iris123

Ole was great,must agree! but my favourite was Martin Ashby,maybe not one of the superstars but helped the Dons out a lot as a guest rider

must say that i thought the Poole management of the time were trying to put together a team consisting of the strangest names available.Lofqvist,Wirebrand,Odd Fossengen and Pete Smith! Woryna was one of the easier ones for the announcer

Thanks for the stats,Crybaby.Statistics arent everything but they underline my opinion that Jancarz(considering he was 30something when he came over was better than Plech,who was much younger.Must also point out that my opinion might be tainted by the fact that Zenon rode for Hackney.Both great riders though!

I was reading an article from an old Dons prog the other day written by Cyril Brine(who always wrote interesting articles on the old days)about the recycling of the old World champ Trophy for various competitions.What has happened to it in the years after?Sprouts1 might be able to help as he was quoted as being the original source of info.and what ever happened to the Star Trophy or were there 2 Trophies.1 for foreign riders and 1 for home riders?

Thanks for the info,even if sad.My all time favourite was another young Swedish rider who died on track also, Tommy Jansson.I guess the fact that we are still remembering these guys after all this time goes a tiny way in compensating for the tragic loss.At this moment another star from the Russian Ice team is critical in hospital here in Germany,although not from a racing accident.Lets hope he make it!

Going through some old programmes the other day i came across an Exeter match at Plough lane including 2 riders that i dont seem to recall at all ,namely Buddy Robinson and Leif Wahlman. Wahlman seemed from this one match to be a useful reserve while Robinson(maybe an off day or the tight track didnt suit him?) did not seem much support for the other heat leaders.any info on these 2 ?

must say i thought even though he was past his best most probably, Jancarz was a great rider when he came over and may have been a World Champ if he had riden in England earlier.but my main memory of the Poles is a test match at Hackney in`74 when England scored 17 5-1`s from 18 races.Ray Wilson`s exclusion stopping them from a clean sweep.That was a polish side that included Jancarz,Plech,Glucklich and Waloszek though Szczakiel was missing though i doubt even the great man would have made much of a difference

O.K maybe not Bobby McNeil,i said my memory wasnt that good although the phrase "one swallow doesnt make a summer" comes to mind,but there was a guy called Ivan Mauger who came to plough lane was going to be the next Mirac or Briggo !was rubbish!wonder what ever happened to him?

what about Bobby McNeil? didnt he leave Eastbourne as the div 2 riders champ and fail or is it just my memory failing.seem to remember the Dons got Roger Johns at the same time and when McNeil came to Plough Lane the programme pointed out that we seemed to have got the better rider!

What ever happened to the big geezer that used to sell the Mail at Hackney and Rye House? never knew his name but he was a graet character

Paisley still there. last time i was there it had been squared off at one end but think both ends done now .Hampden and Stamford Bridge still there also in much modified form

Polish tv has a question mark against the headline so maybe it`s not finalised yet,but considering Bydgoszcz as a sports club (including speedway) are more than a million euros in the red it does seem likely they are going.

All very well if you don`t like football but it misses the point really that Speedway looses a chance to attract new supporters when the media is concentrated elsewhere! And given that the Guardian of all papers listed the GP dates and had an article about lindback a few months ago there are possibilities to get publicity at the right time. There are certainly a few tracks around the country that could do with a few more customers coming through the turnstiles

just seen the sport calendar in the Guardian and the Cardiff GP is scheduled for the same day as the Euro 2004 opening day and just a day before England play France! What are the people who run the sport playing at? The whole of the sporting media is going to be concentrating on the football the whole week ,speedway is hardly going to get a look in. Maybe the local press might give it a bit of publicity,and then it`s lucky that Wales got knocked out !The chances of using the event to attract publicity and new supporters seem wasted

German Junior Champ is definitely Smolinski and his nickname is "Smoli"

Why go for small bio`s first and not a more comprehensive book?From what i have seen of Speedway books lately they are very sparse on info but cost a packet.The best i got this year was a history of Güstrow.Maybe including other countries,say in a look at the rise of the eastern block as a whole might widen popularity?

on the subject ,i was just flicking through Briggo`s bio and along with Fundin he rated Ron How as a tough rider and also has a special mention for Hasse Holmqvist .Michanek is also rated a"hard customer".

the meetings on grass are generally entertaining, but I don't find the ones on genuine longtracks to be particularly interesting. Saw the Bergring meeting from Teterow on TV this year and that was much better.hope to make next years meeting,especially if they have a meeting on the speedway track after,like this year!only trouble was that it clashed with the meeting at Güstrow just down the road.They only have a few meetings per year and 2 neighbouring towns don`t even co-ordinate with each other

If its the same group i saw them supporting Little Ritchard at the Hammersmith Palais in the mid seventies.Thought they were part of that Rock'n'roll revival also including Shaking Stevens,Freddie 'Fingers' Lee,Matchbox,etc.

Not Howdy Byford? just a shot in the dark as i doubt that was his real name

done it again B.Pedersen through to final

oops that was Ronnie .heat23 R.Pedersen.N.Pedersen elim Nichols & Gollob