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1 hour ago, 25yearfan said:

 

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Paul Hurry might just about eek out a 6 average and Crump will average under 8.

 

 

In Paul Hurry’s entire career he has finished almost every season on the injured list except  about twice. The chances are next season would be the same. He is already the bionic man, after the serious knocks he has had, and the wrong side of 40 now to be putting himself at more risk.

Edited by E I Addio
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Didn't El supremo have a sweet 16 list of available riders?  Time to dust it off I'd say.

I think Roynon must have been one of them but what about Doolan, Howe, Williamson, Mear, Birks, Complin, Frampton in addition to the previously mentioned.  Apologies if any are no longer with us.

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15 minutes ago, enotian said:

Didn't El supremo have a sweet 16 list of available riders?  Time to dust it off I'd say.

I think Roynon must have been one of them but what about Doolan, Howe, Williamson, Mear, Birks, Complin, Frampton in addition to the previously mentioned.  Apologies if any are no longer with us.

Doolan has moved back to Australia, Howe has said in many interviews there`s not a chance he would return, and Complin, have you seen the size of him lately.

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3 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

I also remember that in the early 80's. It was painful watching one of the top riders in the World at his peak, a colossus of the British league and in my opinion Halifax Dukes best ever rider scratching around at the back for a point or two. I think he averaged under 3 and had quit before the end of the season.

 

Leigh Lanhams right in not coming back cause he had a very good career, finishing cause he was on the wane and no one wanted him in the end.  If he came back he'd struggle to average 5.

 

Paul Hurry might just about eek out a 6 average and Crump will average under 8.

 

I remember reading something Ivan Mauger put in one of his books or an article where he said he was seriously considering a comeback on the Longtracks in the late 80's but backed away after consulting his son Kym who rightly said that you've got nothing to prove and you wouldn't be as good as before.

 

Hopefully the new plan for young Brits will result in more homegrown riders filling out teams and Britain becoming stronger on the International stage.

Good call by Ivan but I felt it was a mistake him riding for Exeter in 1984 when he was far from his best however he did it to help out a mate (Peter Oakes) who was desperate putting a team together on their elevation to Division One. Hans got it right but I felt that Sam Ermolenko went on too long personally.

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13 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Good call by Ivan but I felt it was a mistake him riding for Exeter in 1984 when he was far from his best however he did it to help out a mate (Peter Oakes) who was desperate putting a team together on their elevation to Division One. Hans got it right but I felt that Sam Ermolenko went on too long personally.

I've also read in some Ivan Mauger publication that originally Peter Oakes called on Ivan to help him find a number 1 for Exeters return to the British League in 84. Mauger talked to Larry Ross, then Scott Autrey without success after Oakes failed to persuade Bobby Schwartz to sign. Exeter purchased the British League license of the recently defunct Leicester which gave them Neil and Les Collins as assets both of whom refused to join the Falcons. Andy Grahame was another rider to turn down the Falcons. After all these dead ends Oakes turned to his old mate Mauger who initially wasn't interested but lucrative sponsorship packages, Exeter changing racenights to Fridays to suit Maugers continental schedule and persuading the BSPA to allow Ivan to ride in home meetings only twisted his arm.

In fairness to Mauger he still topped Exeters  averages with an 8+ average from 20 something meetings for Exeter in 1984 in the British League when nearly all the Worlds top riders were still riding over here although he was obviously was past his best. I'd reckon Ivan did very well out of the deal. Peter Oakes was the loser cause the move up was a financial disaster no doubt assisted by having a weak team and moving away from the traditional Monday racenight. Oakes not surprisingly left Exeter at the end of the disasterous campaign.

 

Nielsen always said he'd pack up before reaching 40, although I'm sure he could have gone on for another 3-4 years at the top level. He was still good enough to come 3rd in the World in his 1999 farewell season.

 

Ermolenko still has a go on odd occasions even now no doubt loving riding his bike and he was still decent when he finished with Peterborough in the mid 00's when he was in his mid 40's even if he was past his best!  

Edited by 25yearfan
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21 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

I've also read in some Ivan Mauger publication that originally Peter Oakes called on Ivan to help him find a number 1 for Exeters return to the British League in 84. Mauger talked to Larry Ross, then Scott Autrey without success after Oakes failed to persuade Bobby Schwartz to sign. Exeter purchased the British League license of the recently defunct Leicester which gave them Neil and Les Collins as assets both of whom refused to join the Falcons. Andy Grahame was another rider to turn down the Falcons. After all these dead ends Oakes turned to his old mate Mauger who initially wasn't interested but lucrative sponsorship packages, Exeter changing racenights to Fridays to suit Maugers continental schedule and persuading the BSPA to allow Ivan to ride in home meetings only twisted his arm.

