'They Retired Too Soon'

[steve roberts]

How about Keith Anderson of Birmingham (1975)?

[steve roberts]

Carl Askew (another with "Brummie" connections) ?

[Andrew]

Greg Bartlett,made his debut at reserve for Sheffield in 1994,rode at number one for the Tigers in the one big league in '95 beating some of the big names of the day around Owlerton and was making progress on the away circuits.Took a full time job as a miner back in Australia and rarely rode again.I always compared him to fellow Perth based rider Steve Johnston,who after a slow start,went onto have a solid British career and Barty was equally as good,if not slighty better than Johnno in his two seasons.

[Triple.H.]

On 7/9/2021 at 4:13 PM, E I Addio said:

Still absolutely spot on choices though Steve, albeit different eras. Always a puzzle to me why Knutson went while at the top of game, while still a relatively young man. Maybe Norbold can throw some light on this? Bjorn was I think, only a few months younger than Ivan Mauger and I feel he could well have snatched a couple more world championships from either Mauger, Olsen, Michanek, or the Pole that cheated , before age started to catch up and retirement loomed.

I'm sure i  read somewhere that Bjorn Knuttson retired as he had achieved being World Champion,

[Triple.H.]

On 7/11/2021 at 9:09 AM, steve roberts said:

Does Andy Galvin qualify? Did injury curtial his career as I can't remember?

Didn't he suffer a very badly broken arm which he struggled to recover from ? Certainly a very exciting and entertaining rider, Hackney seemed to be churning them out at that point

[E I Addio]

35 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

I'm sure i  read somewhere that Bjorn Knuttson retired as he had achieved being World Champion,

He carried on for at least a year and came a about 10 th in the 66 World Final but possibly he had lost his hunger after winning the title. He seems to have carried on racing long track for a few years. I have a vague notion that he took on a car dealership and building that up took a lot of his time but could be wrong about that.

[steve roberts]

I know that Conny Samuelsson has been mentioned on other threads but his UK exploits were short to say the least although he continued racing in Sweden for many years. I would have thought that a British Promoter would have given him another chance as he did register some good results? Perhaps he didn't wish to come back to these shores? Would make a good interview in either of the retro magazines?

[Sidney the robin]

11 hours ago, E I Addio said:

He carried on for at least a year and came a about 10 th in the 66 World Final but possibly he had lost his hunger after winning the title. He seems to have carried on racing long track for a few years. I have a vague notion that he took on a car dealership and building that up took a lot of his time but could be wrong about that.

Great rider Addio it was a massive regret of mine never to have seen Bjorn ride and the original  PC .My uncle who see both of them ride said they both could of one won more titles hypothetical really what could of been those two are certainly in a alltime top 20 more so because of the era they were in a mega tough one.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Sidney the robin

[E I Addio]

23 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

Great rider Addio it was a massive regret of mine never to have seen Bjorn ride and the original  PC .My uncle who see both of them ride said they both could of one won more titles hypothetical really what could of been those two are certainly in a alltime top 20 more so because of the era they were in a mega tough one.

Actually Sid I do think it is a mega tough era today in terms of the top level but for a different reason . Up to about the mid seventies tuners didn’t play a major part. It was as much about the rider as the bike, and that’s why we have to say Briggs , Fundin, Moore etc were truly great riders,. Today it’s as much about the getting the sponsors to fund a fortune on tuners , set ups , spare engines etc. I’m not knocking today’s riders by any means but it’s very much a different game today. Some have 30 different engines. On the other hand, take Terry Betts for example. He said in Classic Speedway that he used to buy one new engine at the start of the season, used it the whole season, never laid a spanner on it for the whole season except changing the valve springs and he was, on his day , capable of beating  the worlds best.  

I admire Jason Doyle because he became World Champion relatively  on a shoe string compared with most modern riders, but I doubt whether anyone will win it again without massive sponsorship money behind  them. The rider used to be more important than the bike, today, I think it’s the other way round.

