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Sidney the robin

In what order would you place these Aussie greats???

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7 hours ago, gustix said:

I think this question is addressed to me. My answer is no. I stopped watching speedway as it should be raced in the 1950s!!!

Ok. But you are quoted as saying you worked for speedway mail from 1972-1984. I'm just wondering how you never saw Phil Crump or Billy Sanders race? Or how you are unable to recognise Ivan Mauger? 

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5 hours ago, chunky said:

Speedway was still racing "as it should be raced" in the 60's and 70's at least. Let's not forget that the GP in Wroclaw as last year was perhaps the greatest speedway meeting of all time.

The racing in GPs and SWC in the 2010s is the best I've seen in my nearly 40 years watching. And similarly as good or better than anything captured by tv cameras from earlier years.

Proper race tracks, world class fields, a format in which every point counts and suspect that air fences make riders more willing to make aggressive moves round the outside. 

Frankly to indicate that today's speedway is not "speedway as it should be raced" is snobbery and closed-mindedness of the highest order.

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6 minutes ago, waiheke1 said:

Ok. But you are quoted as saying you worked for speedway mail from 1972-1984. I'm just wondering how you never saw Phil Crump or Billy Sanders race? Or how you are unable to recognise Ivan Mauger? 

I was only doing page make-up on a casual basis at Speedway Mail. At the same time I was working full-time for a twice weekly London newspaper. I had no need to attend any speedway meetings on behalf of Speedway Mail. Can you explain your Ivan Mauger comment please.

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5 minutes ago, gustix said:

I was only doing page make-up on a casual basis at Speedway Mail. At the same time I was working full-time for a twice weekly London newspaper. I had no need to attend any speedway meetings on behalf of Speedway Mail. Can you explain your Ivan Mauger comment please.

On the Wimbledon thread, there is a photo of several riders who you claimed not to be able to identify. Amongst them Ivan Mauger, Ronnie Moore...

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7 minutes ago, gustix said:

I was only doing page make-up on a casual basis at Speedway Mail. At the same time I was working full-time for a twice weekly London newspaper. I had no need to attend any speedway meetings on behalf of Speedway Mail. Can you explain your Ivan Mauger comment please.

But you described yourself as "freelance writer and sub editor". Out of interest, how do you freelance write on a sport without watching it?

And how was the 1981 world final was your favourite "after 36 years of watching speedway" if actually you didn't watch speedway at that time? 

 

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26 minutes ago, waiheke1 said:

But you described yourself as "freelance writer and sub editor". Out of interest, how do you freelance write on a sport without watching it?

And how was the 1981 world final was your favourite "after 36 years of watching speedway" if actually you didn't watch speedway at that time? 

 

My freelance writing was about the era when I attended speedway in the 1940s and 1950s, plus historical happenings searched from various sources.

As a freelance writer my efforts were midget car racing, stock car (aka oval motorsport). Again most of from research through various sources, books, magazines.

The 1981 world final came about because they had a spare ticket at Speedway Mail. My claim to how long I had watched speedway was on the fact I first saw the sport live at NewCross in April 1946.

Most of my actual speedway watching was between 1954 and 1961 when I worked at Speedway Star.

And if you are interested I like stock car racing because f the various racing formulas it has. And my interest there goes back to attending the first UK stock car meeting at New Cross on Good Friday. An interesting coincidence as I have mentioned it was also at New Cross (some eight years previously) that I first saw a speedway race. And a further coincidence I last speedway Wimbledon in 2005 and last saw car action at the same stadium in 2017..

Edited by Guest

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17 hours ago, chunky said:

Speedway was still racing "as it should be raced" in the 60's and 70's at least. Let's not forget that the GP in Wroclaw as last year was perhaps the greatest speedway meeting of all time.

Not even sure what that is supposed to mean. There was always differences, pretty much from the start. I mean when speedway started off in the UK, it wasn't the same as how the Aussies had been racing in their homeland. The tracks were generally smaller and I think the surface was different. When the Aussie riders went to California for instance in the 1930s the tracks were also different to Australia or the UK. They noted it took some getting used to the clay surface....

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4 hours ago, iris123 said:

Not even sure what that is supposed to mean. There was always differences, pretty much from the start. I mean when speedway started off in the UK, it wasn't the same as how the Aussies had been racing in their homeland. The tracks were generally smaller and I think the surface was different. When the Aussie riders went to California for instance in the 1930s the tracks were also different to Australia or the UK. They noted it took some getting used to the clay surface....

The main reason for me saying what I did was that speedway is "dirt-track" racing, and the sport suffered when we started to lose the dirt. You do make a great point, though. I have often said on here that one thing I miss (in Britain, at least), is the variety of tracks. We used to have tracks of vastly different size, shape, and surface. Now tracks seem to be built to a "standard".

What I am trying to work out is that John rattles on about his lifelong "involvement" in speedway, yet basically, it seems that he enjoyed it for about 10 years, and (when it "changed" in the 50's), HASN'T been interested for some 60 years!

I don't like to harp on about it (actually, I do), but I am still trying to work out how someone "in" the sport doesn't recognise Plechanov, Moore, or Mauger... You don't have to physically attend speedway and watch racing to be able to identify legends like that. I've never been to an F1 race, but I recognise Jackie Stewart...

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1 hour ago, chunky said:

The main reason for me saying what I did was that speedway is "dirt-track" racing, and the sport suffered when we started to lose the dirt. You do make a great point, though. I have often said on here that one thing I miss (in Britain, at least), is the variety of tracks. We used to have tracks of vastly different size, shape, and surface. Now tracks seem to be built to a "standard".

