Wayne Briggs

[Ian 24]

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.

 

 

I'm not sure how many (if any) races Wayne had before lining up for Edinburgh, but it wasn't many.

 

I also was under the impression that Murray was the eldest brother, but I'm not sure.

 

As for THE Briggo, he's a remarkable man. It's hard to believe he's actually 75 years old. As you say, he was breathtaking. I might quibble with you about him being the greatest (my having been a Fundin fan) but there can be no doubting the huge role he has played in the sport's history.

 

I mentioned to him that last time I was in Christchurch I was struck by the thought that there was a time when that city could have won the World Team Cup, spearheaded by Barry, Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger. You could have added pretty much anyone else to that lineup (Trevor Redmond and Geoff Mardon, maybe?) and they'd still have been far too good for anything the rest of the world could have thrown at them. Wouldn't you agree?

[britmet 233]

 

I mentioned to him that last time I was in Christchurch I was struck by the thought that there was a time when that city could have won the World Team Cup, spearheaded by Barry, Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger. You could have added pretty much anyone else to that lineup (Trevor Redmond and Geoff Mardon, maybe?) and they'd still have been far too good for anything the rest of the world could have thrown at them. Wouldn't you agree?

 

Definately agree.

Yet how strange that since their emergence not one New Zealander has stood on the World Final rostrum since!

[yesterdaysman 9]

I always had Murray down as the middle brother, don't know why though. Remember him when he ran the Jawa place for Barry in Southampton, under the railway arch. I was told many years ago that Wayne was running some lorries contracted to the council in or around Edinburgh, but that was just after he had stopped riding. Never saw him at any meetings up there after he finished though, not that I was a regular visitor, but wondered if he cut off completely!

[cityrebel 2,960]

as a youngster i saw wayne ride plenty of times for the lions when wembley reopened in 1970. did he finish his british career at exeter.

[tonyd 165]

as a youngster i saw wayne ride plenty of times for the lions when wembley reopened in 1970. did he finish his british career at exeter.

 

Wayne became my hero in 1970 (I was a 12/13 year old spotty oik at the time) when he rode for Wembley because the first time I went there and before we went into the stadium my uncle and I went to the pits and looked through those big double doors at the riders and machines. A rider came strolling out the pits clad in black leathers with football socks turned over the top of his boots took my programe out of my hand,signed it and returned it with the words come back after the meeting kid and get the rest of the riders to sign.

That was it from that night thanks to Wayne speedway went from a sport one watched to a passion one followed.

 

(On a side note I wonder what happened to that Wembley cannon they used to fire at the end of each heat as the winner crossed the line)

[BOBBATH 466]

tonyd -nice memory and what a classy thing for Wayne to do. I recall Wayne in I think the 1963 PLRC Final Race to determine the champion(top 4 scorers in the meeting met in a Final Race to decide first second third and fourth). As I recall the other riders were Mauger(won in rerun), George Hunter(leading in race but fell and excluded from re run), Wayne and Jack Kitchen-at the old Belle Vue. Is this correct? Wayne and George rode for Edinburgh, Ivan for Newcastle and Kitchen for Sheffield. Anybody in forumland there at the meeting???

[Ian 24]

tonyd -nice memory and what a classy thing for Wayne to do. I recall Wayne in I think the 1963 PLRC Final Race to determine the champion(top 4 scorers in the meeting met in a Final Race to decide first second third and fourth). As I recall the other riders were Mauger(won in rerun), George Hunter(leading in race but fell and excluded from re run), Wayne and Jack Kitchen-at the old Belle Vue. Is this correct? Wayne and George rode for Edinburgh, Ivan for Newcastle and Kitchen for Sheffield. Anybody in forumland there at the meeting???

 

Yes, I was there Bob. Along with maybe a couple of thousand Monarchs fans!

 

This must have been one of the most controversial meetings of all time. It was run using a new format which resulted in FIVE riders qualifying for the four-man final. This resulted in a riders' sit-down protest led by Edinburgh skipper Doug Templeton. Incidentally, the new format was the "brainchild" of Speedway Star's Eric Linden; the following week's edition carried the headline "It's not all my fault"!

