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Sidney the robin

Who is the Greatest ?

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16 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

My theory Gater is great riders would of adapted to any era Mauger was 20 years ahead of his time in my view.Immaculate aquipment a top of the range van when he turned up for a meeting he was 100 per cent focused on doing his best he took speedway away from the memory  of riders turning up only having one bike strapped on the back of there car.

Ove Fundin once told me he thought that Ivan Mauger was responsible for taking all the fun out of speedway!

Edited by norbold

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Just now, norbold said:

Ovew Fundin once told me he thought that Ivan Mauger was responsible for taking all the fun out of speedway!

There are quite a few riders who didn't exactly think it was a bundle of laughs riding on the same track as Fundin !

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2 minutes ago, norbold said:

Ove Fundin once told me he thought that Ivan Mauger was responsible for taking all the fun out of speedway!

Maybe you  are right norbold even today winning is everything for me it is all about being entertained the winning aspect means nothing to me.In yesteryear you often had riders who were at clubs for a number of years and the fans could relate to those riders.As examples Eric Boocock,Arnie Haley,Reg Wilson, Mike Broadbanks, Pete Smith, Nigel Boocock Terry Betts ,wouldn't it be great if that was happening in British speedway today instead of riders changing clubs every year.

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2 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

My theory Gater is great riders would of adapted to any era Mauger was 20 years ahead of his time in my view.Immaculate aquipment a top of the range van when he turned up for a meeting he was 100 per cent focused on doing his best he took speedway away from the memory  of riders turning up only having one bike strapped on the back of there car.

IMO he was the  biggest influence on the sport from any one  rider  he had it all and was the complete package ,no other rider has struck me like that although may have been exceptional riders in certain ways it was had to fault him in any department as it were.

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2 hours ago, norbold said:

Ove Fundin once told me he thought that Ivan Mauger was responsible for taking all the fun out of speedway!

It was always a pleasure for me to watch  a rider who performed at the highest  level  and made it look easy , he was making a living at one of the most dangerous sport in the world at the same time as well.

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To this day i still cant believe the conservative way Nielsen rode in the run off against Rickardsson in the 1994 run off. 

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3 hours ago, norbold said:

Ove Fundin once told me he thought that Ivan Mauger was responsible for taking all the fun out of speedway!

So, basically, only riders from Mauger onwards can really be considered for the greatest of all time as he upped the standard from what had gone before.

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8 minutes ago, Grachan said:

So, basically, only riders from Mauger onwards can really be considered for the greatest of all time as he upped the standard from what had gone before.

The only way to prove that, would be to transport him back to the days of Parker and Duggan, different tracks, different bikes etc. It can't be done so this isn't an exact science, whenever it starts and finishes.

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39 minutes ago, foamfence said:

The only way to prove that, would be to transport him back to the days of Parker and Duggan, different tracks, different bikes etc. It can't be done so this isn't an exact science, whenever it starts and finishes.

Possibly, but for me Fundin's comment says it all.

Put Mauger in any earlier area and, in my opinion, the same thing would have happened. He would have taken the sport to a new level and become dominant.

Greatest of all time, I reckon.

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13 minutes ago, Grachan said:

Possibly, but for me Fundin's comment says it all.

Put Mauger in any earlier area and, in my opinion, the same thing would have happened. He would have taken the sport to a new level and become dominant.

Greatest of all time, I reckon.

What exactly was Mauger doing that Ronnie Moore wasn't doing in principle 10 years earlier and or that Tommy Price wasn't doing before Moore even arrived here ? 

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2 hours ago, E I Addio said:

What exactly was Mauger doing that Ronnie Moore wasn't doing in principle 10 years earlier and or that Tommy Price wasn't doing before Moore even arrived here ? 

 

Winning 3 consecutive World titles and finishing on the rostrum 8 years running, for starters.

It's pretty well documented that he brought a new level of professionalism to the sport. Those 3 titles show, to me, that for a few years everyone was playing catch up.

I don't know much about the pre-Mauger years, but it is the comment from Ove Fundin that tells the story.

I reckon he would have done just that in whatever earlier era you put him in.

As for what exactly he was doing, I can't help with I'm afraid. Best ask the riders who had to do the same to try and keep up with him.

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3 hours ago, Gavan said:

To this day i still cant believe the conservative way Nielsen rode in the run off against Rickardsson in the 1994 run off. 

It's yonks since I've seen that race but what I remember is that Hans basically took the wrong line down the back (?) straight after exiting the bend and before he had a chance to correct himself Rickardsson zipped thru'.

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2 hours ago, Grachan said:

 

Winning 3 consecutive World titles and finishing on the rostrum 8 years running, for starters.

It's pretty well documented that he brought a new level of professionalism to the sport. Those 3 titles show, to me, that for a few years everyone was playing catch up.

I don't know much about the pre-Mauger years, but it is the comment from Ove Fundin that tells the story.

I reckon he would have done just that in whatever earlier era you put him in.

As for what exactly he was doing, I can't help with I'm afraid. Best ask the riders who had to do the same to try and keep up with him.

 

2 hours ago, Grachan said:

 

Finishing on the rostrum in 8 consecutive World Finals does not, of itself prove outstanding professionalism . Fundin had 12 or. 13 consecutive rostrum finishes and far more than Mauger  in total but  that is is not proof of greater professionalism.

Mauger didn't suddenly come along and drag a rough and ready sport out of the dark ages. He was part of an ongoing cycle of development. What Mauger did was to take ideas that were already developing and take them a stage futher, just as others took Maugers ideas and developed them further. 

Mauger was the best rider of his generation, assuming you class Briggs , Fundin and Moore in an earlier generation, and the top Danes in a later generation. I  dont think you can put it more precisely than that.

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42 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

oT

Finishing on the rostrum in 8 consecutive World Finals does not, of itself prove outstanding professionalism . Fundin had 12 or. 13 consecutive rostrum finishes and far more than Mauger  in total but  that is is not proof of greater professionalism.

Mauger didn't suddenly come along and drag a rough and ready sport out of the dark ages. He was part of an ongoing cycle of development. What Mauger did was to take ideas that were already developing and take them a stage futher, just as others took Maugers ideas and developed them further. 

Mauger was the best rider of his generation, assuming you class Briggs , Fundin and Moore in an earlier generation, and the top Danes in a later generation. I  dont think you can put it more precisely than that.

To me who has probably seen more Speedway riders than anybody else Ivan Mauger was the ultimate professional. He was simply great and all the other riders were playing catch up against him. That's why he was voted the Speedway rider of the millennium.  

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11 hours ago, Gavan said:

To this day i still cant believe the conservative way Nielsen rode in the run off against Rickardsson in the 1994 run off. 

I know it's off topic, but I'm interested to understand what you mean by that...Feel free to PM me if you don't want to carry on the chat on this thread.

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