prodons

Neither on that basis had Zmarzlik...

Think Tai is now approaching his peak years in the sport. He’s 28 and the same age as when Mauger won his first title in 1968. He’s also achieved 5 rostrum finishes in 6 seasons, only losing a 3rd place run-off to Nikki Pedersen in 2014. Amazing consistency.

Lovely to see some readers tributes to Ronnie Moore in this week’s Speedway Star, particularly one from Ian Perkin, Wimbledon Speedway Chairman in the CL era.

RIP Mirac. The finest rider ever to ride for the Dons.

I know it’s only halfway, but this is arguably our most effective team showing this century!

Went to my first meeting at Wimbledon a babe in arms. I never lost my feeling of pride at seeing the Dons ride in such a fantastic stadium. We never had the best team in my era but standing on the first bend was something that I’ll never forget. To then have the honour of serving the club in a minor capacity in their CL days still makes me feel as proud as punch.

The 2 Dons 5-1’s were in the 1st leg of the KOC final, sadly the last major silverware won by Wimbledon. Mauger was the real deal though. What a leader and inspiration for Newcastle, Belle Vue, Exeter and Hull.

Are we counting defunct PL teams as well? If so, then Trelawny can stake claim to Matej Zagar and Chris Harris (both who rode for the Tigers in the early 00's).

Erik Gundersen...??

Attended my first live meeting for 10 years yesterday so really am just a sports fan rather than a dyed in the wool speedway fan. As an overall spectacle it was ok but not worth the category 6 price I paid. The parade was inconsistent. Some riders completed a circuit of the track whilst others did half a lap. Didn't seem to be any logic or explanation for it. The first hour was extremely tedious with the constant restarts. For the life of me I can't see why the riders needed to return to the first bend for refuelling?? This must be pretty simple to address, just go straight back to the tapes. These delays coupled with no real overtaking made the first few races extremely boring to watch and the meeting took a long time to get any momentum and real passion. it would have been good to have had access to more of the interviews. The only one I can recall was the one with Greg Hancock. Totally agree that the racing improved as the meeting reached the business end but there was no real explanation that I heard about how the semi finalists were decided. It would have been good to have it explained to the crowd why Tai Woffinden was the sole rider on 9 points who failed to make the semis. Think Emil missed a trick by going off gate 1 in his semi, am surprised he didn't consider taking an outside gate given how the track rode in the latter heats. Magic was a deserved winner and he, Doyle and Zmarzlik were probably the best riders on show. Cook was the most disappointing as he didn't seem to fathom out how the track should be ridden. Thought Tai was unlucky having to go out each time the track had been graded. Things just didn't go his way with how the results stacked up in Heats 17-19. The Polish fans around us on the 1st/2nd bends were amazing and passionate, though the crowd seemed significantly smaller than my previous visit in 2004. As a result, the overall atmosphere felt a bit flat. Did I enjoy the day out in Cardiff with some old speedway friends? Definitely Would I recommend it to non speedway friends? Probably not

For the life of me, I can't remember the Dons facing the Hawks during the CL days. We did have the 75th anniversary meeting at Plough Lane in 2003 when all the London tracks were represented in a Best Pairs event though.

Agree, Plech played a pivotal role in Hackney almost winning the 1980 BL. Steady Eddie was popular but never seemed to arrive before July in his later seasons with us..

Quite true Robbie B, very sad indeed.

You think 1935 was bad...1937 was a disaster! The newly installed promoter from Bristol must have wondered what he'd let himself in for as the Dons lost every fixture until September. Luckily, they managed to defeat Hackney and ended the campaign with a mere 2 victories. And the Promoter in question, one Ronald W Greene! Luckily for the Dons fans, Mr Greene stayed around for another 33 years to oversee events at Plough Lane.

Rob, I'd argue though that Szczakiel's fall from grace was incredibly swift. Barely days after winning the 1973 World Final he scored 0 in the World Team Cup Final at Wembley. He unfortunately did the same in the following year's WTC final, though I can't recall where it was held. Havvy for all his injuries, was part and parcel of the International scene upto the late 1990's whilst Szczakiel simply disappeared from view.