 

I speak only from memory, but I think you may be wrong on two points about that final race.

 

1. George Hunter didn't fall - his bike packed up when he was leading Mauger. He also had bike problems in his first two races when his bike "died" at the start and he did really well to make up the best part of a quarter of a lap on each occasion to bag a third and a second respectively. At that time George really was the form rider in the PL - Mauger or no Mauger.

 

2. I agree that Hunter, Mauger and Kitchen were in the race, but I don't think Wayne Briggs was. I think the fourth rider was Poole's Ross Gilbertson.

 

Incidentally, as a measure of just how good George Hunter was, his sensational performance came just a week or two after the fateful crash with Peter Craven. One Sheffield fan that night started shouting abuse at George, including the word "killer". I'm not especially proud to admit that I hit him very hard. If he's reading this forum then I apologise.

 

When you've watched this sport for the best part of 50 years there are many memories, some for good reasons and some not-so-good. Above all of them, this one stands out for me. Fabulous racing, a huge crowd with great atmosphere, drama; you couldn't choreograph it better. As an occasion it's up there with the Russian test matches, the 1967 World Final and all the other wonderful times. It even outstrips all the thrashings Monarchs have given the Tiggers at Ashfield, and that's saying something!

 

A couple of years ago my good friend Merlin wrote a thrilling account of this meeting. I'll call him tomorrow and ask if he could post it here.

[britmet 233]

The line-up of the 1963 PLRC final is on the front of the 1964 PLRC programme, - Hunter, Gilbertson, Mauger & Kitchen, walking out for the race with Ross prophetically pointing to Mauger. I attended all 5 PLRCs, Bobbath.

 

That corrects the earlier posting on here,- Wayne was runner-up to Len Silver in the 1962 Final, not the 1963. So he is on the front of the 1963 Final programme, on the rostrum with Silver & Craven.

 

.

[BOBBATH 466]

Thanx for straightening that out guysIan and Britmet-so it was Wayne in 62 not 63- you are right George Hunter was the in form PL rider in 63. Wished I'd attended all PLRC Finals-great meetings-I used to so look forward to reading about them in the Star.

[Fromafar 10,341]

tonyd -nice memory and what a classy thing for Wayne to do. I recall Wayne in I think the 1963 PLRC Final Race to determine the champion(top 4 scorers in the meeting met in a Final Race to decide first second third and fourth). As I recall the other riders were Mauger(won in rerun), George Hunter(leading in race but fell and excluded from re run), Wayne and Jack Kitchen-at the old Belle Vue. Is this correct? Wayne and George rode for Edinburgh, Ivan for Newcastle and Kitchen for Sheffield. Anybody in forumland there at the meeting???

Think you are mixing up the years in 1963 there was the famous "sit in" when the was confusion who should be in final.George Hunter and Ross Gilbertson were 1st and 2nd in run-off ironically they were the ones in the original final,before the protest .George Hunter e/f in in lead in final which was won by Mauger with Kitchen 2nd..I was there in 1963 but might not be 100% with the facts (sure someone will correct me )Wayne was runner up in 1962 (I think).The reason I remember this is it was the year Peter Craven was killed at Edinburgh a few weeks earlier and George Hunter had been involved in the accident,when his engine had seized .

Edited September 27, 2010 by Fromafar

[Fromafar 10,341]

The line-up of the 1963 PLRC final is on the front of the 1964 PLRC programme, - Hunter, Gilbertson, Mauger & Kitchen, walking out for the race with Ross prophetically pointing to Mauger. I attended all 5 PLRCs, Bobbath.

 

That corrects the earlier posting on here,- Wayne was runner-up to Len Silver in the 1962 Final, not the 1963. So he is on the front of the 1963 Final programme, on the rostrum with Silver & Craven.

 

.

