Wayne Briggs

[boston five 16]

any one know what happened to wayne was he barry,s son or brother seem to remember him at poole ,southampton then up in scotland early 60,s

[DavyH 164]

Wayne is Barry's brother and I well remember seeing him raing for the Monarchs at Old Meadowbank in the sixties. He seemed to have a lot of bad luck with injuries.

[Tsunami 10,219]

any one know what happened to wayne was he barry,s son or brother seem to remember him at poole ,southampton then up in scotland early 60,s

 

Wayne is Barry's younger brother, who came over to ride for Edinburgh at Old Meadowbank in about 1961. A raw talent, who was not frightened to ride flat out, and subsequently seemed to get injured quite a bit. Always seemed to have broken wrists. Good rider to watch though.

[Sprog1 79]

Wayne is Barry's younger brother, who came over to ride for Edinburgh at Old Meadowbank in about 1961. A raw talent, who was not frightened to ride flat out, and subsequently seemed to get injured quite a bit. Always seemed to have broken wrists. Good rider to watch though.

 

Yes he hardly finished a season without some form of serious injury, including the loss of sight in one eye. I saw him at the end of his career at Exeter in the early 70's. He was finished in speedway by the age of about 27 I think. Most of his injuries seemed to be for very unlucky reasons like broken frames and things.

 

I believe I read somewhere that he is/ was until recently living in Scotland and running a haulage company I think.

[Ian 24]

Yes he hardly finished a season without some form of serious injury, including the loss of sight in one eye. I saw him at the end of his career at Exeter in the early 70's. He was finished in speedway by the age of about 27 I think. Most of his injuries seemed to be for very unlucky reasons like broken frames and things.

 

I believe I read somewhere that he is/ was until recently living in Scotland and running a haulage company I think.

 

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

[britmet 233]

.

Briggo's other (middle) brother Murray Briggs was a little more successful than Wayne when he came oover here for a short spell in 1958.

 

see http://speedwaychampions.com/GrassTrackChamps.aspx

 

He was Bristish Grass track Champion in both the 500cc Class and the 350cc class in the same year that his big brother was World Champ.

[Fromafar 10,363]

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

Wayne would have been a great rider IMO if his career had not been blighted by serios injuries Wayne and George Hunter had very similier styles and were heading for the top till varoius mishaps took their toll.Those were the days!!

[Grachan 7,362]

Raced for Exeter in 1967 and raced against Barry in the Golden Helemt match race at Swindon. Lost.

[BOBBATH 467]

I don't think Murray Briggs ever achieved the same level of success as Wayne-wasn't Wayne the runner up to Ivan Mauger in the 1963 PLRC?? Wayne was a top performer for Edinburgh in PL 1963-64.I recall seeing a picture of him and Theresa when they got married in the mid sixties-glad they hung in over all these years.

[britmet 233]

I don't think Murray Briggs ever achieved the same level of success as Wayne-wasn't Wayne the runner up to Ivan Mauger in the 1963 PLRC?? Wayne was a top performer for Edinburgh in PL 1963-64.I recall seeing a picture of him and Theresa when they got married in the mid sixties-glad they hung in over all these years.

 

So its Runner-Up in a 2nd Div'n competition v/v. a 2x National Champion, - ?

Surely there's no comparison. What do others think?

[Ian 24]

So its Runner-Up in a 2nd Div'n competition v/v. a 2x National Champion, - ?

Surely there's no comparison. What do others think?

 

The difference is that you're speaking about two different sports - speedway and grasstrack. Do you generally compare apples with oranges?

[Fromafar 10,363]

.

Briggo's other (middle) brother Murray Briggs was a little more successful than Wayne when he came oover here for a short spell in 1958.

 

see http://speedwaychampions.com/GrassTrackChamps.aspx

 

He was Bristish Grass track Champion in both the 500cc Class and the 350cc class in the same year that his big brother was World Champ.

 

Personally I don't Murray would even claim that fact.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Fromafar

[britmet 233]

The difference is that you're speaking about two different sports - speedway and grasstrack. Do you generally compare apples with oranges?

 

Both riding 500cc Japs round an oval circuit ! - ? One won and one didn't.

Edited September 20, 2010 by britmet

[Tsunami 10,219]

Both riding 500cc Japs round an oval circuit ! - ? One won and one didn't.

 

 

:D

[Sprog1 79]

I don't think that's right, CM.

 

I was chatting to Barry Briggs a few weeks ago at Scunthorpe and asked about Wayne. According to Barry he has been living in Spain for quite a few years. He is still married to the lady he met when he first came to Edinburgh as a sixteen-year-old in 1961. Her name is Theresa and she's a hairdresser. When I asked Barry what Wayne did for a living he joked that he was never quite sure what Wayne did!

 

Wayne really was an overnight sensation when he first arrived, despite hardly ever having ridden a bike in New Zealand. When I first went to Meadowbank in 1962 he was already banging in maximums and I think he may also have taken the track record. Had his career not been so badly blighted by injuries he would probably have gone on to become a very fine rider.

 

 

Thanks for that. Its all slowly coming back through the fog of time. I do now remember reading that he emigrated and was married to an Edinburgh girl. I think the Haulage company bit was before he emigrated but if Barry is not sure what he does maybe what I read about the haulage company was just a story for the interview.

 

You have reminded me as well that he had hardly been on a bike before he came to Edinburgh, and I vaguely recall that he had never actually raced until he lined up for the Monarchs. Is that correct ? Only going by what I read. I only ever saw him race the once, he was always injured before that, and when I did see him he was just back from injury and well of the pace so it was a disappointment.

 

Incidently I thought Murray was the oldest brother, was I wrong on that. I never actually saw him ride.

 

As for THE man, THE Briggo, the one and only, he was without doubt the greatest ever in my opinion. Not the most consisitent ever, but at his best absolutely breathtaking.