Autrey Could He Have Been World Champion In 1979.?

[norbold]

In the same vein, of course, although it was more palpable with Cordy Milne, the War also put paid to a number of other deserving riders chances of winning the World Title, most notably Vic Duggan, but also maybe Jack Parker, Eric Langton, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Bill Kitchen and Eric Chitty.

[Sidney the robin]

Scott would have definitely been a contender in 1979...he was very much the man in form that year.

 

As regards Dave Jessup? According to Malcolm Simmons the infamous engine failure during one World Final was down to the fact that Dave had drilled so many holes in a jubilee clip that it eventually fell apart causing him to pull up in a vital race!

Autrey also won the Berger Grand prix series in 1979 picking up the 1,250 first prize showing that if the WC had a been a series then he would of been a big player.

[iris123]

Surely the Berger series was only at British tracks,whereas a world championship series in 1979 would be Europe wide if not a round in the US.So not really much evidence on how Autrey would have done?

[Sidney the robin]

Surely the Berger series was only at British tracks,whereas a world championship series in 1979 would be Europe wide if not a round in the US.So not really much evidence on how Autrey would have done?

Good point but i would say Autrey was the stand out rider in 79 and would of had every chance certainly if the format was the same as when Loram won it.

[waiheke1]

Good point but i would say Autrey was the stand out rider in 79 and would of had every chance certainly if the format was the same as when Loram won it.

Imo 79 is the year when Lee would have been world champ under the gp format.

[steve roberts]

Scott did come third in the 'Master of Speedway' competition embracing tracks around Europe. A major contender in my view but of course the AMA knew better when he took a stand against their administration errors and/or knowledge of the sport in Europe.

Good point but i would say Autrey was the stand out rider in 79 and would of had every chance certainly if the format was the same as when Loram won it.

Sid that was my main gripe regarding a GP format in that a rider could ultimately win the Championship without proving himself the best rider in any one particular round. Loram won his championship without winning a round but did what was required within the remit which is fair enough.

 

I seem to recall that Olsen wished to reward the winner of a round with more points than previous (it was raised from 20 to 25 points in 1986?) in an attempt to raise the profile of the winner and make winning a round more rewarding.

Edited May 11, 2017 by steve roberts

[Robbie B]

What everyone has to remember about Scott's victory in the 1979 Grand Prix victory was that the it was a one-off final raced at Wimbledon. All British league clubs held qualifying rounds prior to the final so that the field could be determined. Scott, also won the Daily Express spring classic at Wimbledon in 1979.

 

Scott, loved the Wimbledon track and i can still remember him breaking the track record in 1978. He was entering turn 3 before the other riders in the race had come out off the second turn.

[Sidney the robin]

Imo 79 is the year when Lee would have been world champ under the gp format.

I would say that Scott/ Mike were the best two riders in the World in 79 and if looking back Lee could of won it in 77,79,83.

[Tigerblade]

Jessup i was never a fan but in reality he had a better year than Lee in 1980 (Lee comeback from bad back injuries) and you could make a case he was unlucky with efs in World Finals.

Indeed he did, and I know I've mentioned this before, but Lee was in danger of going out at the British semi final stage at Sheffield - he'd been struggling badly and needed points in his last race, which he won against the previously unbeaten DJ...

 

Re Scott Autrey, definitely a contender at his peak, although I'm not sure about a World Champion with the quality around at the time.

[waiheke1]

I would say that Scott/ Mike were the best two riders in the World in 79 and if looking back Lee could of won it in 77,79,83.

Don't reckon lee would have been in the series in 77. Even if he were it's hard to see past pc and ole battling for the title with Maurer 3rd. 80 and 83 lee would surely have finished on the podium, assuming he was in the 83 series.

[Sidney the robin]

Don't reckon lee would have been in the series in 77. Even if he were it's hard to see past pc and ole battling for the title with Maurer 3rd. 80 and 83 lee would surely have finished on the podium, assuming he was in the 83 series.

