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waiheke

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  1. waiheke

    Name Of Famous Rider Who Committed Suicide?

    Parsloes - Kenny was clearly a man of many faults, who committed a terrible and indefencible act. However, he was also a hell of a speedway rider, who brought enjoyment to a lot of people (even if that consisted of booing him and hoping he got beaten!). Whether you choose to remember him for his terrible act, or whether you prefer to remember him as an incredibly talented speedway rider who, with a bit of luck, could have been World Champion, is surely an individual choice. Neither are those two options mutually exclusive. What this thread (and the may others there have been on Kenny) indicates is that he certainly won't be airbrushed from the history of Speedway or the memories of speedway fans.
  2. waiheke

    Top 20 Foreigners Of The 80s

    Kaiser - no Billy Sanders? Almost won the 83 world pairs for Aussie single handedly, two rostrum appearances, top quality heat leader from 1980 until his tragic demise. also, as an Aces fan you don't rate Larry Ross ahead of Peter Ravn ?(I realise it may have been personal bias towards my all time favourite rider to include him, but can't think of any acheievments that Ravn accomplished that Larry didn't). surprised that john cook so highly rated by others, guess like kelly moran his achievements didnt quite match his speactacular riding, though of the two i think Kelly was miles ahead in terms of ability.
  3. waiheke

    Issue 42

    is your omission of a certain other American from this list deliberate? a hint - I'm sure dirt would have voted him No1!
  4. waiheke

    Issue 42

    interested to know others thoughts on the top 20 foreigners of the 80s (there sure were a lot of quality riders), there's a separate thread on this in years gone by.
  5. waiheke

    Top 20 Foreigners Of The 80s

    1. Bruce Penhall 2. Hans Nielsen 3. Erik Gundersen 4. Shawn Moran 5. Jan O Pedersen 6. Dennis Sigalos 7. Sam Ermolenko 8. Tommy Knudsen 9. Billy Sanders 10. Kelly Moran 11. Egon Muller 12. Jan Andersson 13. Ole Olsen 14. Lance King 15. Bobby Schwartz 16. Per Jonsson 17. Jimmy Nilsen 18. Mitch Shirra 19. Larry Ross 20. Kai Nieme Petersen, Cook and Crump were the closest other riders to making my list.
  6. waiheke

    Top 20 Brits Of The 80s

    anyone other than Aces fans going to submit their lists? otherwise, i reckon we'll just agree that Chris Morton is number one. slightly off topic, but does anyone know of a site which lists British League averages for the 80s (or other years as well)?
  7. waiheke

    Nominations 2011

    I reckon the nominations were spot on (going in to the lkst meeting yoiu'd have argued that AJ and Hans were probably equally likely picks - Hans hampered by injury, but disadvantaged by the fact that there was already one Danish pick). I'm not sure this means the end to British riders being selected on nationality - this year was an oddity in that you had two of the leading title contenders requiring a nomintation due to injury. Wouldn't be surprised to see Tai (or another English rrider)get a nod next year, but there was just no way they could justify it this year, as you couldn't see him getting top 12 let alone top 8, which would have meant by selecting him would have really meant a commitment to nominate him the folloiwing year as well. Anyway, my expectations at this stage for next year, I can see three of the nominations finishing top 8. 15th - Artem Laguta 14th - Antonio Lindback 13th - Andreas Jonsson 12th - Fredrik Lindgren 11th - Greg Hancock 10th - Kenneth Bjerre 9th - Rune Holta 8th - Chris Holder 7th - Chris Harris 6th - Janusz Kolodziej 5th - Nicki Pedersen 4th - Jarek Hampel 3rd - Emil Sayfutdinov 2nd - Jason Crump World Champion - Tomasz Gollob FWIW my favoured system would be to reduce the nominated riders to two (to cover situations like Nicki and Emil this year). Two riders to qualifie from the GP qualifier. The next 8 from that, along with places 9-14 in the GP, and top 2 in the World under 21s, to race off in something similar to the old GP challenge. Perhaps hold this over 2 days (per the 87 World Final) to reduce the chance of an ef or controversial decision determining the qualifiers. Top 3 from this would qualify.
  8. waiheke