What I am trying to work out is that John rattles on about his lifelong "involvement" in speedway, yet basically, it seems that he enjoyed it for about 10 years, and (when it "changed" in the 50's), HASN'T been interested for some 60 years!

I don't like to harp on about it (actually, I do), but I am still trying to work out how someone "in" the sport doesn't recognise Plechanov, Moore, or Mauger... You don't have to physically attend speedway and watch racing to be able to identify legends like that. I've never been to an F1 race, but I recognise Jackie Stewart...

Couldn't agree more! To me that was the enjoyable experience visiting tracks in all their differing shapes, sizes and quirks!

Edited by steve roberts

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On 5/16/2020 at 7:06 AM, steve roberts said:

Was never a fan of Rickardsson personally. He certainly let Oxford down when signed on a short-term contract I recall. Always suspected  his loyalties to any one club and his team-riding abilities were questionable but that's the same for many riders to be honest.

He was signed to ride on a six-week contract, but Aaron Lanney cut it to four weeks and brought in Todd Wiltshire a couple of weeks earlier, because our team spirit was non-existent while Rickardsson was in the team.

We only won one meeting under Rickardsson - when he deemed to finally show everyone his capabilities in a home match against Reading. Todd was a 7.50 rider in 2006, but brought together the side as a team and still had his uncanny habit of going out and getting the points when we really needed him to.  We were woefully weak in 2006 - it was Todd who saved us from the wooden spoon.

I'd quite liked Rickardsson up until the point he signed for us, but lost a lot of respect for him. Mind you, I don't think he cared what any of the fans thought, he was just in it for himself.

On the other hand, Todd further cemented his place as a club legend.

Edited by lucifer sam
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On 5/10/2020 at 10:09 AM, steve roberts said:

I obviously saw a lot of Todd when he returned to Britain (after a year in Germany) and signed for "The Cheetahs" in 1998. I know that I'll upset Rob but I was never a great fan of Todd at Cowley...seemed just the one pace type of rider. Okay when he gated but easily picked off on occasions. I know that he was hero worshipped at Wimbledon and later at Reading but perhaps the bad injury he picked up which forced his premature retirement changed his outlook on his comeback? Just my opinion on observations based as a "Cheetah".

Steve, just caught up on this one ;) 

Yes, I was a fan. I think Todd was riding in a measured way for us, because he knew how much speedway could hurt, but at the same time we had his complete commitment. If we needed someone to beat Adams and Crump in Heat 15 to defeat King's Lynn, or hold out Rickardsson for the whole race in the year of the six-lap Heat 15, then Todd was the man.

It's quite remarkable when you consider he had five years out of the sport, then returned in Germany in 1997 and the UK in 1998 and was the World No 8 by 2000!  It makes you wonder what he would have achieved but for the injury - as he pointed out, he was ahead of Rickardsson, Hancock and Hamill, then found himself missing five years and playing catch-up.

He was Oxford No 1 in 1999 and 2000, won numerous last-heat deciders which seemed to be his speciality, helped us win the league title in 2001 (ironically his weakest year for us, but again performed when we really needed him to), and then his return to the club in 2003 and 2006 simply cemented his status. And while he did set everything up to pop out the start and then control the race from there, he did show that he was more than a gater - wasn't there a 18-point-maximum against Peterborough where half of it was scored from behind? 

Todd is the one top rider we managed to keep hold of for more than a year or two (or 2.5 years in the case of Hancock) in the later days of Oxford.  Plus he was good for team spirit and he's a nice guy.

Edited by lucifer sam
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53 minutes ago, lucifer sam said:

Steve, just caught up on this one ;) 

Yes, I was a fan. I think Todd was riding in a measured way for us, because he knew how much speedway could hurt, but at the same time we had his complete commitment. If we needed someone to beat Adams and Crump in Heat 15 to defeat King's Lynn, or hold out Rickardsson for the whole race in the year of the six-lap Heat 15, then Todd was the man.

It's quite remarkable when you consider he had five years out of the sport, then returned in Germany in 1997 and the UK in 1998 and was the World No 8 by 2000!  It makes you wonder what he would have achieved but for the injury - as he pointed out, he was ahead of Rickardsson, Hancock and Hamill, then found himself missing five years and playing catch-up.

He was Oxford No 1 in 1999 and 2000, won numerous last-heat deciders which seemed to be his speciality, helped us win the league title in 2001 (ironically his weakest year for us, but again performed when we really needed him to), and then his return to the club in 2003 and 2006 simply cemented his status. And while he did set everything up to pop out the start and then control the race from there, he did show that he was more than a gater - wasn't there a 18-point-maximum against Peterborough where half of it was scored from behind? 

Todd is the one top rider we managed to keep hold of for more than a year or two (or 2.5 years in the case of Hancock) in the later days of Oxford.  Plus he was good for team spirit and he's a nice guy.

Fair comments Rob!

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On Todd’s comeback meeting in his first ride I remember there was a crash on the pits bend and Crump who was his teammate at the time punched him when he got up of the floor. Crump then said he was injuand pulled out of the meeting.

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2 minutes ago, Tim G said:

On Todd’s comeback meeting in his first ride I remember there was a crash on the pits bend and Crump who was his teammate at the time punched him when he got up of the floor. Crump then said he was injuand pulled out of the meeting.

I lost a lot of respect for Jason after that incident (wasn't even Todd's fault!) but I later re-gained it when he matured both as a rider and a person. A good ambassodor I felt towards the sport.

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