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Crashes You Couldn’t Believe A Rider Walked Away From


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Jordan Frampton clearing the 1st bend fence after a tangle with Cory Gathercole at Somerset has to be a worthy mention. Literally took up and ended up on the concrete in front of the club house patio. Got back up, wheeled his bike through the crowd back to the pits and went and scored a maximum for Rye House that night against us.

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Early seventies at Coventry, Roger Hill clipped a back, straightened up and went into the chain link fencing at right angles. The bike stopped dead and Roger cartwheeled through the air, landing on the terracing itself a few metres from where I was seated. The stadium went silent but Roger was helped back up and only suffered a broken arm - remarkably lucky!

 

On the other hand Les Oen and John Harrhy went for the same piece of track on the Coventry back straight. John Harrhy ended up with a broken neck and had to wear a steel halo arrangement for several months afterwards but he still rode again. les Owen was less lucky, he veered into the fence and hit a lamp stand, almost tearing his arm off at the shoulder. He was resuscitated several times before they got him to hospital. He survived but never rode again although he personally told me a couple of years later that he wanted to try and ride just once more with a bike altered to have throttle and clutch on one side! His arm was weak but his hand grip was very strong and he thought he might be able to at least hang on with it! Remarkable man.

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2) When a rider hits the fence on the straight, and comes to a complete and sudden stop.

 

The worst I have seen were Tony Briggs doing that (and catapulting through the air) on the back straight at Wimbledon, Todd Wiltshire (almost the exact same thing at the exact same spot), and Martin Scarisbrick doing a similar thing at Reading.

 

Steve

 

The worst example of this I can remember was (I think) when they had airfences on the straights in the GP's & Lukas Dryml got hooked up & just stopped from full speed

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Junior race at Glasgow I think it was Gary Beaton that came of with someone running over his head. I thought I had just witnessed a fatality. He surived and my spine still tingles when I think about it.

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Awful crash I was involved in early in my career... Local derby between Sunningdale wildcats and Highworth Hawks.

 

A rider ( J. Bull ) made a flyer of a start, but I was right behind him through turns 1 and 2....chased him fast down the back straight and we flew in to turn 3.

 

That's when it all went wrong...J Bulls flare caught in his chain, causing him to fall forward. Balls slammed against frame...ouch...eye watering. The front wheel lost grip on the track surface ( gravel ) and down he went...in an instant I felt and watched as my front wheel rode over his head...then the bottom axel hitting his forhead...a sickening thud.

 

Knocked unconcious...blood everywhere. He came round...and we all cycled back to my mums. She patched him up, picking grit out of grazed knees and hands...he looked like something out of Star Wars with the big lump growing like a duck egg on his forehead.

 

His mother was more angry than upset at the holes in the knees of his jeans...we were all at it again the following day after school though...Speedway develops hard men ;-)

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Gino Franchetti (I think) wrapping himself around the floodlight coming off the second bend on the back straight in front of me. He cleared the fence and hit the floodlight and didn't move. Can't remember of his injuries but they was certainly no where near as bad as they could of been.

Did he not ride later in the meeting? Could be wrong.It look really bad he was jammed between the fence and the lighting pylon.
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Reg Wilson and Gary Guglielmi at Owlerton in late 1982... Reg tries to go under GG on the 3rd bend, both of them go flying through the fence and land on the greyhound track, Gary ended up with 2 bikes and Reg on top of him, think he ended up with a broken arm, but how it wasn't anything much more serious, I still don't know to this day.

 

Hugh Skidmore (I think) a couple of years back, who flew over the air fence and landed on the dog track, I'd never seen that in all my years of going, and then later in the season someone else did it and unfortunately ended up with a broken femur. I know I am stating the obvious but the second guy hit the ground slighly differently to Hugh.

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Crump/Gollob was definitely the first time I saw the Air Fence in full effect. A season earlier and JC could have been a gonner.

 

One that sticks in my memory is Shane Parker Todd Whiltshire being run over by crazy Roman Matousek at the 1991 4TT!

Edited by RPNYC
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Stephen Jones in 1999 at Newcastle. In last place coming out of the 4th bend, his throttle jammed and rammed a fence post early in the first bend and stopped dead. We all thought he was, as him, the bike and fence were mangled together. From 60ish mph to zero in about 6 inches, John Campbell and I just turned away in shock unable to talk about what had happened in front of us about 10 metres away.