    Top 20 Brits Of The 80s

    My list, I've tried to be objective though the list is no doubt skewed by the fact that I watched most of my Speedway at Hyde Rd 81-87, with regular visits to halifax/Bradford and also Coventry (for Aces meetings and world final qualifiers - though never went to a British Final fomr somme reason). 1. Michael Lee (the most talented English speedway rider of the generation. If you doubt that watch the 80 World Final in particular the way he storms past Penhall in his second ride. I never particularly rated him around Hyde Rd where I watched most of my Speedway, certainly not as highly as say Morton or Carter, though a couple of performances stand out in 81 against USA, and the 83 BLRC where he finished on the rostrum. And I was there in Norden in 83 when he finished on the podium. A real shame that he didnt live up to his potential, as Id rate him at least as talented as Gundersen and Nielsen). 2. Kenny Carter (Along with Morton the best Englishman around Hyde Rd, and certainly the best around the Shay and Odsal. For those who doubt his achievements: 2 x British Champion. Back to back winner of the BLRC (the only other riders to have ever achieved this feat are Briggs, Olsen, Peter Collins and Nielsen). One first and two seconds from 3 World Pairs finals (stand out performance being 85 where he was beaten only by Gundersen). Finished on the podium in 3 Overseas finals, and one inter-continental final. And in World finals: 81 denied a probable place on the rostrum by an engine failure. 82 denied a place on the rostrum (and possibly the title ) by THAT incident (for what its worth, I think the ref called it correctly). 83- Mullers final, 10 points disappointing but far from disgraceful. 84 brave effort to qualify though injured. 85- had he made the final he would have had a great chance at winning. I think he would have done, though it would have required some luck with what gates he was drawn on (as the inside gates were a HUGE advantage in the first half of the meeting). Looking at other top riders of the era, Its worth remembering that Carter was younger than the likes of Nielsen, Gundersen and Sigalos, and that it took Nielsen 7 attempts to win a World Final - and even then he required some luck with the refs decision going his way. Carter was also (along with Morton) the best rider in England colours in the first half of the decade. 3. Chris Morton ok Im biased, as he was my favourite English rider. He was generally rubbish on World Final night, but he won everything else. British Final, Inter-Continental Final, BLRC Final (those two events arguably the strongest line ups of any meeting at that time), World Pairs Final and World team Cup Final. An absolutely amazing rider to watch, and in terms of consistent performance over the whole decade hed be the top English rider. 4. Dave Jessup never particularly rated him as with the exception of one performance against USA- I always remember him as being rubbish around Hyde Rd. But… he was the best rider in the World in 1980 (arguably would have been the only Englishman to win a world title in the decade under a GP format) and would have finished on the rostrum in 81 but for engine troubles. 5. Simon Wigg the best English rider over the second half of the decade, but not quite good enough to seriously challenge the dominance of Hans and Erik. Averaged over 11 in the BL 86, I believe the last Englishman to do so. Double British Champion, and 2nd in the World in 89. 6. Peter Collins past his best, but still won more World titles in the 80s than any other Englishman, including Pairs titles with three different partners. Watching him and Chris ride in heat 13 was one of the finest sights in Speedway. 7. Kelvin Tatum probably just behind Wiggy as the best Englishman in the latter 1980s. On the rostrum 4 times (with 4 different partners) in the World Pairs, member of the 89 WTC winning team, and won all the major qualifying rounds of the World individual, as well as finishing 3rd in the 86 Final. 8. Les Collins the biggest loser out of the controversial Carter/|Penhall clash, as this denied him a run-off for the title. That said, if he hadnt dropped points in his easiest ride the title would have been his. Also won the 80 BLRC and 82 inter-Continental final, so that performance cant be viewed as a fluke. But surprisingly faded and never made another final. 9. Jeremy Doncaster consistently in the top 10 riders in the world in the second half of the 80s, and finished 3rd in the 89 final (though only due to a Gundersen ef). 10. Simon Cross 87 was really his breakthrough year, making the World Final and being one of Englands strongest performers in Tests. Runner up in the 88 World Pairs. 11. Phil Collins the 83 Overseas final was probably the biggest win of his career. A solid perfomer for England and Cradley in the early-mid 80s. 12. Paul Thorp almost made the World Final form while riding in the NL in 86, and looked awesome when he joined Belle Vue in 87. A member of the 89 WTC winning team, and runner up in the Pairs in the same year. 13. John Davis consistent across the whole decade. 14. Neil Evitts I always rated him, from his time as a young reserve for Birmingham. He started 86 on fire, winning the British Final, and was superb for Bradford early in that season as well, but, partly due to injuries I suspect, never consistently produced that form again. 15. Marvyn Cox World junior champ and key member of Oxfords 85/86 championship winning teams. 16. Andy Grahame had a great record in the British final, including winning in 82, and a solid performer over the whole decade. 17. Alan Grahame like his brother had a good record in the British final. He was a key member of the great Heathens sides of the 80s (what a team they had with Gundersen and Penhall/King/Pedersen as spearheads, and then Phil Collins and Grahame at 4 and 5.) 5 points from 2 World final rides must give him one of the best points/per World Final rides records of all time! 18. John Louis although past his best, made the rostrum of the Commonwealth final in 80 and british final in 81). 19. Andy Smith the most spectacular English rider of the 80s, even more so than Mort and PC in my mind. Watching him develop and starting beating the top riders around Hyde Rd was just brilliant! Never really lived up to his potential, I guess because his gating was so rubbish. Scored 10 points on debut in the 89 World Final. 20. Joe Owen arguably the best second tier rider of all time. And his performances for Hull in 81 and Newcastle in 84 showed that he could certainly have competed at British League level in my view he would have been a genuine top flight heat leader had he not rraced pre-dominantly in the NL. Other riders that would come close are Gordon Kennett, Malcolm Simmons, Neil Collins, Richard Knight, Gary Havelock.
  9. waiheke

