Simon Wigg Or Kelvin Tatum?

[PHILIPRISING]

 

Yes,

The Sunday People led their three week 'Speedway Bribes Sensation' story in September 1984 with a double page spread that heavily featured Simon Wigg.

It is moot whether they would have gone to print with the rest of their 'twit-bits' had it not been their good fortune to have an opening splash featuring England's only world finalist of that year.

 

On another thread the question is asked 'When did Speedway's decline start?'

For many it was around this time.

AS someone who worked for a national newspaper (Daily Express) at that time, attended every minute of the SCB Tribunal and had major coverage in the paper including inside page lead stories, I would attest to that.

[BWitcher]

One had flair, charisma and personality, the other is still trying to find them.

 

One all but destroyed the sport, the other is working hard to try and get it back to where it was

[Ghosty]

AS someone who worked for a national newspaper (Daily Express) at that time, attended every minute of the SCB Tribunal and had major coverage in the paper including inside page lead stories, I would attest to that.

Phillip are you saying that speedways decline is all down to Simon Wigg?

[PHILIPRISING]

Phillip are you saying that speedways decline is all down to Simon Wigg?

Not speedway's decline ... but for a fact that Sunday People expose and what followed had a huge impact of how speedway was treated by the national press. Simon wasn't the only one involved of course.

[Gavan]

Wiggy by a mile.

 

All the best

Rob

In what way?

 

Character? Yes

Longtrack? Yes

Grasstrack? Maybe

 

But for racing Tatum was the better rider. Both won 2 British Crowns

 

But Tatum won 4 Commenwealth titles to Wiggs 1

Tatum also won a Inter Continental title and Wigg didnt.

Both stood on the rostrum in the World Final and arguably Tatum should have again in 1989.

 

Wigg the most flamboyant by a mile bu the better speedway rider was Kelvin Tatum

 

People confuse excitement with skill. Stephen Hendry boring as hell but a much better player than Jimmy White

 

And lets not forget Wiggs dark side and the way he dragged the sport through the gutter at times

[waiheke1]

Tatum just ahead of Wigg imo, based purely on speedway. The two best brits of the mid-late 80s.

[frigbo]

Tatum the better speedway rider by quite a distance.

[Bagpuss]

Tatum for me.

[Sidney the robin]

In what way?

 

Character? Yes

Longtrack? Yes

Grasstrack? Maybe

 

But for racing Tatum was the better rider. Both won 2 British Crowns

 

But Tatum won 4 Commenwealth titles to Wiggs 1

Tatum also won a Inter Continental title and Wigg didnt.

Both stood on the rostrum in the World Final and arguably Tatum should have again in 1989.

 

Wigg the most flamboyant by a mile bu the better speedway rider was Kelvin Tatum

 

People confuse excitement with skill. Stephen Hendry boring as hell but a much better player than Jimmy White

 

And lets not forget Wiggs dark side and the way he dragged the sport through the gutter at times

First see Wigg ride in the 82 British Final as a NL rider then later on i see alot of him for Oxford.As i remember he was quite up and down at times but at his best he was very good.Tatum for me was a hell of a gater very fast and i remember him in the pairs with Carter for me though Simon edges it just.

[Cliv Clav]

Tatum was better when you consider he was also a terrific motocross rider too. He was also very accomplished on indoor racing circuits (rubber and shale). He was more consistent, before he was riding with his disintegrating hip of course! His hip replacement has worked wonders when you see how badly he was limping in the last few years of his racing career.

 

Shame Tatum took up Longtrack so late in his career as he & Wiggy could have worked together to take more titles off Riss & Barth etc.

[G the Bee]

I'm biased! But even looking at it objectively, you would be hard pressed to make a case for Wigg.

 

Tatum was generally more consistent and he won every major individual title in the sport, some of them many times over, other than the top prize itself. In his peak years (his Coventry years) he was one of the few riders who you felt could match the powerhouse Danes consistently. In 1987 and 1988 in particular, he was outstanding.

 

Nevertheless, I always felt he was never the same rider when he left Coventry at the end of 1990. I would have loved to have seen him and the returning Tommy Knudsen back together at Brandon for 1991 and 1992 as I felt that the close but respectful rivalry between these two Coventry legends brought out the best in both of them.

 

In terms of longtrack, it's a shame their careers did not overlap more. Simon was (sadly) coming to the end of his career when Kelvin became established.

[Lord Skid]

Dragging the Sport into the gutter, and we haven't yet mentioned the drug cheating World Champions, they didn't exactly do it any favours.