Tsunami 10,219 Posted September 12, 2017 (edited) Regarding tape infringements. When I first started going to speedway as a wee lad in the late 1960's, it was common practice for riders to roll into the tapes in order to get a flyer. The great Ivan Mauger was a master at this. Except in the race off in 1973 in Poland. Edited September 12, 2017 by Tsunami Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackadder 280 Posted September 12, 2017 I wonder when and why Frank Ebdon gave up being a speedway referee? From memory, he retired from refereeing because of business reasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martinmauger 584 Posted September 12, 2017 Except in the race off in 1973 in Poland. Think the extremely varied starts that day were too much even for Ivan. Prob significant the the ref that day was the same as in charge of the 1972 World final at Wembley, George Transpurger. Both finals featured interesting starts, but think it was a bit 'off' that the ref spoke to Ivan just prior to the 1973 run off threatening to exclude him if he took his sweet time arriving at the tapes as in '72. Had had he showed a tad more patience he woud no doubt beaten Szczakiel as he was passing for fun on that day, especially round turns 1 & 2. That said Ivan himself recalled "he deserved to win because I fell off and he didn't !".... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tsunami 10,219 Posted September 12, 2017 Think the extremely varied starts that day were too much even for Ivan. Prob significant the the ref that day was the same as in charge of the 1972 World final at Wembley, George Transpurger. Both finals featured interesting starts, but think it was a bit 'off' that the ref spoke to Ivan just prior to the 1973 run off threatening to exclude him if he took his sweet time arriving at the tapes as in '72. Had had he showed a tad more patience he woud no doubt beaten Szczakiel as he was passing for fun on that day, especially round turns 1 & 2. That said Ivan himself recalled "he deserved to win because I fell off and he didn't !".... Interesting. Ivan said he had a book with details of all international refs, and knew their techniques in terms of holding the tapes. In the 1973 race off it counted for nothing as the ref was very early with the tapes and Ivan was left and fell trying to catch up. It is possible that the ref did it deliberately just to catch Ivan out. I think Ivan's answer is very diplomatic, and he would not want to sour Szczakiel success as it wasn't his fault that Ivan lost. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobMcCaffery 2,752 Posted September 12, 2017 I believe Frank's day job was as a restaurant owner. I expect people didn't have to wait long...... He was an absolute delight to work with, even though he banned me smoking in the box. If only I could have put him on the mic when he explained the reasoning behind his decisions. While supporters were baying for his blood his explanations were clear-cut and expert, but private. He was certainly one of the most intelligent men I've ever known to referee. Frank's early years as a supporter standing in the freezing cold explained his rapid use of the two minute warning, often while I was still reading out the result of the previous race. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midland Red 2,383 Posted September 12, 2017 This may help - http://www.directorstats.co.uk/director/frank-ebdon/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WembleyLion 413 Posted September 12, 2017 When arriving at a track and finding out Frank was in charge always made me feel we would get a well run meeting and rarely did Frank disappoint. It is a great shame that in all the years I have been going to Speedway he is one of the few refs who seemed to appreciate the benefits of a smooth running show. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E I Addio 15,845 Posted September 12, 2017 Interesting. Ivan said he had a book with details of all international refs, and knew their techniques in terms of holding the tapes. In the 1973 race off it counted for nothing as the ref was very early with the tapes and Ivan was left and fell trying to catch up. It is possible that the ref did it deliberately just to catch Ivan out. I think Ivan's answer is very diplomatic, and he would not want to sour Szczakiel success as it wasn't his fault that Ivan lost. More than just possible the ref did it deliberately. It's on YouTube. Mauger was at the tapes first , Szczakiel came up some several seconds after, stops a good 3 feet from the tapes for a fraction of a second then stars rolling and the ref just let the tapes go as he reached. Difficult to avoid the conclusion that it was a fix, but I suppose with 170,000 Poles in the Stadium almost ready to riot, there was only ever going to be one result. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barncooseboy 237 Posted September 16, 2017 I REMEMBER TELLING MATEJ ZAGER AT HIS FIRST FE MEETING DO NOT MOVE AT THE GATE, HE IS TOTALLY CONSISTENT, MOVE AND YOU W ILL BE OUT, BIG MATEJ GRIN AS HE CAME BACK INTO PITS HAVING MOVED. I WILL REMEMBER NOT TO MOVE IN FUTURE. I BELIEVE FRANK STOPPED HIS REFEREE CAREER DUE TO A DIGITAL MEDICAL PROBLEM, ONE OF THE NICEST PEOPLE IN SPEEDWAY. BELIEVE HIS PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH RECORD WAS 52 MINUTES. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