    The Semis And Final In A Gp

    I also agree with this. the way I see is it is that the World Individual Championship would be held after the GP season finishes. Top8 from the GP, plus 24 other riders (probably determined by placing in national championships, for example, top4 from Polish final, top 3 from Swedish and Danish finals, top 2 from Aussie, Russian and British Finals, and national champ of top 8 other nations), competing in semi-finals - top8 to go through. and then a one -off final, with big sponsored prize money, over the clasic 20 heat format, venue to be rotated on a five year cycle between poland, denmark,swededn, britain and rotating "minor" nation.
  10. waiheke

    The Semis And Final In A Gp

    I have to agreee, think the present points format is spot on. The best rider on the night will get the most points, the rider who can handle the pressure best in the Final wins that GP. Every race counts towards overall points, means every rider has something to race for in every heat. And don't know why they ever stopped with the paid comp, three extra meetings a season (two semis and a final) for a genuinely meaningful world title, the only one which allowed for team riding.
  11. Wondering who people think were the best 20 British riders of the 1980s. My thoughts.. 1. Michael Lee 2. Kenny Carter 3. Chris Morton 4. Dave Jessup 5. Simon Wigg 6. Peter Collins 7. Kelvin Tatum 8. Les Collins 9. Jeremy Doncaster 10. Simon Cross 11. Phil Collins 12. Paul Thorp 13. John Davis 14. Neil Evitts 15. Marvyn Cox 16. Andy Grahame 17. Alan Grahame 18. John Louis 19. Andy Smith 20. Joe Owen Other riders that would come close are the likes of Gordon Kennett, Malcolm Simmons, Neil Collins, Richard Knight, Gary Havelock.
  12. waiheke

    Top 20 Best Of British

    my list would be: 1. Peter Collins 2. John Louis 3. Michael Lee 4. Malcolm Simmons 5. Dave Jessup 6. Ray Wilson 7. Gordon Kennett 8. Terry Betts 9. Nigel Boocock 10. Eric Boocock 11. Marin Ashby 12. Jim McMillan 13. Doug Wyer 14. Chris Morton 15. John Davis 16. Tony Davey 17. Chris Pusey 18. Steve Bastable 19. Reg Wilson 20. Joe Owen Who did john Berry go with? Also, i'd be interested to know people's thoughts on the top 20 of the 80s - i'll start a new thread on it in "years gone by".
  13. waiheke

    The Greatest Seven riders ever

    top 7 of al time Mauger Briggs Fundin Rikkardson Nielsen Olsen Collins Top7 I saw race (inc DVD/TV) Mauger Collins Rikkardson Nielsen Olsen Crump Penhall and top 7 i saw "live" Penhall Gundersen Nielsen Morton Collins S Moran Carter (left out Mauger/Olsen as they were past their prime)
  14. waiheke

    England V Usa Test Match @eastbourne In The 80 S

    this site lists all the england v usa matches from the 80s, no sign of one at eastborne. http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/engvusa1.htm however, there was a match in 94 which might be the one? http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/engvusa2.htm
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