Sidney the robin Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 (edited) Was doing some research on the head to head record of Peter Craven and Ove Fundin (ie ) the golden helmet (ect) .Unfortunately never got to see Peter wondered if some of the older brigade on the forum have any special memories of there battles .Compared to most Peter fared very well against the great Ove ( and being a huge Briggo fan it does touch a nerve )great man though and a great rider Ove. Edited May 27, 2021 by Sidney the robin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Being a New Cross supporter, I have to say that to me the biggest rivalry was between Ove and Briggo - which Ove always won - sorry Sidney! I never saw a match race between Ove and Peter Craven, but, again, when I saw them in individual meetings, Ove nearly always came out on top. However, you are correct to say that it was Peter Craven who had the best record of any of the Big Five against Ove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 1 hour ago, norbold said: Being a New Cross supporter, I have to say that to me the biggest rivalry was between Ove and Briggo - which Ove always won - sorry Sidney! I never saw a match race between Ove and Peter Craven, but, again, when I saw them in individual meetings, Ove nearly always came out on top. However, you are correct to say that it was Peter Craven who had the best record of any of the Big Five against Ove. Thanks Norbold looking back Ove was pretty dominant over Barry but if Barry had of won it in 72 five a piece which in hindsight would of been very harsh on Ove so no rose tinted glasses there !, There rivalry in a way is similar to the Hans / Erik one where really Hans was the better rider but Erik had his number in certain events all four great riders Ronnie Moore is the interesting one if his career was different along with Bjorn who knows all for debate I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Hi Sid Peter Craven is one of my great Speedway heroes, and I, sadly, never got to see him race either. My interest in Speedway started back in 1964 (Sunderland 'Saints') - less than a year after Peter's fatal accident in 1963. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 I think Ove had a lot of respect for Peter, more so then any others of the top 5. Whilst Peter was at BV I was a fan of him. I only saw OF and PC race together at BV or Wembley world final. Peter was always a clean rider, a gentleman in general, and when they rode together I never saw Ove try anything dirty toward Peter. Their match races at BV were always exciting and close, so very close at times, but total trust in each over, that was clear. Such a shame the sport lost Peter whilst still youngish, a good few years at the top still in him. He was always a great sport, very approachable with fans, and ready to have a chat with them. Of the two, Ove was the most consistent, you can see that just in his record in the world championship, that’s why he was called Mr Perpetual Motion. Peter still ranks with me highly in the all time greats though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Further to my above post, Ove Fundin is a real nice guy. About 10 years ago I emailed him, didn’t get a reply for ages, getting on for a year maybe, then I got a reply and he apologised for being forgetful. He keeps himself busy, walking, cycling. I mentioned to him our family were very friendly with Bob Duckworth, BV rider late 50’s/60’s. I read Ove tried to keep in touch with riders but he hadn’t Bobs email, so I gave it him. He said he liked Bob, but perhaps he was too nice to be a top rider. And that was right, Bob was another gentleman, but to be top rider you have to be ruthless on the track. Bob wasn’t, Ove was, and that perhaps why Peter Craven, as good as he was, wasn’t quite in Oves league over his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemuppet Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Going back even further Freddie Williams met Peter Craven 18 times and was successful in two-thirds of these races. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, mickthemuppet said: Going back even further Freddie Williams met Peter Craven 18 times and was successful in two-thirds of these races. How old was Peter Craven in those 18 races? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 One rider I dearly would have liked to have seen was the late, great Peter Craven. To think that his track record at Cowley stood for nearly ten years and nobody got anywhere near it despite changes to bikes etc. Only a change in the track length warrented a new track record! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 19 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: Was doing some research on the head to head record of Peter Craven and Ove Fundin (ie ) the golden helmet (ect) .Unfortunately never got to see Peter wondered if some of the older brigade on the forum have any special memories of there battles .Compared to most Peter fared very well against the great Ove ( and being a huge Briggo fan it does touch a nerve )great man though and a great rider Ove. Great post Sid! I miss your speedway related subjects...something lacking on the BSF at the moment! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 Steve, Maybe we all COVID tired. I managed last summer very well as I got busy in the garden, but winter was long even though I have other interests to keep me occupied. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 17 hours ago, The White Knight said: Hi Sid Peter Craven is one of my great Speedway heroes, and I, sadly, never got to see him race either. My interest in Speedway started back in 1964 (Sunderland 'Saints') - less than a year after Peter's fatal accident in 1963. Hi WK hope you are well one of my biggest regrets is not getting to see Peter or Bjorn ride.My interest started in 68/69 both superb riders and in my humble opinion Peter is still England’s greatest ever rider. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 1 hour ago, steve roberts said: One rider I dearly would have liked to have seen was the late, great Peter Craven. To think that his track record at Cowley stood for nearly ten years and nobody got anywhere near it despite changes to bikes etc. Only a change in the track length warrented a new track record! Why did Cowley get changed Steve? was that down to Jones/ Dunton/ Dugard ? or the Control board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 33 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said: Why did Cowley get changed Steve? was that down to Jones/ Dunton/ Dugard ? or the Control board. That's a good question Sid? The track length was 354 yards, if I recall, when Peter achieved his never to be beaten track record of 63secs. It was shortened to 350 yards in 1973 (the reason I have no idea) and when Hans arrived in 1984 it was altered again when the entrances and exits of the bends were pulled in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 I suppose a lot of how we remember the riders is coloured by our early recollections of them. As you know, my first two speedway years were at New Cross. Fundin was a master of the Frying Pan and was virtually unbeatable (except for that one unforgettable night when Split Waterman beat him three times!). Ronnie Moore was also a top man at New Cross. Whereas for some reason, Peter Craven and Briggo (even though he rode for New Cross in 1960) never seemed comfortable on the track and were definitely behind Fundin and Moore. I didn't see Bjorn Knutson much, but after New Cross closed I moved across to West Ham, where Bjorn was the no.1. He was class personified and almost unbeatable at Custom House. So, in my memory from early days, I always put Fundin, Moore and Knutson ahead of Craven and Briggo. One other class rider I should mention is Jack Young. He was, of course, well past his best in the early 1960s but at the end of the 1961 season, he took part in two individual championships at New Cross - the King of the South Cup and the Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy. He won them both, beating every one of The Big Five in the process. I felt very privileged to see Youngie as he must have been at his peak in the early 1950s. For just those two meetings, he turned the Big Five into the Big Six - and he was the best! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL65 Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 On 5/27/2021 at 11:55 AM, norbold said: Being a New Cross supporter, I have to say that to me the biggest rivalry was between Ove and Briggo - which Ove always won - sorry Sidney! I never saw a match race between Ove and Peter Craven, but, again, when I saw them in individual meetings, Ove nearly always came out on top. However, you are correct to say that it was Peter Craven who had the best record of any of the Big Five against Ove. Fundin had just a few more races against Craven (1954-1963) than he did against Briggs (1954-1970) on British tracks, but he met both over 200 times in all. Fundin finished ahead of Craven in 55% of their races and he finished ahead of Briggs in 62% of their clashes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 4 hours ago, BL65 said: Fundin had just a few more races against Craven (1954-1963) than he did against Briggs (1954-1970) on British tracks, but he met both over 200 times in all. Fundin finished ahead of Craven in 55% of their races and he finished ahead of Briggs in 62% of their clashes. I do think though Peter before his untimely death at 29 was nearing his peak Ove by 1969/70 was finishing .Peter in 1970,still would of been only 36 years old . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted May 28, 2021 Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 Sidney, OF would have been only 37 in 1970, born 23 May 1933, makes him 88 now. Basically same age as PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2021 7 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said: Sidney, OF would have been only 37 in 1970, born 23 May 1933, makes him 88 now. Basically same age as PC. My point is 1969/70 Ove that Ove was never winning more world titles then.I saw Ove in 1970 he was well past his best maybe Craven would of been to but he was not given the opportunity to show us that unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Wanderer Posted May 30, 2021 Report Share Posted May 30, 2021 Second hand knowledge perhaps but I would like to comment on the Fundin v Craven question. (The best ever and my favourite ever respectively by the way. ) Years ago I got talking to an old timer who had followed Norwich regularly right from the opening of the track. He was of the opinion that Ove had more difficulty beating Peter than any other rider of the time. He didn’t mean Peter was the better rider but just that he gave the great Ove consistently more trouble than anyone else. love these conversations 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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