steve roberts Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) Hasse was a favourite of mine but he was a bit of an enigma as regards his UK appearances. He appeared for both Wolves and Oxford (both for two seasons each) and was programmed to ride for "The Rebels" during 1975 but only made one official appearance (plus a couple of Challenge matches) before returning home again and was never seen again that season. Oxford operated the R/R facility for him on and off during the season to cover for his absence but incredibly he was allocated to Wolves for the 1976 season and never made an appearance for them during the whole season. They used the R/R ruling and choice guests instead but Wolves were generally operating a "horses for courses" policy that year anyway! Recall the occasion that Hasse drew up outside my house with his caravan in tow and proceeded to make a cup of tea! I last saw him ride at Crayford in 1983 for his Swedish club side but he was past his best by then and only managed a couple of points on a very wet track. He rode in the race that claimed the life of Tommy Jansson and there is an often published photo of Tommy on the outside of him during that tragic race...the last photo ever taken of Tommy. I believe that Hasse is now, or was, the mechanic of Per Oluf Serenius the ice racer? Edited October 31, 2021 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 http://www.kaparna.nu/historik/forare/hasse-manolito.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Flag Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 43 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Hasse was a favourite of mine but he was a bit of an enigma as regards his UK appearances. He appeared for both Wolves and Oxford (both for two seasons each) and was programmed to ride for "The Rebels" during 1975 but only made one official appearance (plus a couple of Challenge matches) before returning home again and was never seen again that season. Oxford operated the R/R facility for him on and off during the season to cover for his absence but incredibly he was allocated to Wolves for the 1976 season and never made an appearance for them during the whole season. They used the R/R ruling and choice guests instead but Wolves were generally operating a "horses for courses" policy that year anyway! Recall the occasion that Hasse drew up outside my house with his caravan in tow and proceeded to make a cup of tea! I last saw him ride at Crayford in 1983 for his Swedish club side but he was past his best by then and only managed a couple of points on a very wet track. He rode in the race that claimed the life of Tommy Jansson and there is an often published photo of Tommy on the outside of him during that tragic race...the last photo ever taken of Tommy. I believe that Hasse is now, or was, the mechanic of Per Oluf Serenius the ice racer? If memory serves me right, home debut, maximum against the spoons, next night away debut maximum against the spoons, Legend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOBBATH Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 Who are the "spoons"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 (edited) 8 hours ago, BOBBATH said: Who are the "spoons"? Actually I was thinking the same although I'm guessing that it was Cradley but intigued by the terminology? Edited November 1, 2021 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 22 hours ago, steve roberts said: I last saw him ride at Crayford in 1983 for his Swedish club side but he was past his best by then and only managed a couple of points on a very wet track. I was there that night! Actually, Hasse was the main reason I went to that, but he really was poor that night. Certainly not the same rider I saw at Wembley in '69, and on several other occasions. Funny thing, Steve, but that was one of my main reasons for not wanting a fixed race night. Neither of us were Crayford fans, but we went along as neither of us had anything to do that night! I just used to take off and go somewhere different on an off night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 (edited) 22 hours ago, steve roberts said: I believe that Hasse is now, or was, the mechanic of Per Oluf Serenius the ice racer? On the photo gallery there are a couple of pics of Posa and Hasse together On my previous link it actually mentions Hasse himself rode ice speedway and finished third in the Swedish championhip 1977 https://www.nyteknik.se/teknikhistoria/trogen-mekaniker-bakom-racingstjarnans-framgangar-6394434 Edited November 1, 2021 by iris123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 53 minutes ago, chunky said: I was there that night! Actually, Hasse was the main reason I went to that, but he really was poor that night. Certainly not the same rider I saw at Wembley in '69, and on several other occasions. Funny thing, Steve, but that was one of my main reasons for not wanting a fixed race night. Neither of us were Crayford fans, but we went along as neither of us had anything to do that night! I just used to take off and go somewhere different on an off night... I drove thru' the rain from Oxford for that meeting and I remember thinking all the way that it would be called off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 3 hours ago, iris123 said: On the photo gallery there are a couple of pics of Posa and Hasse together On my previous link it actually mentions Hasse himself rode ice speedway and finished third in the Swedish championhip 1977 https://www.nyteknik.se/teknikhistoria/trogen-mekaniker-bakom-racingstjarnans-framgangar-6394434 It came as a surprise to me that Hasse actually competed on the ice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 Just now, steve roberts said: It came as a surprise to me that Hasse actually competed on the ice! Me too Steve. Plus reading the translation of the Swedish report, it seems he had plenty of trouble with authorities and promoters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 15 minutes ago, iris123 said: Me too Steve. Plus reading the translation of the Swedish report, it seems he had plenty of trouble with authorities and promoters I seem to recall that the recently elevated Ipswich were offered Hasse prior to the 1972 season but John Berry didn't pursue that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL65 Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 On 10/31/2021 at 10:17 PM, BOBBATH said: Who are the "spoons"? The Wolverhampton fans coined the phrase after the Heathens collected the wooden spoon by finishing bottom of the league table in 1966 and 1973. The Heathens also finished bottom in 1993. Sports journalist Tom Johnson, who I knew, spent many years covering speedway at Cradley Heath and Wolverhampton for the Express & Star newspaper and in October 1999 Wolverhampton met riders representing the defunct Cradley Heath team in the Tom Johnson Memorial meeting at Monmore Green. As Wolves had just secured bottom place in the league table, Colin Pratt took great pleasure in presenting each of their riders with a wooden spoon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BL65 Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 Hasse Holmqvist was spectacular, daring and thrilling to watch when he arrived at Wolverhampton in 1967, according to his promoter Bill Bridgett. The home fans certainly agreed wholeheartedly with that assertion. Some of his team mates were reluctant to be paired with him though and described him as an accident waiting to happen. One particularly dangerous manoeuvre occurred in the Great Britain v Sweden test match at Wolverhampton in 1968. Hasse dived inside Barry Briggs coming off the fourth bend, hit Barry side on along the straight and they piled into the fence. Both riders were injured, out of the meeting and unable to ride again for around two months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted November 2, 2021 Report Share Posted November 2, 2021 1 hour ago, BL65 said: Some of his team mates were reluctant to be paired with him though and described him as an accident waiting to happen. There seemed to be quite a few of those back then! Ironically, the one i remember was also from Wolves, when they rode at Plough Lane in 1969. As a 6-year-old, I still remember Geoff Ambrose scaring me! He only had two rides, but I remember turning away whenever he took the bends! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2021 Dad remembers a certian Barry Briggs way back when he came to these shores as a relative novice and having second half rides at Cowley saying that he was wild to say the least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted November 2, 2021 Report Share Posted November 2, 2021 32 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Dad remembers a certian Barry Briggs way back when he came to these shores as a relative novice and having second half rides at Cowley saying that he was wild to say the least! They were actually wanting him banned, he was that wild... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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