Your are correct regarding the 1964 programme picture,what I remember about it was the picture was the riders going out for the original final before the protest.Hunter and Gilbertson helmet colours were different in the actual final.(there is a a piece of useless information,but would be a good Quiz question ).White & Y/B were swopped round in final.Am I right with thie assumption?

[Fromafar 10,341]

Yes, I was there Bob. Along with maybe a couple of thousand Monarchs fans!

 

This must have been one of the most controversial meetings of all time. It was run using a new format which resulted in FIVE riders qualifying for the four-man final. This resulted in a riders' sit-down protest led by Edinburgh skipper Doug Templeton. Incidentally, the new format was the "brainchild" of Speedway Star's Eric Linden; the following week's edition carried the headline "It's not all my fault"!

 

I speak only from memory, but I think you may be wrong on two points about that final race.

 

1. George Hunter didn't fall - his bike packed up when he was leading Mauger. He also had bike problems in his first two races when his bike "died" at the start and he did really well to make up the best part of a quarter of a lap on each occasion to bag a third and a second respectively. At that time George really was the form rider in the PL - Mauger or no Mauger.

 

2. I agree that Hunter, Mauger and Kitchen were in the race, but I don't think Wayne Briggs was. I think the fourth rider was Poole's Ross Gilbertson.

 

Incidentally, as a measure of just how good George Hunter was, his sensational performance came just a week or two after the fateful crash with Peter Craven. One Sheffield fan that night started shouting abuse at George, including the word "killer". I'm not especially proud to admit that I hit him very hard. If he's reading this forum then I apologise.

 

When you've watched this sport for the best part of 50 years there are many memories, some for good reasons and some not-so-good. Above all of them, this one stands out for me. Fabulous racing, a huge crowd with great atmosphere, drama; you couldn't choreograph it better. As an occasion it's up there with the Russian test matches, the 1967 World Final and all the other wonderful times. It even outstrips all the thrashings Monarchs have given the Tiggers at Ashfield, and that's saying something!

 

A couple of years ago my good friend Merlin wrote a thrilling account of this meeting. I'll call him tomorrow and ask if he could post it here.

Jimmy Squibb was involved too if I remember correctly.Those were the days EH!!!!!!!!!!

[britmet 233]

.

So then you have to ask "Was there any point in the protest ?"

 

In the following year the meeting reverted to the trad'l 20 heat format !

 

For the benefit of the youngsters reading this, No, there weren't 'Final Race-Offs' after 20 heats ! The winner was the man with the most points !

BUT

on this occasion, 1964, 2 riders tied with 13pts, so there was a Run-off, which Mauger won from Charlie Monk.

(and then another Run-off for 3rd place as Pete Kelly & Roy Trigg had tied on 12pts.)

[Fromafar 10,341]

.

So then you have to ask "Was there any point in the protest ?"

 

In the following year the meeting reverted to the trad'l 20 heat format !

 

For the benefit of the youngsters reading this, No, there weren't 'Final Race-Offs' after 20 heats ! The winner was the man with the most points !

BUT

on this occasion, 1964, 2 riders tied with 13pts, so there was a Run-off, which Mauger won from Charlie Monk.

(and then another Run-off for 3rd place as Pete Kelly & Roy Trigg had tied on 12pts.)

Regarding the protest,There was an extra race but the same 2riders that were in the original final were 1st and 2nd Hunter & Gilbertson.Ironicaly Hunter's e/f when leading final might not have occurred but for his extra race.But that is conjecture and the records show Mauger was the Champ.

[Merlin 0]

Yes, I was there Bob. Along with maybe a couple of thousand Monarchs fans!

 

This must have been one of the most controversial meetings of all time. It was run using a new format which resulted in FIVE riders qualifying for the four-man final. This resulted in a riders' sit-down protest led by Edinburgh skipper Doug Templeton. Incidentally, the new format was the "brainchild" of Speedway Star's Eric Linden; the following week's edition carried the headline "It's not all my fault"!

 

I speak only from memory, but I think you may be wrong on two points about that final race.

