steve roberts Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 I'm just re-reading the excellent "Tears and Glory" - The Winged Wheel Story about Reading Speedway which highlights the tremendous rise of Richard May during their Second Division days when he proved almost unbeatable towards the end of that era. He never truly found that form when they moved up to Division One but but had some memorable moments like beating Barry Briggs from behind. Never fullfilled his true potential and eventually moved to Poole after a less than inspiring year at Smallmead in 1975 before drifting away from the sport. Perhaps another rider who could have gone further in the sport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 Thing is, looking back over the years, there have been many, many brilliant youngsters who were going to be the next "superstar", yet so few of them ever actually established themselves at the top level. A quick look at the Division II/NL Riders Championship and the British Junior Championship will show you that. I just don't get why... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 (edited) 35 minutes ago, chunky said: Thing is, looking back over the years, there have been many, many brilliant youngsters who were going to be the next "superstar", yet so few of them ever actually established themselves at the top level. A quick look at the Division II/NL Riders Championship and the British Junior Championship will show you that. I just don't get why... I didn't realise how good Richard apparently was in the early years judging by his dominance and only really got to see him ride in his later years when his away form was somewhat erratic. Edited July 4, 2023 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieg Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 53 minutes ago, chunky said: Thing is, looking back over the years, there have been many, many brilliant youngsters who were going to be the next "superstar", yet so few of them ever actually established themselves at the top level. A quick look at the Division II/NL Riders Championship and the British Junior Championship will show you that. I just don't get why... Richard May wasn't 'youngster'. He was 24 when he started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 11 minutes ago, arnieg said: Richard May wasn't 'youngster'. He was 24 when he started. Wasn't there some confusion over his age at the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 59 minutes ago, arnieg said: Richard May wasn't 'youngster'. He was 24 when he started. That was "young" back then! He was four years younger than John Louis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frigbo Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 https://wwosbackup.proboards.com/thread/1973/richard One really good season at Div 2 level, before moving up with Reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 1 hour ago, steve roberts said: I didn't realise how good Richard apparently was in the early years judging by his dominance and only really got to see him ride in his later years when his away form was somewhat erratic. While he was good, I think you are over-estimating him a tad. In his first year, he averaged less than 8 (which as still pretty damn good), and he followed that up with just under 10. which placed him at 7th in the Division II averages. He may have been better at home, but he had only 6 full maximums that year, with the last coming as early as 6th July. I really wouldn't call that "dominance"... When he moved up with Reading, he spent three years between 6.05 and 6.38 - pretty consistent, eh? At Poole the following year, he kept it going with 6.31. His last three years were all around the 5-point mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 51 minutes ago, chunky said: While he was good, I think you are over-estimating him a tad. In his first year, he averaged less than 8 (which as still pretty damn good), and he followed that up with just under 10. which placed him at 7th in the Division II averages. He may have been better at home, but he had only 6 full maximums that year, with the last coming as early as 6th July. I really wouldn't call that "dominance"... When he moved up with Reading, he spent three years between 6.05 and 6.38 - pretty consistent, eh? At Poole the following year, he kept it going with 6.31. His last three years were all around the 5-point mark. I'm just quoting from the book..."Richard May became almost invincible at Tilehurst (1970). His record from June 1 to July 13 reads: Full Maximum, maximum, 11, full maximum, full maximum,, paid maximum...and his hat -trick of open meeting wins at Tilehurst in 1970 - and all with unbeaten 15-point scores". As I said I wasn't aware of his Division Two record having only watched him as a second string in Division One. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted July 4, 2023 Report Share Posted July 4, 2023 9 minutes ago, steve roberts said: I'm just quoting from the book..."Richard May became almost invincible at Tilehurst (1970). His record from June 1 to July 13 reads: Full Maximum, maximum, 11, full maximum, full maximum,, paid maximum...and his hat -trick of open meeting wins at Tilehurst in 1970 - and all with unbeaten 15-point scores". As I said I wasn't aware of his Division Two record having only watched him as a second string in Division One. No biggie, but that was just a six-week period, and we all know that riders can go through a purple patch. What was particularly noticeable after that run of maximums was that he was sticking a last place on a regular basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted July 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2023 7 hours ago, chunky said: No biggie, but that was just a six-week period, and we all know that riders can go through a purple patch. What was particularly noticeable after that run of maximums was that he was sticking a last place on a regular basis. Recall the night that Carl Blackbird beat Hans three times at Cowley when presumeably all his "stars" were aligned and preparation spot on. Never looked like repeating that feat again at Cowley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted July 5, 2023 Report Share Posted July 5, 2023 6 hours ago, steve roberts said: Recall the night that Carl Blackbird beat Hans three times at Cowley when presumeably all his "stars" were aligned and preparation spot on. Never looked like repeating that feat again at Cowley. Johnsy beat PC twice one night - both from the back - at Plough Lane! That wasn't totally surprising, but in the KOC at Hyde Rd, he beat PC three times on his way to 16+1! Never came close to that again up there... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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