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Everything posted by steve roberts
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massive loss and wins at the same track in the same season
steve roberts replied to Shrub's topic in Years Gone By
Yes I saw thru' his 'veneer' many years ago. -
massive loss and wins at the same track in the same season
steve roberts replied to Shrub's topic in Years Gone By
I, like many others, used to have many a run in with him when he used to comment on the old Oxford forum. I met him once at Cowley but he wouldn't remember that... -
Sounds to be a good investment for those with an interest in speedway's pre-war history.
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Just watched the meeting...brilliant stuff and a great concept!
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Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Was that before or after he attemped to run Ian Thomas over? -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
I second that! -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
...and that's always the dilemma with many of these things! -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
That's always the issue of course comparing riders from different eras...different criteria, bikes, tracks and it's very difficult attempting to pass judgement but fun all the same! -
Most of my knowledge I have to go on memory...which is not always reliable...with the odd dabble in various speedway publications!
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Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Perhaps Ronnie would have won more Championships if he hadn't 'retired' prematurely before making a come back? As like most of these discussions pure conjecture but fun anyway! I'm not sure but did Norwich win any team honours when Ove rode for them? -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
I's agree that Rickardsson is up there with the best of them but I always questioned his team ethic and leadership qualities which is something I always base any assessment (rightly or wrongly) on who was the best etc. I tend to look beyond just World Championship honours although obviously important within the grand scheme of things. The likes of Mauger, Olsen, Nielsen etc developed a team around them and nurtured their potential and Ronnie Moore was probably regarded as the best team rider during any era and some regarded him as being the most naturally gifted rider of his generation. -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Yes there's some truth in that. I guess that the development of bikes and riders adapting their styles to suit added to the changing way in which the sport developed. The old J.A.P. was apparently notoriously difficult to ride. Trailing one's leg as riders tend to do now wouldn't have been possible on the basic J.A.P. and JAWA bikes and I would hazzard to guess that the advent of link forks, lay downs and the many other adapations to a modern bike requires differing techniques and, dare I suggest, easier to ride? White line riding became somewhat rare as riders went hell for leather chasing the dirt mid track keeping the throttle full on...something that wasn't possible in years gone by when tracks were regarding as somewhat grippier and, dare I suggest, bumpy? There were slick tracks in my day but have they become more of the norm enabling riders to keep the power on? Heavier tracks required better throttle control which I guess added to the hesitancy of some rider's approach to combating track conditions. Just my thoughts for what they're worth... -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Per's signing was inspirational and he really added that vital ingredient that made a good side into a great one in 1986. A vastly under-rated rider in my opinion. -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Some great names there Sid. I wonder if things would have been different if they had been around during the Nielsen/Gundersen years and at their prime? We can only speculate. -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Some interesting views Sid. I'm obviously very biased when making comparsions but I do believe that Hans was a better all round rider than Erik (something that Erik admitted to in an an interview some years ago in "Backtrack"). Hans' ability to team ride was second to none and I don't recall Erik excelling in that particular role (I saw a lot of both riders during the middle/late eighties). I also believe that Hans was a better exponent at passing opponents. I would be the first to admit that Erik had great mental strength (how much that was down to having Olsen in his corner is open to conjecture) and had the beating of Hans in both the 1984 Final (with a little help from Kelly Moran getting in the way) and 1985. The 1986 Final will be debated for as long as there are people willing to talk speedway. Erik suffered a bad second ride after being intimidated by Neil Evitts as the tapes rose. The infamous incident between Knudsen and Nielsen could have gone either way and personally, although not at the time (I was present) I felt that Hans was lucky to get away with it. However Knudsen style of riding was always questionable as he tended to ride 'square bends' and he attempted to correct himself only for Nielsen to have filled the gap. I saw Knudsen many times attempting to ride opponents wide and being caught out as opponents switched lines to pass him up the inside (there was a classic race at Cowley when Marvyn Cox out-witted him after such a move). All three were great riders but personally I would list them in order as Nielsen first, followed by Gundersen and Knudsen fending off Jan O Pedersen...possibly? It's been debated many times but I strongly believe that if the GP's had been operating during the middle/late eighties Hans would have been successful in most, if not all, of them. -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
I think that the punch up may have been in 1971? Rayleigh were, I think, the only team to win at Arlington during Eastbourne's Championship winning year? As you say a long time ago now. I remember well the 1972 drawn match as it took an age to locate the stadium as we drove around the Sussex countryside and arrived after about four heats had taken place! -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Dave Lanning was a great wind up artist. He used to have running verbal battles with the great Johnnie Hoskins of Canterbury and we saw some of Dave's antics when he was at Oxford in 1972. Great entertainment and anything to stir up the fans! -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Funny but ex-Eagle Reg Trott made some atrocious decisions as a referee during Eastbourne's first match of the 1979 season and Bob Dugard threatened that he would never be allowed to officiate at another meeting at Arlington! -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
I was there (39-39) but I don't recall a punch up I have to say? If I remember Alan Emmett scored a 12 point maximum and there was some animosity over him beating Gordon Kennett during the British under-21 Championship. The "Eagles" management 'claimed' that he was using an over-sized engine or something or other? -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
...with Bob Dugard at the helm hardly surprising although their initial years in the First Division after years of dominating the Second Division brought them down to earth somewhat. Bob was passionate and very protective of his charges which occasionally spilled over...remember a few fisty fights/skirmishes and, of course, Dave Lanning added to the fun. A good read in the latest "Backtrack" where local derbies between Eastbourne and Canterbury was covered. -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Yes Erik seems to have been overlooked but personally I wouldn't put him in quite the same class as some of the others mentioned despite being a multi-champion...just my opinion. -
Briggs, Fundin, Mauger , Crump, Rickardsson, Roll of honour.
steve roberts replied to Sidney the robin's topic in Years Gone By
Couldn't agree more! -
Has anyone been anywhere yet
steve roberts replied to cityrebel's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Spent many a happy Sunday afternoon at Arlington. -
If I recall, Sid, Mike in an interview in "Backtrack" stated that he preferred being a big fish in a small pond having caught a cold riding for Exeter in 1974 before eventually moving to Arlington. As a posrscript I do feel that some of the Division Two/New National League 'stars' get somewhat overlooked when discussing riders of the past.
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Apparently he was asked if he would like to move up with Eastbourne prior to the 1979 season but declined and was subsequently placed on the transfer list and Cradley came in for him and he was loaned out to Nottingham.