E I Addio

Possibly because it is true.

I tend to agree with that. In my memory Barry Briggs is the greatest ever, but thinking back to an impressionable age I suppose his reputation went before him and he was probably a great rider in my imagination before I actually saw him ride, based on what I had read in Speedway Star. The reality is I probably only saw him race a handful of times, not enough to form an objective opinion, but I suppose Briggo to me represents that adolescent age when we have our hero’s and nobody else will ever come close to them.

Was he the one billed as “ The Man aWith A Month To Live “ because of his spectacular style ?

My view entirely. Jason was a bit of a hothead early on but as you say he really had it all in the finish . Personally I would put him among the all time greats

I don’t think it’s either Howdy Byford or Reg Fearman . A bit of a wild guess but could the one on the left be Tommy Croombs.? Could the one on the right be a guest or temporary signing while Eric Chitty had a broken leg late ‘40’s ish.. I can’t dig the West Ham video out at the , moment but I have a feeling the one on the left was interviewed after the last meeting before closure. Could It have been Arthur Atkinson, I cant remember what he looked like. .

As I have said before you can’t really compare riders from one era neither another because times change , but if judging them by their record is the criteria you can’t argue with Freddie Williams two world titles. However if you are judging riders across the eras I do feel that Cravens hanging - off - the - bike style would have converted very well to modern machinery .

If we are judging on the the record books alone Jason Crump, born in Bristol is surely the undisputed number one . He is at least as English (British ) as Tai.

Where does Tommy Price figure in this discussion ?

I don’t suppose you will get a much on that. Nobody is going to admit anything even if the rumours are true ( and we all know about the rumour mill in speedway) However the version I have read claims that levBreton caught Riggs back wheel which I suppose could have been contrived but a number of riders have been killed or injured clipping another riders back wheel , eg. Lee Richardson and Darcy Ward. Very difficult when one considers the media were generally less inclined to give all the details in those times.I suppose it could have been intentional but very unlikely. It is , though, the sort of crash that could start the rumour mill gossiping..

Still unable to contribute to grown up debate then ? Still unable to comply with forum rules not to amend another members post. Prat.

They had some quad bike racing at Lakeside a few years back. It was a very wet day but they didn’t seem to do a lot of track damage. However they have more bulbous and less nobly tyres and less powerful engines than speedway bikes, so the power is being transmitted to the track entirely differently. Quad bike racing like side cars are unbelievably boring on a speedway track.

Modern solos do enough damage, especially at the start. Side cars are carrying twice the weight.

I’ve never heard of sidecar racing ever being staged at Custom House, and certainly no fatalities. To the best of my knowledge there were four fatalities, all solo riders, two in the mid sixties and two in the early fifties. Three, I think fell and were hit by following riders, and of course Teo who hit the safety fence. Of course there were those who died in the Lokoren tragedy. That hit me very hard. I really thought Peter Bradshaw and especially Martin Piddock had big futures in the sport. Peter had a beautiful classy style that I loved watching. Martin was already a quality grasstracker when he came to Custom House and I really felt he was going to be a second Malcolm Simmons.

....and Olle Nygren, Christer Loftquist, and Tony Clarke in later years !

My thoughts entirely , but on the subject of Knutson, are you aware of the actual reason he retired so early norbold ? I’ve heard people speculate on it and based on ah interview in SS I formed the impression that he felt he had had a good run, reached the pinnacle of World Champion, and came through relatively unscathed apart from a broken arm, so he decided to quit while he was in front, but that’s just my impression and I’ve always wondered about the real reason .