 

1. George Hunter didn't fall - his bike packed up when he was leading Mauger. He also had bike problems in his first two races when his bike "died" at the start and he did really well to make up the best part of a quarter of a lap on each occasion to bag a third and a second respectively. At that time George really was the form rider in the PL - Mauger or no Mauger.

 

2. I agree that Hunter, Mauger and Kitchen were in the race, but I don't think Wayne Briggs was. I think the fourth rider was Poole's Ross Gilbertson.

 

Incidentally, as a measure of just how good George Hunter was, his sensational performance came just a week or two after the fateful crash with Peter Craven. One Sheffield fan that night started shouting abuse at George, including the word "killer". I'm not especially proud to admit that I hit him very hard. If he's reading this forum then I apologise.

 

When you've watched this sport for the best part of 50 years there are many memories, some for good reasons and some not-so-good. Above all of them, this one stands out for me. Fabulous racing, a huge crowd with great atmosphere, drama; you couldn't choreograph it better. As an occasion it's up there with the Russian test matches, the 1967 World Final and all the other wonderful times. It even outstrips all the thrashings Monarchs have given the Tiggers at Ashfield, and that's saying something!

 

A couple of years ago my good friend Merlin wrote a thrilling account of this meeting. I'll call him tomorrow and ask if he could post it here.

 

Only too happy to oblige. This is what I wrote.

 

The Provincial Speedway Riders’ Championship Final

 

Saturday, September 28, 1963

 

A Personal Experience

 

1. It was six o’ clock in the morning and I was still wiping the sleep from my eyes. But it was time to fire up the old Mini and collect Stuart, David and John for the 250 mile drive from Edinburgh to Manchester for the Provincial Speedway Riders’ Championship at the old Belle Vue stadium on the Hyde Road in Manchester. We planned to get there as early as possible so we could find a cheap bed and breakfast place to stay the night to avoid having to face the long drive back tonight. You never know there might be reasons to celebrate!

 

2. The other three lived only a couple of minutes away so we were soon on our way. It was a beautiful September morning and we were in good spirits – particularly Stuart who was a George Hunter fanatic. Edinburgh had two riders who had qualified for the final – George Hunter and Doug Templeton – although neither could be considered favourites for the Championship with Ivan Mauger (Newcastle) and Jack Kitchen (Sheffield) both in the field but Stuart would not hear of any result other than a George Hunter win and his enthusiasm soon wore off on the rest of us.

 

3. But a bit about the event first of all. This Championship was the highlight of the old breakaway Provincial League (breakaway from the National League that is), our World Final if you like. Qualification was no easy task because each rider had to compete in three qualifying rounds, each one a 16 rider, 20 heat affair, to gain enough points to get to the Belle Vue final. The Provincial League in 1963 comprised 13 teams – Cradley Heath, Edinburgh, Exeter, Hackney, Long Eaton, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Poole, Rayleigh, St Austell, Sheffield, Stoke and Wolverhampton.

 

4. In the previous year, 1962, the Championship had also been held at Belle Vue. In 1961 it had been held at Harringay in London and in 1960 (the inaugural year of the Provincial League) at Cradley Heath. The format for the final was unusual to say the least with 24 riders qualifying for the event, each of whom would have only four rides after which the top four scorers would go forward to the final.

 

5. The qualifiers were: Ivan Mauger (Newcastle) 43 points, Colin Pratt (Stoke) 43, Ross Gilbertson (Poole) 41, Ray Cresp (St Austell) 40, Clive Featherby (Sheffield) 40, Charlie Monk (Long Eaton) 40, Jack Kitchen (Sheffield) 38, Les McGillivray (Rayleigh) 38, Cliff Cox (Exeter) 36, Jimmy Squibb (Exeter) 36, Rick France (Wolverhampton) 35, Geoff Mudge (Poole) 34, George Major (St Austell) 32, Eric Boocock (Middlesbrough) 31, George Hunter (Edinburgh) 31, Ron Bagley (Sheffield) 30, Ivor Brown (Cradley Heath), 30, Brian Craven (Newcastle) 30, Maurie Mattingley (Wolverhampton) 30, Ken Adams (Stoke) 29, Maurie McDermott (Rayleigh) 29, Douglas Templeton (Edinburgh) 29, Norman Hunter (Hackney) 28 and Trevor Redmond (St Austell) 28. Unfortunately Brian Craven (brother of Peter Craven who died of injuries sustained in a crash at Old Meadowbank) had been injured and was replaced by John Hart of Cradley Heath who was first reserve. The other meeting reserve was David Younghusband of Middlesbrough.

