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Neil Cameron


steve roberts

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Australian Neil Cameron showed promise at Wimbledon between 1972 & 1974 but a move to Poole in 1975 worked against him (did he demand a transfer or was he forced to move under the old rider control system?) Rode for Newport in 1976 but not for long and was signed by White City but lasted one meeting and then disappeared from the scene. Had a nice style and probably best remembered for Mike Patrick's famous image of Neil climbling all over the following Barry Crowson!

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I quite liked Neil. He was one of my favourites at Plough Lane at the time. Never going to be a world beater, but good second string. Nice sideburns, i see to remember. Also liked young Aussie Rob Jones. But more for his hair than anything else :D No, he was also promising for a while

In fact, looking back, maybe that was our biggest problem, that we had too many riders who looked promising, but never really made it any better than that

Graeme Stapleton another. Bert Harkins ?

Edited by iris123
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46 minutes ago, iris123 said:

I quite liked Neil. He was one of my favourites at Plough Lane at the time. Never going to be a world beater, but good second string. Nice sideburns, i see to remember. Also liked young Aussie Rob Jones. But more for his hair than anything else :D No, he was also promising for a while

In fact, looking back, maybe that was our biggest problem, that we had too many riders who looked promising, but never really made it any better than that

Graeme Stapleton another. Bert Harkins ?

I was going to mention Graeme Stapleton also...recall that he took a couple of years out to help out Ronnie Moore after his serious injury run his motorcycle franchise (?) When he appeared back in the UK it was for Newcastle and I recall he turned out for Hull at Coventry for the title decider.

Edited by steve roberts
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2 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Think you are right about Graeme. Think he had a number of health problems in later years as well

I seem to remember reading that he suffered a heart attack when trying to retrieve personal items from his burning house?

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51 minutes ago, iris123 said:

 

In fact, looking back, maybe that was our biggest problem, that we had too many riders who looked promising, but never really made it any better than that

Graeme Stapleton another. Bert Harkins ?

I think part of the problem was the significant home track advantage we enjoyed at Plough Lane.

Found this in the 1973 Champions Book of Speedway edited by Richard Bott:

”Inconsistency was Wimbledon’s biggest problem. Riders who could match the best at home, performed like novices elsewhere”

 

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45 minutes ago, prodons said:

I think part of the problem was the significant home track advantage we enjoyed at Plough Lane.

Found this in the 1973 Champions Book of Speedway edited by Richard Bott:

”Inconsistency was Wimbledon’s biggest problem. Riders who could match the best at home, performed like novices elsewhere”

 

Yes, i didn't go to a great many away meetings at the time, but those i did attend were quite disappointing from a Dons point of view

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4 hours ago, steve roberts said:

When he appeared back in the UK it was for Newcastle and I recall he turned out for Hull at Coventry for the title decider.

He was also back at Plough Lane then, with another famous Mike Patrick photo showing Eric Dugard flying over him.

Edited by chunky
Poxy autocorrect!
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3 hours ago, chunky said:

He was also back at Plough Lane then, with another famous Mike Patrick photo showing Eric Sugars flying over him.

Yes I had forgotten that Graeme had returned to the "Dons" (1977?) before ending up at Newcastle.

I'm intrigued, however, why Sugars?

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1 minute ago, steve roberts said:

Yes I had forgotten that Graeme had returned to the "Dons" (1977?) before ending up at Newcastle.

I'm intrigued, however, why Sugars?

Poxy autocorrect!!!

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17 hours ago, JohnHyam said:

This informative Link deals more on Neil Cameron. I do not think any other member has pre-posted me!!!!!

https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/654/neil-cameron

 

After ending his speedway career did Neil Cameron switch to circuit car racing? One of my grandsons says he competed in BARC events at Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

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17 minutes ago, JohnHyam said:

Well based on the sheer lack of replies it appears that Neil Cameron could well be described as a forgotten man of speedway!

or based on your cantankerous postings all over the place, people might just be giving a wide berth

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13 minutes ago, stevehone said:

or based on your cantankerous postings all over the place, people might just be giving a wide berth

Why don't you say how you really feel, Steve?

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32 minutes ago, JohnHyam said:

Well based on the sheer lack of replies it appears that Neil Cameron could well be described as a forgotten man of speedway!

Nope, he's not forgotten, John. Nor are Peter Tarrant, Kerry Gray, or Glen Baxter...

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Going back to Neil Cameron, I was too young to remember him myself, but from reading Wimbledon programmes of that era, it seems he broke the tapes a hell of a lot!

Seems like a pretty basic mistake to keep making and it must have driven Maido spare.

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It is quite interesting that while Neil might have become the forgotten man of speedway, old John seems to remember him, and even more surprising is his grandson also has some knowledge of him, as i thought he also shared his grandfathers lack of interest in speedway or the modern, or in his case any era

Edited by iris123
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7 hours ago, prodons said:

Going back to Neil Cameron, I was too young to remember him myself, but from reading Wimbledon programmes of that era, it seems he broke the tapes a hell of a lot!

Seems like a pretty basic mistake to keep making and it must have driven Maido spare.

He actually won a fair percentage of his races - when he didn't fall or break the tapes... You never knew what to expect from him!

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