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E I Addio

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Everything posted by E I Addio

  1. E I Addio

    Supreme Stylist

    I liked Crashby. The first time I saw him I though I’d never seen anyone going so fast, but it was really that he had such a neat comfortable style. I am surprised nobody has mentioned Ken McKinlay or Leigh Adams. Leigh looked like an identical version of Hurricane- Ken generation later.. Both were immaculately turned out on immaculate machinery, almost never had engine failure. Both just seemed to be in total control , letting the bike do the work, both seemed to be able to find grip anywhere, could ride any line, both brilliant team riders , with great motorcycle skills. Another one I like was Peter Karlson. Such a lovely style I could watch him going round on his own and feel excited.
  2. E I Addio

    Who is number six?

    Yes, you are right. Not only is the discussion somewhat subjective but our memories play tricks on us .We see a certain rider pull off a particular move once or twice and when we look back years later we have somehow convinced ourselves that he was doing it every week. Another point is that Speedway is primarily a team sport but we always judge these things ontbe basis of individual performances. For example Fundins record of consistency in the World Final undoubtedly puts him among the greatest of all time, yet there seems to be any number of riders who will say he needn’t care who he knocked off , even his own team mates, as long as he won the race. I suppose the majority of No 1’s were like that to some degree. Then coming back to your point about Greg , his style made it look like he was never really trying, even if he was winning a Grand Prix. On the other hand Crumpie always had that look of aggression and malevolence about his riding that made one sit up and take notice. Perhaps I can take the discussion a step further and ask who were the best all round team men at league level.It would have to be a powerful heat leader , but one who could team ride and inspire his team by his mere presence in the pits.That makes him more difficult to pick. Over to you guys.......
  3. E I Addio

    Who is number six?

    I agree, but what is more I would say he was the ultimate tactician, with an amazing ability to out think an opponent. My outstanding memories of him, on the rare occasions the missed the gate , was that he would sit just outside someone’s tail until the last two bends then as the opponent drifted wide to cover his run in, Hurri- Ken would suddenly switch lines and come through on the inside. I thought he was brilliant, but I was young and impressionable and didn’t see much of the other top stars on a regular basis. From What little I’ve seen of Ronnie Moore, and considering he was past his best by the time I saw him I think would have to have him in my top five or six. Its also been mentioned that the so called top 5 had to contend with each other but while we are speculating I think If Tony Rickardson had never been born we would be talking of Jason Crump in the top five. He really was ,to my mind , one of the true greats, more so than Greg Hancock.
  4. E I Addio

    Terry Betts vs Malcolm Simmons

    The thing that amazes me in most of these discussions is why Bob Kirby never really cut it at the highest level. An outstanding and consistent rider for years at league level and more than a match for the England stars, yet he never really seemed to perform at his best in England colours.
  5. E I Addio

    Terry Betts vs Malcolm Simmons

    I don’t really think you can compare any two riders on the basis of averages alone. There are many other relevant factors that determine a riders quality and as a separate issue value to a team. However the period you are referring to we have to take into account the fact that in those days the Number 1 only faced the opposing number 1 once while the other heatleaders faced them twice, and this could well affect averages. Terry had i5 written into his contract at KL that he would always ride Number 1. What I think is interesting, and I had never noticed before , is that Betsy had the best average when Simmo was second heatleader at KL. but as soon as Simmo went to Poole as first heatleader he had the higher average. Having said all that I wouldn’t split them and would have them along with Ray Wilson as first three on the teamsheet for my “GB team of the Early 70’s”
  6. E I Addio

    Being called a 'bad name'

    Monty Panesar was on TV talking about it recently, making sensible distinctions between banter and aggression. He he said when he was in Australia he was walking down to fine leg and someone shouted “ Where’s your elephant ? “ and he replied “It’s got stuck in Customs” . Everyone laughed, no offence intended and none taken. But all that is a long way from more aggressive use of language. When I first heard the word P.aki it was in the context of Paki-Bashing which is highly offensive.
  7. E I Addio

    Norwich WSRA Lunch

    I don think there were many countries Hurri-Ken didnt represent at some time or another , even an Aussie side under the name "Kangaroos ". I think new Zealand somehow got into the mix as well at some stage .
  8. E I Addio

    Kent kings are no more ??

