tyretrax 2,253 Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) Best wishes to Ivan and Rae on his retirement from public life. Thanks for the memories. Edited March 18, 2013 by tyretrax 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kernowken 4 Posted March 18, 2013 Here Here what a great ambassador for our sport Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foamfence 2,917 Posted March 18, 2013 Truly the greatest. At his peak when he was about to visit your track, you expected him to get a maximum or break the track record.....He frequently did both! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebrum 6,821 Posted March 18, 2013 Sad news as Ivan remains totally professional and a role model for all riders making their way in the sport. If anyone deserves a public retirement then it`s Ivan. Thanks for the memories and dedication Ivan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spiegal 294 Posted March 18, 2013 Personally I truly hope that EVERYONE will respect this request....Sprouts deserves this..and i am sure that everyone in speedway will do him the honour of posting nice messages at this time. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ommer Mon 381 Posted March 18, 2013 Even as a Cradley fan, he was one of my all time favourite riders. Here's a couple of magic moments. At Monmore riding for Exeter he was the victim of a ragged start and after a great deal of arm waving to the referee he finally got under way with the other three going into the third turn. You can guess the rest.....there was only going to be one winner. Then at Perry Barr, after sufering a first race defeat to Andy Grahame and getting stick for being 'past it' nobody got near him for the rest of the night and he shepherded Bobby Beaton home in the last race for a match winning 5-1 for Hull. Have a great retirement Ivan. Without doubt the greatest ever and the man who brought a new level of professionalism to the sport, which the likes of Olsen, Penhall, Gundersen and Nielsen all learnt from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,363 Posted March 18, 2013 Definately one of the greatest riders to grace speedway, as a fan who saw him in action from his Provincial days right through his career he certainly was THE main attraction when he visited your track and certainly never let anybody down, the ulitimate professional who changed the sport IMO . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bobbin' Along 5 Posted March 18, 2013 I started watching speedway at about the time that Ivan decided to only ride in home meetings for his club. I never got to see him race round Swindon, which would have been epic. Being as he's now getting on a bit, I was suprised that he wasn't already "retired from public life", but good luck to him, and I hope he has a long and happy retirement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,984 Posted March 18, 2013 Guess he done a fair bit of work/travelling to promote his book.A real legend in the sport with a great work ethic.He done it the hard way by working his guts out to make it look easy.Wish him all the best and thanks for the memories and even the autographs.Yes he did give them if you asked at the right time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racers and royals 8,727 Posted March 18, 2013 I started watching speedway at about the time that Ivan decided to only ride in home meetings for his club. I never got to see him race round Swindon, which would have been epic. Being as he's now getting on a bit, I was suprised that he wasn't already "retired from public life", but good luck to him, and I hope he has a long and happy retirement. It explains here why the decision has been made now http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.19323 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spiegal 294 Posted March 18, 2013 It explains here why the decision has been made now http://www.speedwayg...hp?extend.19323 Absolutely correct Tim.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g13webb 4,254 Posted March 18, 2013 He was the man who set the bench mark. Totally professional in everything he did. A lot of today's riders need to learn from this great man. 30 yrs. gone and still the greatest ever. Hopefully you'll have a happy retirement and enjoy the rest of your life. Thanks for the memories.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martinmauger 584 Posted March 18, 2013 He was my favourite rider even before he signed for Hull, my first ever meet was a World Championship Quali but my first match was Hull v Exeter. I was told "you must go to speedway this week, it's against 'Ivor Major' (sic) and his Exeter Falcons, he's brilliant, he's been World Champion loads of times, has a gold bike, colourful leathers and wins almost every race". Well he didn't win every race that nite way back in 1974, Bobby Beaton took him in heat 13 which brought the house down, but he was great to watch. When he signed for Hull in 1978 it was a dream come true and it was like witnessing a speedway masterclass every week, happy days I spoke to him a few times but had a longish chat and had my foto taken with him when he returned to Hull for a book signing in 2010, fantastic nite. Have a very long and happy retirement Ivan & Rae and thanks for the memories.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gambo 1,341 Posted March 18, 2013 Ivan got a lot of stick from the British fans at Wembley in the 1969 World Final. Having already secured the title with 12 points from his four outings, he was 'beaten' by Soren Sjosten (his Belle Vue team-mate) in his last ride. Nigel Boocock had 10 points, and had Mauger relegated Sjosten to second place, Boocock and Sjosten would have had a run-off for third place along with Hasse Holmqvist. My mum wrote to Ivan after the event to remonstrate with him and Ivan went up in our estimation when he took the time, despite his busy schedule, to reply to her. (Wish we had kept the letter! ) And when he pointed out that Nigel would have probably done the same thing if it had been Booey and Rick France in that situation, we had to grudgingly agree. Although she doesn't go to Speedway much now, my wife's proudest memory is from Booey's Testimaonial, when she looked after Ivan's gold Speedway bike which was on display at Brandon. Have a long and happy retirement, Ivan. ATB Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pcthelegend 0 Posted March 18, 2013 Ivan was my first sporting hero. I was fortunate that when I first started going to Belle Vue was when Ivan rode there. To call him a legend doesn't really quite cover it. Enjoy your retirement Ivan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
