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Andy Downes

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24 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

'Wilkie' was an extremely tough competitor but I would like to think fair. I well recall the time at Cowley when he objected to some offence and came striding out of the pits and ripped the tapes from their sockets to the boos of the crowd. However he was well respected by his rider colleagues (John Davis amongst them) and was fiiercely loyal to his team mates. His great buddy, Chris Pusey, never really got over Wilkie's accident apparently.

Regarding your comment on Chris Pusey, what a rider, so underestimated 

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Simon Cross. Remember when he walked out on Oxford after a 'disagreement' with the late Ashley Pullen. Although adored by Cradley fans I felt he rode erractically taking riders out...an example being at Dudley Wood when Oxford were the visitors in 1985 and he left both Simon Wigg and Andy Grahame nowhere to go (in seperate incidents) on the second bend. Personally I felt that he was a classic example of riding the man rather than the track and guilty of 'over-riding' on occasions.

Edited by steve roberts
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Just now, sommelier said:

Regarding your comment on Chris Pusey, what a rider, so underestimated 

Yes I've spoken to Ian Cartwright on a number of occasions and he spoke of Chris being the absolute wrong guy to have been a pub landlord when he held such a postion. But yes people talk of the great Hyde Rode heroes (Collons and Morton) but Chris, who could be equally spectacular, is rarely mentioned.

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24 minutes ago, sommelier said:

Ivan ????

The boo's that were made were out  out of respect more than anything else   he was the benchmark that everyone had to try to expire to..He certainly put bums on seats and when he came into town the place was buzzing.The incident Ivan had with Bob Kilby at the Abbey was the only time he may have been in the wrong that i ever witnessed but  he  was a hard but fair rider.

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Neil Evitts. I know that he had a bit of a thing going with Jens Rasmussen (another hard rider) and apparently Evitts and Kelven Tatum had altercations (?). He was never really forgiven by 'Cheetah's fans' for putting in a poor guest performance for Oxford after only the previous week winning a World Championship Qualifying Meeting although rumours circulated at the time for the reasons why...whether true or not.

Edited by steve roberts
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2 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Neil Evitts. I know that he had a bit of a thing going with Jens Rasmussen (another hard rider) and apparently Evitts and Kelven Tatum had altercations (?). He was never really forgiven by 'Cheetah's fans' for putting in a poor guest performance for Oxford after only the previous week winning a World Championship Qualifying Meeting although rumours circulated at the time for the reasons why...whether true or not.

Evitts was a tough rider i was a fan of his a very talented rider  he has been at Swindon recently helping Ellis Perks.)

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13 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Evitts was a tough rider i was a fan of his a very talented rider  he has been at Swindon recently helping Ellis Perks.)

Is Ellis Perks related to one-time 'Cheetah' Dave?

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7 minutes ago, steve roberts said:

Is Ellis Perks related to one-time 'Cheetah' Dave?

Dave is his uncle. Dave's brother and Ellis' father is former ref Robbie Perks

 

Edit - correction Dave is ELLIS' great uncle.

Edited by arnieg
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1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Is Ellis Perks related to one-time 'Cheetah' Dave?

Yes Steve he is,  Ellis is going well this year and is doing a great job for the Budgies. Dave was a really good rider i  remember his Cradley/ Oxford days also his strong spearhead days  with Mike Sampson at Nottingham.

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3 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Yes Steve he is,  Ellis is going well this year and is doing a great job for the Budgies. Dave was a really good rider i  remember his Cradley/ Oxford days also his strong spearhead days  with Mike Sampson at Nottingham.

I think Dave Perks was the first rider to go straight in to first division with Cradley in 1972 I think ? 

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6 hours ago, sommelier said:

I was a big Kenny fan, & im from Worcestershire!

You are a rarity in the Midlands. I don't think many Team Kenny Carter coats were sold at Dudley Wood. 

I must add, there was a pantomime element to it all. Much like a lot of the riders mentioned. I loved booing Kenny Carter racing against Belle Vue. But I was also bloody glad he was in the England team too! 

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Andy Galvin was always guaranteed a 'warm' reception at Plough Lane. Preben Eriksen had a tough time of it after a crash with Kelvin Tatum in which Tatum broke his leg. I can remember Kenny Carter breaking the track record at Belle Vue. The Aces fans were unimpressed, to put it mildly. The reception Chris Morton got a couple of races later when he broke the record was as noisy and fervent as I can ever recall at Hyde Road

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