Always had a special relationship with Stevo as a junior, but now more special that he is back riding 17 years on for Buxton and a canny lad.

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Stephen Jones in 1999 at Newcastle. In last place coming out of the 4th bend, his throttle jammed and rammed a fence post early in the first bend and stopped dead. We all thought he was, as him, the bike and fence were mangled together. From 60ish mph to zero in about 6 inches, John Campbell and I just turned away in shock unable to talk about what had happened in front of us about 10 metres away.

Always had a special relationship with Stevo as a junior, but now more special that he is back riding 17 years on for Buxton and a canny lad.

 

Similar to when George Stancl's handlebars snapped going in to turn 1 at Brough. He says he's never been as frightened on a speedway bike.

 

Another I remember at Brough involved Stu Robson against King's Lynn. He and David Ruud tangled on the fourth turn and both Stu and the bike flew over the safety fence. How he walked away from that, I will never know.

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Similar to when George Stancl's handlebars snapped going in to turn 1 at Brough. He says he's never been as frightened on a speedway bike.

 

Another I remember at Brough involved Stu Robson against King's Lynn. He and David Ruud tangled on the fourth turn and both Stu and the bike flew over the safety fence. How he walked away from that, I will never know.

The Robbo and Ruud crash on the forth bend was I agree horrific and in fact use as a video intro in many websites. His bike hit the inner dog rail and took out the electrics on it. Robbo had difficulty walking away from it. When his wife Laura ? got to him, sitting up against the gate, thinking the worse no doubt, all he could say was 'av borst me bag' nearly losing a testicle in the crash.

Edited by Tsunami
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Has to be Chris Harris at Poole in the PO final. Truly amazing.

 

Not walking away was Jamie Smith at Mildenhall in 2007. He not only cleared the safety fence but the 7 foot high stock car catch fence as well and - fortunately - landed on the sand of the dog track. Broken collar bone - to everyone's astonishment - only.

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bff6ATACYAAcQtc.jpg

Edited by Halifaxtiger
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Saw Dean Barker bend a lampost at Hackney and walk away

Many crashes involving Moggo and somehow he bounced back up.

 

Some of the worst ive seen.

 

Brett Saunders at Ipswich. Clipped Robbie Fullers back wheel and went full speed on the back wheel smashing the fence and ending up on the kerb on the stock car track. Broken spleen i think

Frede Schott remarkably on the same night bouncing down the back straight with his helmet coming off.

Andy Galvin at Rye House clashing with Scott Humphries and hitting the post

Mark Loram in his last ever ride at Ipswich

 

And the worst has to be i was there the night Paul Muchene had his accident. Such a simple slide off but the unfortunate Nick Floyd behind him couldnt miss him. We used to stand by the pit wall at Hackney and we knew David Steen who was riding that night, he came over and told us that it wasnt good

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Saw Dean Barker bend a lampost at Hackney and walk away

Many crashes involving Moggo and somehow he bounced back up.

 

Some of the worst ive seen.

 

Brett Saunders at Ipswich. Clipped Robbie Fullers back wheel and went full speed on the back wheel smashing the fence and ending up on the kerb on the stock car track. Broken spleen i think

Frede Schott remarkably on the same night bouncing down the back straight with his helmet coming off.

Andy Galvin at Rye House clashing with Scott Humphries and hitting the post

Mark Loram in his last ever ride at Ipswich

 

And the worst has to be i was there the night Paul Muchene had his accident. Such a simple slide off but the unfortunate Nick Floyd behind him couldnt miss him. We used to stand by the pit wall at Hackney and we knew David Steen who was riding that night, he came over and told us that it wasnt good

Never knew the exact details of Paul Muchene's accident (he was also riding for the juniors at Oxford that year) so thank you for explaining the circumstances. Tragic loss.

Edited by steve roberts
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Never knew the exact details of Paul Muchene's accident (he was also riding for the juniors at Oxford that year) so thank you for explaining the circumstances. Tragic loss.

It was a fall that happens every night, he literally just slid off but into Nick Floyd who had no chance.

Wasnt even high speed so tragic

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It was a fall that happens every night, he literally just slid off but into Nick Floyd who had no chance.

Wasnt even high speed so tragic

Paul hit a fence kick board that had been dislodged earlier in the race causing his fall. A shame the referee had not seen it (not a dig, it could easily be missed), could have prevented the tragedy.

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