Not really. For example, Nigel De'ath led Erik Gundersen for three laps at Cradley in the opening meeting of 1987. His career seemed to be taking off, then he started to find out how much speedway can hurt. Sadly, that's probably the case with hundreds of riders. All the best Rob He started the 1987 season very well until Ronnie Correy ran into him at Cowley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I can remember Crump senior just qualifying at Hyde Rd have a picture of him/Lance in there battle.That performance and the Carter BLRC wins stick out in the mind the 1983 BLRC is my favourite memory though. Crump finished 2nd at that overseas final Sid, his best performance at Hyde Rd in my time watching. . Was Egon Muller an underachiever? He overachuieved in terms of being a world champion when he was far from best rider n the world. BUT..he could have been a far better rider if he had committed more to speedway, and ridden BL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) I can remember Crump senior just qualifying at Hyde Rd have a picture of him/Lance in there battle.That performance and the Carter BLRC wins stick out in the mind the 1983 BLRC is my favourite memory though. I think that if King had won the World Championship in 1984 (I was there) it would have been quite a shock despite his earlier round successes. Not sure if he would have carried the crown too well...but that's just my opinion. Bit like Les Collins in 1982. He would have been a shock winner if he had won (despite winning the previous round). John Berry went as far as to suggest that Les winning would have been more of a shock than Muller's win the following year. Not sure if I agree with that but Les was never the same force again and his British League form started to tail off from then on. He ended up at Edinburgh in 1985 when his form picked up again in the lower league. I recall an article about Les where he stated that his bikes during 1983 were not up to standard. Wasn't he JAWA works sponsored rider then? One of the true entertainers! Edited May 10, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Was Egon Muller an underachiever? He overachuieved in terms of being a world champion when he was far from best rider n the world. BUT..he could have been a far better rider if he had committed more to speedway, and ridden BL. I see you point, although I would question if a rider who won both the Speedway World Championship and was also three-time World Longtrack Champion could de deemed as not fulfilling potential. I somehow doubt if Muller would have exchanged the above with a successful BL career! All the best Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Sid, it wasn't an injury as such. Lance King didn't return to the UK in 1985, because Cradley could only afford him or Erik Gundersen, and perhaps not surprisingly, they went for the World Champ. It killed the momentum of King's career - until then he looked like a future champion. All the best Rob Can you remember an injury Rob? i am sure he had a knee injury i think he rode for Bradford then.I am sure he might of had some sort of brace on it i know what you are saying is correct that gap in his career stalled it.At Bradford he was not quite the rider that we had known before his time had gone. Edited May 10, 2016 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Can you remember an injury Rob? i am sure he had a knee injury i think he rode for Bradford then.I am sure he might of had some sort of brace on it i know what you are saying is correct that gap in his career stalled it.At Bradford he was not quite the rider that we had known before his time had gone. I think there might have been an injury while rode for Bradford. Of course, later on, while he was riding for King's Lynn, he was involved in the horrific pile-up at Odsal in the 1989 WTC Final. Lance had his head in a neck brace on that afternoon, was essentially physically OK, but the psychological effect of that accident was a factor in his subsequent retirement. But it was that missing British year in 1985 which really affected him and changed the whole course of his career. When I interviewed him, he certainly thought that was the big game changer. If you look at 1984, his performance in the final was no fluke. It's already been mentioned that he won the Overseas Final with a maximum, but he also breezed through one of the toughest-ever Inter-Continental Finals (which claimed the stricken Carter and nearly Nielsen too), with a third place. All the best Rob Edited May 10, 2016 by lucifer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Crump finished 2nd at that overseas final Sid, his best performance at Hyde Rd in my time watching. . Was Egon Muller an underachiever? He overachuieved in terms of being a world champion when he was far from best rider n the world. BUT..he could have been a far better rider if he had committed more to speedway, and ridden BL. God i had forgotten eaces1" that he scored 12 pts in that meeting a real good line up too remember Crumpy wearing black leathers that day.I still think Crump' s second in 1975 BLRC Hyde RD was his best performance (3rd in 74 to).I believe 75/76 were Crump's best chance of being WC if only he had put the Streety engine away who knows.In that era up to 1980 Crump( 75/76) ,MIchanek,Olsen,T.Jansson, Collins,Mauger,Lee, were the main players in my book.Looking back if he had lived Jansson would of only been aged 30 when Egon won in 83 makes you think eh.! Edited May 10, 2016 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer sam Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) God i had forgotten eaces1" that he scored 12 pts in that meeting a real good line up too remember Crumpy wearing black leathers that day.I still think Crump' s second in 1975 BLRC Hyde RD was his best performance (3rd in 74 to).I believe 75/76 were Crump's best chance of being WC if only he had put the Streety engine away who knows.In that era up to 1980 Crump( 75/76) ,MIchanek,Olsen,T.Jansson, Collins,Olsen, Mauger,Lee, were the main players in my book.Looking back if he had lived Jansson would of only been aged 31 when Egon won in 83 makes you think eh.! With Crumpie, Steve Gresham (his team-mate at Newport, Bristol and Swindon) thought the turning point was Crump's injury at Sheffield in 1977. Until that happened, he thought Crumpie was nailed on to become World Champion. All the best Rob Edited May 10, 2016 by lucifer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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