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steve roberts

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15 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

I  dont  know who replaced Jim Chunky, but i presume it was Luckhurst or Clarke.??

Tony Clarke started in the !973 line up but only appeared in a handful of matches...think that was the year he was convicted for his involvement in the Russian stolen bikes at Wembley in 1972?

Edited by steve roberts

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5 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Tony Clarke started in the !973 line up but only appeared in a handful of matches...think that was the year he was convicted for his involvement in the Russian stolen bikes at Wembley in 1972?

Yes in 1972 remember the Dons had Stapleton, Cameron in the line up also Peter Murray  rode quite a bit.Was 1973 the year of the Swedish ban?? cant remember if Tommy Jansson missed some of that year because of that or if he to do his National service.?

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6 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

I  dont  know who replaced Jim Chunky, but i presume it was Luckhurst or Clarke.??

Well, we lost John Dews halfway through 1972, and then Mirac and Jim. Those three were replaced by Luckhurst, Clarke, and Harkins. So, you would probably figure that Reg was the closest to Jim as far as ability...

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46 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Yes in 1972 remember the Dons had Stapleton, Cameron in the line up also Peter Murray  rode quite a bit.Was 1973 the year of the Swedish ban?? cant remember if Tommy Jansson missed some of that year because of that or if he to do his National service.?

No, that was 74, and of course, that was when we got Briggo back.

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2 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

Yes in 1972 remember the Dons had Stapleton, Cameron in the line up also Peter Murray  rode quite a bit.Was 1973 the year of the Swedish ban?? cant remember if Tommy Jansson missed some of that year because of that or if he to do his National service.?

He did his National Service towards the back end of the season I recall...I think that in Sweden you were able to stagger your service?

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2 hours ago, chunky said:

Well, we lost John Dews halfway through 1972, and then Mirac and Jim. Those three were replaced by Luckhurst, Clarke, and Harkins. So, you would probably figure that Reg was the closest to Jim as far as ability...

One of my favourites was John Dews. He had difficulty adjusting to Cowley in 1973 (I believe Bob Dugard gave John and Tony Lomas special on track tuition and promptly broke an ankel?) but he became a dependable team member but never got on with White City when the "Rebels" moved in 1976 and retired.

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4 hours ago, chunky said:

Well, we lost John Dews halfway through 1972, and then Mirac and Jim. Those three were replaced by Luckhurst, Clarke, and Harkins. So, you would probably figure that Reg was the closest to Jim as far as ability...

 Luckhurst came in on a 6.51 average from his year at West Ham, but was a pale shadow of the rider the Dons fans were used to seeing.

On paper the 73 line-up looked very solid...but unfortunately they ride on shale instead!

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40 minutes ago, prodons said:

 Luckhurst came in on a 6.51 average from his year at West Ham, but was a pale shadow of the rider the Dons fans were used to seeing.

On paper the 73 line-up looked very solid...but unfortunately they ride on shale instead!

Remember, Reg didn't ride in 72, but his form had been on the slide since his last year at Plough Lane in 69.

Throw in the fact that Ronnie had gone, and Trevor had been really been struggling for a couple of years, I really didn't think it was that solid a team. It was really asking a lot of Bertola, Clarke, and Stape to really emerge as true heat-leaders, and of course, that never looked like happening.

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12 hours ago, chunky said:

Remember, Reg didn't ride in 72, but his form had been on the slide since his last year at Plough Lane in 69.

Throw in the fact that Ronnie had gone, and Trevor had been really been struggling for a couple of years, I really didn't think it was that solid a team. It was really asking a lot of Bertola, Clarke, and Stape to really emerge as true heat-leaders, and of course, that never looked like happening.

I thought that Graeme Stapleton may well have made that jump but, if I recall, didn't compete in Britain in 1975 & 76 helping to establish Ronnie Moore's Motor Cycle Business in NZ (after Ronnie's serious injury) He returned in 1977 but was a pale shadow before departing to Newcastle and doubling up with Hull on a couple of occasions including the all important 1979 Championship decider at Coventry...the title that Hull lost themselves due to non appearances of riders at certain tracks earlier in the season!

Edited by steve roberts

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18 hours ago, chunky said:

No, that was 74, and of course, that was when we got Briggo back.

Ah 1974  right,  remember Wimbledon trying to sign Christer/ Mike Bast nothing materialised in 1975 Christer ended up going to Ackney.Loftqvist has to be one of the most exciting riders i ever saw , see him break the Swindon track record in 1973 in a test match great rider lost him far to early.

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Sidney, I think Christer was allocated to Wimbledon in 1976 but they couldn’t agree terms. 

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1 hour ago, prodons said:

Sidney, I think Christer was allocated to Wimbledon in 1976 but they couldn’t agree terms. 

Yep...

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13 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

Ah 1974  right,  remember Wimbledon trying to sign Christer/ Mike Bast nothing materialised in 1975 Christer ended up going to Ackney.Loftqvist has to be one of the most exciting riders i ever saw , see him break the Swindon track record in 1973 in a test match great rider lost him far to early.

I didn't get to see much of Christer Lofqvist however I did witness him put in probably his best display during his short stay at Hackney (1975) against Oxford at Waterden Road when he scored 13 points.

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1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

I didn't get to see much of Christer Lofqvist however I did witness him put in probably his best display during his short stay at Hackney (1975) against Oxford at Waterden Road when he scored 13 points.

I was there for his British debut at Custom House in 1970. He looked good then!

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6 hours ago, chunky said:

I was there for his British debut at Custom House in 1970. He looked good then!

I always remember that he was possibly one ride away from winning the 1972 World Final at Wembley when he scored 11 points from four rides but failed to score a point in one of his heats and eventually finishing equal fourth overal with fellow debutant John Louis.

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