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salty

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salty last won the day on June 18 2016

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About salty

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  • Gender
    Male
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    Belfast
  • Team
    Cradley

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  1. salty

    British League:West Ham 1965, Halifax 1966?

    Be interesting to see what the respective home and away averages were for the riders.
  2. All true. I just felt Waterden Road encouraged riders to go ever wider, more than other tracks (in my memory). I guess we should be thankful that the sport is "safer" now than it was back in the day.
  3. No expert, because I was only an occasional visitor to Hackney and wasn't present for any bad crashes, but I always felt that the racing line got so wide it encouraged riders to blast out by the fence. A slight misjudgement at such speed then brought those oft mentioned lamp standards into play.
  4. salty

    Garry Hay RIP

    There was a double page feature on Garry in Backtrack No 99, which was the issue dedicated to the Lokeren disaster. The crash that ended his career took place at Liverpool on December 23rd, 1970. A first bend incident involving Paul O'Neill which is described as an "unfortunate accident" with no blame attached to riders or track. It outlines a 10 year legal battle Garry had with Liverpool raceway, which he eventually lost. Partly because the event in which the crash happened was the NSW Solo Championship so Garry wasn't seen as an employee of the Promoters that night. He also missed out on compensation for the Lokeren tragedy. Regarding his more recent life it says he lived with his wife and two children on the island province of Catanduane, a one-hour flight from the Philippine mainland. His Biographer, Tony Webb describes his life thus - "a simple life in an idyllic environment. He is rich in a life that is simple in its needs. Garry's physical well being is maintained by regular massage and a strict diet based on coconut milk and the produce that the family grow on their property" Further reading...."Wheels of Fate - The Garry Hay Story" by Tony Webb. Speedway Books (defunctspeedway.co.uk) Hope that helps....
  5. I remember Ulf signing for Cradley at the end of the 1973 season. We were a weak side to start with but ended the campaign decimated by injury - missing Persson, Cole and Cribb - the 3 heat leaders, so Ulf was definitely a sight for sore eyes in a team being patched together by guests. He acquired himself well in the circumstances and would have been welcomed back in 1974.
  6. salty

    Oldest Surviving World Finalists

    Slot in at No 85. Just in front of Tommy Knudsen, who in my minds eye is still that fresh faced youngster riding into 3rd at Wembley in 1981. So that makes me feel ok.
  7. salty

    Hans Andersen retires

    Excellent rider in his day. Delighted he is able to leave the sport on his own terms.
  8. salty

    Garry Hay RIP

    Bit late to post this this as he actually passed away on January 9th, but sad to hear the death of Lokeren survivor Garry Hay. Good obituary in this weeks Star. Having escaped with minimal injuries at Lokeren it was so sad when the following Australian season he suffered life changing injuries which left him wheelchair bound. Haven't seen it mentioned on this forum - apologies if it has. RIP Garry AUSTRALIAN SOLO SPEEDWAY RIDER GARY HAY, 77, DIES - Speedway Illustrated News
  9. Lillebror Johansson? He rode in the same season as Hammerberg and Ring. Eastbourne had a really strong top 4 of Kennett, Moran, Preston and Woods, but unfortunately none of the Swedish imports or Dave Kennett were able to give sufficient backing.
  10. salty

    Rick France

    Sad to hear. I seem to remember him having a lot of problems with his shoulder the season the Bees won the title in 1968, but he continued riding through the pain as far as I recall. RIP.
  11. salty

    Mike Parker - Saint or sinner?

    60 years on and still bitter! Remind me not to upset you on here. Seriously, fair play to you. I’m still angry about what happened to Dudley Wood, particularly the last planning decision which seemed to fly against all previous decisions, not to mention the majority of the evidence. Don’t get me started on Dudley Council either. Parker was a hard nosed businessman who didn’t hang about closing tracks if they weren’t performing to expectations. Tough and hard to take if you lost your track, but his influence on the sport as a whole in the 60’s must have been beneficial?
  12. No worries. As I said a really enjoyable read.
  13. Another enjoyable read, thank you! Have to agree that 1981 was my favourite Cradley year. 1983's team was no doubt stronger - in fact arguably the best BL team ever - but the season didn't have the same feel to it as the one two years previous when Cradley finally landed the title for the first time. For those of us who had supported them through the lean years of the early 70's the 1981 season was particularly sweet. Couple of points. Ulf Lovaas was originally signed by Cradley in 1973 riding a few matches at the end of the season, before being snapped up be Oxford the following campaign. Jan Simensen was signed by Cradley in 1970 which was not when Coatbridge were operating. Originally snapped up by Cradley to bolster a weak team, unfortunately he only had been at Dudley Wood a matter of weeks when Cradley lost Colin Pratt following the Lokeren disaster. After completing an impressive first term in the Green and White the Heathens were desperate to retain him for 1971, but were denied a work permit for Jan as he would have been a second "foreigner" - I'm sure that was not unknown in 1971. Subsequently he ended up at Coventry.
  14. A fair few years ago "Classic Speedway" magazine did a top 20 of the 60's. Compiled by a "respected author".... Obviously is the whole of the decade rather than the period in the OP..... 1. Nigel Boocock 2. Ken McKinley 3. Peter Craven 4. Mike Broadbank 5.Eric Boocock 6. Ron How 7. Martin Ashby 8. Ray Wilson 9. Terry Betts 10. Dave Younghusband Focusing on the BL era, would see Craven and How removed from the list and probably higher positions for Eric B and Ray Wilson.
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