77 certainly Lee would not of won a series but he would of been thereabouts i did mean Lee could of won a one off final in 77/79/83.!!!.By then strange really to think Collins was finished by 1979 on the world final stage anyway. Edited May 12, 2017 by Sidney the robin

[waiheke1]

77 certainly Lee would not of won a series but he would of been thereabouts i did mean Lee could of won a one off final in 77/79/83.!!!.By then strange really to think Collins was finished by 1979 on the world final stage anyway.

Don't know if you can say Collins was finished in 79, he did win two world titles, tip the averages and was one of the favourites for the world final in gotHenburg.

But you are right in that he never looked like a world individual chimp after coming back from a season out, even though he was only about 28? in 1982.

 

Agree from 77-83 Lee was capable of being world champion, even in his poorer seasons (82 stands out) he would have been capable of winning a one off meeting.

[Sidney the robin]

Don't know if you can say Collins was finished in 79, he did win two world titles, tip the averages and was one of the favourites for the world final in gotHenburg.

But you are right in that he never looked like a world individual chimp after coming back from a season out, even though he was only about 28? in 1982.

Agree from 77-83 Lee was capable of being world champion, even in his poorer seasons (82 stands out) he would have been capable of winning a one off meeting.

Collins after he got injured at Belle Vue and bravely failed to retain his title in 77 for me he was never as good again.A surprising stat is he was only British Champion once that really shows you how tough our league was in those days.I was never a PC fan but he was a great rider and i would say he is the best rider i have ever seen that could come from the back.

[steve roberts]

Collins after he got injured at Belle Vue and bravely failed to retain his title in 77 for me he was never as good again.A surprising stat is he was only British Champion once that really shows you how tough our league was in those days.I was never a PC fan but he was a great rider and i would say he is the best rider i have ever seen that could come from the back.

One of England's greats when there were so many quality English riders during the seventies and early eighties.

[norbold]

he never looked like a world individual chimp...

There's no answer to that!

[Guest]

... he never looked like a world individual chimp..

 

 

There's no answer to that!

 

There's a lot of monkey business going on in this thread!

[foamfence]

Autrey was like quite a few other American riders, he quit young. Some had good reason to quit but there was a lot of potential not fulfilled amongst them.

[lucifer sam]

Collins after he got injured at Belle Vue and bravely failed to retain his title in 77 for me he was never as good again.A surprising stat is he was only British Champion once that really shows you how tough our league was in those days.I was never a PC fan but he was a great rider and i would say he is the best rider i have ever seen that could come from the back.

 

Sid, I think I would disagree. PC had one hell of a 1980 season. Top of the BL averages; carried (along with Chris Morton) a two-man BV team to third in the BL table; also to KOC final, where they surely would have won but for his shoulder injury; World Pairs Champion (barely dropping a point); World Team Cup Champion; one of the favourites at Gothenburg, and fell away only after the interval.

 

It seems to me that he was still a major force to be reckoned with, prior to the aforementioned shoulder injury at Cradley, which led to his absence from British Speedway for the majority of 1981. That's where he started to slip.

 

Meanwhile, I'm not convinced Autrey would have been World Champion at Katowice in 1979. No-one was going to stop Mauger winning the title that day.

 

All the best

Rob

Edited May 13, 2017 by lucifer sam

[iris123]

I was reading an interesting article on FB about 'wild'Bill Cody.Seems he was a very intelligent but not so wild rider,who regrets not riding in the UK when he had a chance.From the article it did mention him beating Ole Olsen at his home track!But this was claimed to be Liverpool,so it might be a mistake/mix up

[Guest]

I was reading an interesting article on FB about 'wild'Bill Cody.Seems he was a very intelligent but not so wild rider,who regrets not riding in the UK when he had a chance.From the article it did mention him beating Ole Olsen at his home track!But this was claimed to be Liverpool,so it might be a mistake/mix up

 

Possibly the Liverpool track Bill Cody refers to was Liverpool, New South Wales. Bill Cody was in a group of American riders why visited Australia in the early 1970s.

Here are some Bill Cody career details:

https://www.speedwaybikes.com/rw/uBillCody.htm

 

Here's the background to Liverpool, NSW - mainly used for car racing but there is a mention of solo speedway in the article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Speedway

Edited May 13, 2017 by Guest