 

6. The previous year the event had been won by Len Silver of Exeter (the same Len Silver whom now promotes at Rye House) with Wayne Briggs (Barry Briggs’ brother) of Edinburgh runner-up and Brian Craven of Newcastle in third place. With Len Silver having failed to qualify and Wayne Briggs and Brian Craven out with injury none of the three were returning to contest the Championship. Incidentally the prize money was – 1st £40, 2nd £20, 3rd £10 and 4th £5. A measure of the popularity of this event can be gauged from the fact that all the stand tickets were sold out within weeks of going on sale and some 20,000 attended from all over the country.

 

7. Back to the trip then. While Stuart was the livewire of the four of us he had one terrible problem which made him hard to live with – well on long car trips anyway – and that was flatulence. With a general diet of hamburgers, baked beans, chips and Coke he could concoct a smell that could clear a room faster than a Max Bygraves record! In the confines of a Mini with four occupants it was next to lethal and once or twice I had to pull in to the side of the road making emergency stops to let us clamber out before we lost conciousness. Still I was used to it but not immune from it unfortunately. David was pretty laid back – he was sort of foot loose and fancy free – his feet were attached with sellotape and if it was free he fancied it (courtesy of Round the Horne). He relished the chance to exercise his expertise in sarcasm usually at our expense while John stoically said little. Indeed John never said a great deal. He was the kind of guy who lit up a room whenever he left it. I often wondered what they thought of me! We were the best of friends nonetheless – out mutual bond being the love of speedway.

 

8. In these days there was no M6, only the A6. Anyone who has crawled up Shap behind a convoy of lorries watching the temperature guage in case the engine began to overheat will know what torture this was. The relatively few miles could take as much as two hours to complete even on a good day. We made good time this particular Saturday morning and were soon wheeling our way into Manchester and to Belle Vue.

 

9. What a place Belle Vue was. Apart from a custom built speedway track – the best I ever saw – the Belle Vue complex had an amusement park which claimed to have (at the time) the fastest gravity ride in the world. It was called the Bobs and was not the sort of ride you wanted to take after several pints of lager. Underneath you could always find a collection of coins and other things including the odd lost lunch!. There was also a Zoo and gardens while the King’s Hall had wrestling every Saturday night and also staged concerts, bingo etc. Every Saturday at 10pm there was a fireworks display on Fireworks Island. It was a great place to visit and a fabulous speedway venue now sadly gone.

 

10. Having checked out the stadium we set off to look for a bed and breakfast place within our frugal budget (we brought a new meaning to the word ‘frugal’). We found one off the Hyde Road which consisted of a series of dormitories each containing about a dozen beds, none of which ever got cold judging by the turnover. It seemed to be well patronized by lorry drivers and other such passing trade and was not one you would recommend to valued friends!

 

11. After making our reservations we headed off to the centre of Manchester for breakfast and a look around and then on to Old Trafford where we watched Manchester United play Tottenham (I think). United won 2-0 if I remember correctly and it was back to Belle Vue for the main event. We were early into the stadium and headed for the third bend to join the other Monarchs supporters and watch the proceedings. By start time the stadium was filled to capacity and the noise and colours of the fans from all the tracks gave the place an atmosphere to match Wembley in its halcyon days. The excitement built and then we had the usual preliminaries including a grand parade of the competitors. Ian Hoskins was the centre green man and was absolutely superb in his presentation of the meeting.