    Provincial League Riders Champion. Not a bad standard for the era. Hackney and Rye House probably wouldn’t have survived as long as they did without him as promoter and he put far more into the sport in terms of both money and effort than he ever took out.
  9. E I Addio

    RIP Colin Pratt

    Sad news indeed. Rider, team manager, promoter, Very few people have fulfilled every role, so successfully. Super bloke
  10. E I Addio

    Wally Lloyd

    Not forgetting, in more modern times Leigh Latham and his brother running a chip shop !
  11. E I Addio

    Wally Lloyd

    Alf Hagon , Tommy Price, Eric Boothroyd , Tommy Roper, Tommy Sweetman, Norman Hunter, Len Silver, Ken Middleditch, Barry Briggs and Ivor Brown are a few that spring to mind albeit a little more recent than Wally Lloyd.
  12. E I Addio

    West Ham Speedway Closes 1972

    The stands on the back straight were demolished after a fire. Some oily rags had been dumped under the stand and somehow caught fire. It really was a great shame because on a summer evening there was no better place to be. From the stands on the home straight you could see the ships funnels all lit up in the King George V Dock, less than half a mile away . It all looked fantastic and added to the atmosphere. I think part of, the problem was that the stadium was probably thrown up in a bit of a hurry when the sort came here in 1928 when money was short and no thought given to long term plans so was life expired 40 years later. It was a great stadium though. Coventry always reminded me of it in a way and that sadly is no more. Hackney never really had the same atmosphere to my mind though.
  13. E I Addio

    West Ham Speedway Closes 1972

    Yes it was Arthur Atkinson and Harold “Tiger Stevenson”. I have a photo of myself when I was knee high to a grasshopper, winning a fancy dress competition at my dads motor cycle club, and Tiger Stevenson was presenting me with first prix which was a camera. I think Arthur Atkinson was connected with E. E. Atkinson motorcycle shop in Barking Road but I never quite established what the connection was. Interesting that film clip says the attendance at that final meeting was 4000. How times have changed. Most promoters today would be glad to get that many in a month.
  14. E I Addio

    West Ham Speedway Closes 1972

    Brian Foote - “ Foote’s me name elbows are me game “
  15. E I Addio

    Eastbourne 2020

    Lakesides air bags lasted a lot longer then that. They got some second hand ones from Coventry around 2012/13 which were still,in use at the end, but some of the others were from Ronnie Russell’s days or perhaps earlier and they were still in use at the end, so they could possibly have been 15+ years old . However because of stock cars the airfences were taken down after every meeting so that might have had something to do with their longevity. Another thing is that the ones they got from Coventry were a lot lighter than the older ones. I don’t know whether the ex- Coventry ones were more modern materials, or whether the older Lakeside ones were better quality but they were back breaking to lift, usually taking at least two teams of five to lift alternately and throw them on a trailer , with two more going ahead getting the air out and folding them. Very hard work! The figure I heard for the cost of new ones was £20,000, but that was several years ago , so it could well be 25,000 in today’s money.
  16. E I Addio

    Five tracks you never got to but wish you had

    Looking back it’s surprising how quickly it all fell apart. To think that Briggs , Fundin etc were still there in 1961 and it was all over two years later. One of the great meetings I wish I had seen but didn’t, would be the 1961 Tom Farndon Trophy when the great Jack Young in the Twilight Of his career came back and worked his old magic and took the Trophy ahead of the Fundin , Briggs and Moore. Everything I’ve ever read about Jack Young makes me wish I had seen him at his best, so to get in my time machine to see him at New Cross would be killing two birds with one stone !
  17. E I Addio