[Sidney the robin]

15 hours ago, E I Addio said:

Actually Sid I do think it is a mega tough era today in terms of the top level but for a different reason . Up to about the mid seventies tuners didn’t play a major part. It was as much about the rider as the bike, and that’s why we have to say Briggs , Fundin, Moore etc were truly great riders,. Today it’s as much about the getting the sponsors to fund a fortune on tuners , set ups , spare engines etc. I’m not knocking today’s riders by any means but it’s very much a different game today. Some have 30 different engines. On the other hand, take Terry Betts for example. He said in Classic Speedway that he used to buy one new engine at the start of the season, used it the whole season, never laid a spanner on it for the whole season except changing the valve springs and he was, on his day , capable of beating  the worlds best.  

I admire Jason Doyle because he became World Champion relatively  on a shoe string compared with most modern riders, but I doubt whether anyone will win it again without massive sponsorship money behind  them. The rider used to be more important than the bike, today, I think it’s the other way round.

Totally agree with all  of that and you could say when the handicap system was in place the track craft element was odvious looking back.Going back to yesteryear i do think Bjorn could of won more titles and i really believe Mirac Moore was better than his two wins there is a rider who had real track craft a class act.I think Ole was better than his four wins and believe Michael Lee should of had more than just a maiden title all down to opinions Addio.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Sidney the robin

[steve roberts]

Chris Manchester was an enigma...seemed to have the world at his feet but he never really progressed and returned to the States never to return.

[steve roberts]

Perhaps one could also include Garry Middleton who 'retired' when still relatively young? It's been suggested that he got side tracked with outside business interests but who's to say that he couldn't have resurrected his career if he had put his mind to it?

[fatface]

Before my time, but Jim Airey stepped away at his peak. Definitely worth an inclusion in any list.

[steve roberts]

30 minutes ago, falcace said:

Before my time, but Jim Airey stepped away at his peak. Definitely worth an inclusion in any list.

Thankfully I got to see him in a rare appearance at Cowley after he finished competing in the UK during the Daily Mirror World Tournament in 1973 representing Australia against Poland. If memory serves he scored 10 points?

Edited July 31, 2021 by steve roberts

[salty]

3 hours ago, falcace said:

Before my time, but Jim Airey stepped away at his peak. Definitely worth an inclusion in any list.

Stands out for me. Which is why I mentioned him on page 1!! 

As for Middleton, I'd say he was well on the wane by the time he packed it in. The rider I saw for Birmingham and Leicester ( and Kings Lynn before that) was nowhere near the one who led the Hawks and the Rebels.

[fatface]

44 minutes ago, salty said:

Stands out for me. Which is why I mentioned him on page 1!! 

As for Middleton, I'd say he was well on the wane by the time he packed it in. The rider I saw for Birmingham and Leicester ( and Kings Lynn before that) was nowhere near the one who led the Hawks and the Rebels.

 Sorry I missed that. 

[steve roberts]

1 hour ago, salty said:

Stands out for me. Which is why I mentioned him on page 1!! 

As for Middleton, I'd say he was well on the wane by the time he packed it in. The rider I saw for Birmingham and Leicester ( and Kings Lynn before that) was nowhere near the one who led the Hawks and the Rebels.

I think it's fair to say that Middleton had been side tracked by off track business deals (he gave 1974 a miss) and his speedway 'star' began to fall. I'm sure if he had re-focused his mind and concentrated on speedway he may well have achieved more but one can only speculate. I recall seeing him at White City in 1976 and he scored a quite superb 12 points (albeit from, if I remember, 6 rides?) but it did prove he still had it in him given the right incentive (in this case riding against the "Rebels") Again he guest rode for Cradley in 1975 at Cowley and scored 9 points in front of his once home crowd.

Edited July 31, 2021 by steve roberts

[Hodgy]

On 7/23/2021 at 7:34 PM, steve roberts said:

Chris Manchester was an enigma...seemed to have the world at his feet but he never really progressed and returned to the States never to return.

Chris Manchester immediately came to mind. He was improving rapidly but recall he had a few crashes and completely lost his nerve. He gave it another go but his head had completely gone. 

[steve roberts]

6 hours ago, Hodgy said:

Chris Manchester immediately came to mind. He was improving rapidly but recall he had a few crashes and completely lost his nerve. He gave it another go but his head had completely gone. 

I didn't realise he had some bad crashes. I often wondered why he appeared to disappear from these shores.

[E I Addio]

 I have recently been reading about Arthur Forest. Sounds like he was a natural talent that did well very young. Apparently he retired at 26 although I don't know why .

I wonder if Norbold can add anything about him ?