 

12. And so we were off:

 

Heat 1: Mauger, Squibb, George Hunter, Norman Hunter 73.6

Heat 2: Bagley, France, Hart, McGillivray 74.0

Heat 3: Templeton, Pratt, Cox, Adams 74.8

Heat 4: Kitchen, Mattingly, Gilbertson, Major 73.2

Heat 5: Cresp, Brown, Mudge, Redmond 74.4

Heat 6: Featherby, Boocock, McDermott, Monk ef 74.2

 

13. A bit of a mix for us! George Hunter didn’t make a good gate and had to settle for third place but Doug Templeton put the smile back on our faces by winning heat 3. Poor Charlie Monk had engine failure in heat 6 while lying second. Ivan Mauger and Jack Kitchen had got off to their expected opening heat wins and Ivor Brown who was never popular with us (I can’t for the life of me remember why) managed a second place much to our disappointment. There used to be an advert on TV for Hovis bread which had the slogan “Don’t say brown, say Hovis” . We rather cruelly changed this to “Don’t say Brown, say *****” The word we substituted for Hovis began with ‘sh’ and rhymed with night. Rather childishly we took great delight in taunting the Cradley fans every time Ivor Brown made an appearance but it was always in fun if not in the best possible taste.

 

14. The next six heats went as follows:

 

Heat 7: Kitchen, Mauger, Cresp, Bagley 73.4

Heat 8: Gilbertson, George Hunter, Brown, McGillivray 74.2

Heat 9: Squibb, Pratt, Major, McDermott 74.8

Heat 10: Mattingly, Featherby, Norman Hunter, Adams 74.4

Heat 11: Mudge, Hart, Boocock, Cox 75.2

Heat 12: France, Templeton, Redmond, Monk ef 75.0

 

15. Well the big two were out in heat 7 and it was Jack Kitchen who saw off Ivan Mauger. George Hunter managed a second place in heat 8 and Doug Templeton kept the Monarchs’ flag flying with a second place in heat 12. So after two races each only Jack Kitchen had the maximum 6 points with Ivan Mauger, Jimmy Squibb, Rick France, Doug Templeton, Maurie Mattingly and Clive Featherby all on 5 points.

 

16. The next 6 heats after the interval, during which the beauty queen competition was held, finished:

 

Heat 13: George Hunter, Featherby, Bagley, Major 74.4

Heat 14: Mauger, Mattingly, Boocock, Pratt 74.8

Heat 15: Gilbertson, Cresp, McDermott, France f.rem 75.0

Heat 16: Kitchen, Cox, Redmond, McGillivray ef 75.2

Heat 17: Templeton, Brown, Norman Hunter, Hart 76.2

Heat 18: Monk, Mudge, Adams, Squibb f.rem 74.8

 

17. We were ecstatic – wins for both George Hunter and Douglas Templeton had us in dreamland and gave both a good chance of qualifying for the final. While Ivan Mauger and Jack Kitchen continued to dominate. Charlie Monk finally got his bike going and won heat 18. Now, with just one race left each, Jack Kitchen led the field unbeaten on 9 points with Ivan Mauger, and Douglas Templeton on 8 and Ross Gilbertson, Maurie Mattingly and Clive Featherby on 7.

 

18. Then came the last six vital heats of the qualifying stage:

 

Heat 19: George Hunter, Mattingly, Cox, France 75.0

Heat 20: Mauger, McGillivray, Mudge McDermott 74.8

Heat 21: Kitchen, Featherby, Squibb, Templeton 74.8

Heat 22: Cresp, Major, Adams, Hart 75.8

Heat 23: Brown, Monk. Bagley, Pratt 75.8

Heat 24: Boocock, Gilbertson, Redmond, Norman Hunter 75.8

 