    Five tracks you never got to but wish you had

    Belle Vue Hyde Road, Wimbledon ( only saw stock cars there), Swindon , Somerset, Haringey. I was tempted to say New Cross, but I once worked with someone who had been there and she said there was absolutely no crowd atmosphere, although it must have been just before it closed. Can anyone comment on that ? It seems to have had huge crowds at one point..
  18. Well done to Adam, Dan, and indeed Charles Wright who really stepped up on the night. Very unfortunate for Kyle Howarth not to make the final after coming so close and looking hungry enough in the heats to be a potential winner. Scott and Bomber are obviously over the hill now but they both showed they have a special quality that the younger ones can only aspire to. I enjoyed watching them and speedway will be poorer when they eventually hang up their Kevlars for good. Nothing can take away from Adams win though.I’ve known him since his early days practicing at Lakeside, a thoroughly nice guy as indeed Dan seems to be. Such a shame those running the sport don’t match the talent of those riding in it.
  19. E I Addio

    'They Retired Too Soon'

    I am not sure that tuners really made much difference before the mid -seventies. I remember Olle Nygren saying he always did his own engines but that “Ivan was always messing about with tuners” but apparently not getting much mechanical advantage. When Ivan Mauger was asked which was his most satisfying World Championship win he said 1972 because that was the last year all the bikes were pretty much the same. He said in the 1972 World Final you could line all the bikes up and race over a measured Kilometre and there would be practically nothing between them at the finish , but after that the tuners were starting to make a difference. Of course, this is Speedway so we must take most of what is said with a pinch of salt, although we now know because Mauger admitted it that some or this experimentation involved illegal fuels, although he also said that the difference was mostly psychological, giving more confidence .
  20. E I Addio

    'They Retired Too Soon'

    I have recently been reading about Arthur Forest. Sounds like he was a natural talent that did well very young. Apparently he retired at 26 although I don't know why . I wonder if Norbold can add anything about him ?
  21. E I Addio

    Philip Rising R.I.P

    I can only endorse the other tributes fans have put on here. I disagreed with him on a few things but such was the nature of the man you could have a disagreement in a polite sort of way and then move on with no hard feelings. I cant imagine speedway without him. Very, Very sad news.
  22. E I Addio

    'They Retired Too Soon'

    Actually Sid I do think it is a mega tough era today in terms of the top level but for a different reason . Up to about the mid seventies tuners didn’t play a major part. It was as much about the rider as the bike, and that’s why we have to say Briggs , Fundin, Moore etc were truly great riders,. Today it’s as much about the getting the sponsors to fund a fortune on tuners , set ups , spare engines etc. I’m not knocking today’s riders by any means but it’s very much a different game today. Some have 30 different engines. On the other hand, take Terry Betts for example. He said in Classic Speedway that he used to buy one new engine at the start of the season, used it the whole season, never laid a spanner on it for the whole season except changing the valve springs and he was, on his day , capable of beating the worlds best. I admire Jason Doyle because he became World Champion relatively on a shoe string compared with most modern riders, but I doubt whether anyone will win it again without massive sponsorship money behind them. The rider used to be more important than the bike, today, I think it’s the other way round.
  23. E I Addio

    'They Retired Too Soon'

    He carried on for at least a year and came a about 10 th in the 66 World Final but possibly he had lost his hunger after winning the title. He seems to have carried on racing long track for a few years. I have a vague notion that he took on a car dealership and building that up took a lot of his time but could be wrong about that.
  24. E I Addio

    'They Retired Too Soon'

    Still absolutely spot on choices though Steve, albeit different eras. Always a puzzle to me why Knutson went while at the top of game, while still a relatively young man. Maybe Norbold can throw some light on this? Bjorn was I think, only a few months younger than Ivan Mauger and I feel he could well have snatched a couple more world championships from either Mauger, Olsen, Michanek, or the Pole that cheated , before age started to catch up and retirement loomed.
  25. Agreed. Paul has suffered some terrible injuries and I think only about 3 times in his career has not finished the season on the injuries list. There comes a time when age and injuries tell your body it’s time to gracefully leave the stage.
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