19. Another great win for George Hunter but disaster for Doug Templeton who finished last in heat 21 and failed to make it to the final. Jack Kitchen and Ivan Mauger continued on their winning ways and both were through to the final on 12 and 11 points respectively. But pandemonium broke out when the organizers realized that there were five riders tied on nine points for the final two places. Now the rules stated that the first way to break a tie was by heat wins. George Hunter, Ross Gilbertson and Ray Cresp all had two heat wins while Maurie Matttingly and Clive Featherby had one each. So Mattingly and Cresp should have been eliminated. The second tie breaker was by the fastest heat winning time. George Hunter’s fastest time was 74.4, Ross Gilbertson’s was 74.2 and Ray Cresp’s was 74.4. This meant that Ross Gilbertson should have been the third qualifier and a run-off should have been needed between George Hunter and Ray Cresp since they had both won two races and had identical fastest winning times.

 

20. There was a long delay while they tried to sort matters out. The riders hated the ‘fastest winning time’ rule because the earlier heat winning times tended to be better than those later in the meeting as the track changed. The officials then decided to settle matters by the toss of a coin but the riders were having none of that and staged a walk out. Pandemonium broke out as a lot of people were not happy to put it mildly. Matters were finally resolved when it was agreed to put all five riders who finished on 9 points into the one race with the top two going through to the final. So we had a five-rider semi final which finished:

Semi final: George Hunter, Gilbertson, Cresp, Featherby, Mattingly

 

21. What excitement as George Hunter leapt from the gates to leave the other four riders in his wake. The race seemed to last an eternity but George made no mistakes and was through to the final along with fellow Scot Ross Gilbertson. It had made the long journey from Edinburgh so much more worthwhile to have one of our riders in the final. So George Hunter and Ross Gilbertson joined Jack Kitchen and Ivan Mauger in the final. This was justice really because Ross Gilbertson should have qualified on heat wins and fastest winning time and George Hunter and Ray Cresp should have had a run off for the last final place which is effectively what the semi-final turned out to be.

 

22. The tension was unbearable waiting for the final to start. We were all shaking especially Stuart who must have gone through a pack of cigarettes before the final started. Could George Hunter upset the odds by beating the awesome Mauger and Kitchen? Up they came to the tapes and then with an almighty roar the tapes went up and George Hunter made a fantastic start. He was well into the first bend ahead of the field. On that first bend Ivan Mauger and Jack Kitchen diced for position which gave George Hunter time to build up an incredible lead. Going past the tapes at the end of the first lap we all knew he only had to keep going to win the title. Alas going into the first bend of the second lap George’s bike developed a fuel leak and ground to a halt while the rest of the field led by Ivan Mauger charged past. The Final was won by Ivan Mauger with Jack Kitchen second and Ross Gilbertson third in a time of 74.8.

 

23. We were speechless leaving the stadium at such a cruel letdown. Stuart was inconsolable. The rest of us weren’t far behind. We had a couple of drinks and wandered round the amusements rather aimlessly before returning to our already warm beds for the night where sleep was hard to come by through a combination of despair and the horrendous snoring of the other occupants of the dormitory. A herd of trumpeting elephants couldn’t have competed with the noise.

 

24. In the morning we went down for what was laughingly described as breakfast. It comprised of two rashers (is that the word? Perhaps shavings might have been more apt!) of what had once been bacon. It had clearly been subjected to a holocaust of fire and spitting grease before being presented to us in a totally cremated state. Not only was it black but it disintegrated into ashes when you tried to get a fork into it. The ‘egg’ which accompanied it had attached to its base what appeared to be a strange mixture of rubber and brown crinkly cellulose which was completely indigestible but, worse still, it was inseparable from the yolk which was just about recognizable but hard as a brick. The toast was black with brown overtones and the tea so weak it had to be helped out of the pot - not exactly your first course on a menu of international cuisine of gourmet cooking. More the sort of offering you might expect cooked in the galley of a motor launch ploughing through a force 10 gale mid-Atlantic. Still you get what you pay for!

 

25. Ah well – back home in silent reflection of what might have been. Even Stuart kept his bowels in check for the journey which is just as well – we were not far from assassination mode. These were the wonderful sixties and days of sheer speedway joy.