In fairness to Mauger he still topped Exeters  averages with an 8+ average from 20 something meetings for Exeter in 1984 in the British League when nearly all the Worlds top riders were still riding over here although he was obviously was past his best. I'd reckon Ivan did very well out of the deal. Peter Oakes was the loser cause the move up was a financial disaster no doubt assisted by having a weak team and moving away from the traditional Monday racenight. Oakes not surprisingly left Exeter at the end of the disasterous campaign.

 

Nielsen always said he'd pack up before reaching 40, although I'm sure he could have gone on for another 3-4 years at the top level. He was still good enough to come 3rd in the World in his 1999 farewell season.

 

Ermolenko still has a go on odd occasions even now no doubt loving riding his bike and he was still decent when he finished with Peterborough in the mid 00's when he was in his mid 40's even if he was past his best!  

Fabulous for you to recount the full history of Exeter's last season with Oakes. Always wondered why Mauger would join Exeter with all the hurdles, after Belle Vue. 

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I saw Mauger ride twice in Exeter home meetings in 1984. He was decent and still very fast out of the starts!

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23 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

I've also read in some Ivan Mauger publication that originally Peter Oakes called on Ivan to help him find a number 1 for Exeters return to the British League in 84. Mauger talked to Larry Ross, then Scott Autrey without success after Oakes failed to persuade Bobby Schwartz to sign. Exeter purchased the British League license of the recently defunct Leicester which gave them Neil and Les Collins as assets both of whom refused to join the Falcons. Andy Grahame was another rider to turn down the Falcons. After all these dead ends Oakes turned to his old mate Mauger who initially wasn't interested but lucrative sponsorship packages, Exeter changing racenights to Fridays to suit Maugers continental schedule and persuading the BSPA to allow Ivan to ride in home meetings only twisted his arm.

In fairness to Mauger he still topped Exeters  averages with an 8+ average from 20 something meetings for Exeter in 1984 in the British League when nearly all the Worlds top riders were still riding over here although he was obviously was past his best. I'd reckon Ivan did very well out of the deal. Peter Oakes was the loser cause the move up was a financial disaster no doubt assisted by having a weak team and moving away from the traditional Monday racenight. Oakes not surprisingly left Exeter at the end of the disasterous campaign.

 

Nielsen always said he'd pack up before reaching 40, although I'm sure he could have gone on for another 3-4 years at the top level. He was still good enough to come 3rd in the World in his 1999 farewell season.

 

Ermolenko still has a go on odd occasions even now no doubt loving riding his bike and he was still decent when he finished with Peterborough in the mid 00's when he was in his mid 40's even if he was past his best!  

Two comeback stories...both Exeter related...

We had a family holiday in Devon in 1984 and we headed along to the County Ground to see Mauger and the rest of the Falcons against Eastbourne. Granted Mauger wasn't at his best, but he got the better of Schwartz, it was brilliant to see one of the greatest on one of his famed stomping grounds and still able to race a bit. Without him, the night would have been a much poorer experience.

Forward 10 years and now living in Devon. My all-time favourite Chris Morton visited with Sheffield on his mini-comeback. Of course, he was nowhere near the rider he had been. But he won a race..something I thought I'd never see again. Loved it!

I think as fans, we can get a bit hung up on riders going on too long, being past their best and somehow tarnishing their reputation. But if they still enjoy it, the fans enjoy seeing them and they don't hurt themselves....why not? It doesn't remove the great careers they have behind them. 

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1 hour ago, cityrebel said:

I saw Mauger ride twice in Exeter home meetings in 1984. He was decent and still very fast out of the starts!

I saw Ivan once that season at the County Ground and he ran a last in his first race if I recall. Personally I was sad to see that he was only a shadow of his former self having seen him at his best.

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9 hours ago, falcace said:

Two comeback stories...both Exeter related...

We had a family holiday in Devon in 1984 and we headed along to the County Ground to see Mauger and the rest of the Falcons against Eastbourne. Granted Mauger wasn't at his best, but he got the better of Schwartz, it was brilliant to see one of the greatest on one of his famed stomping grounds and still able to race a bit. Without him, the night would have been a much poorer experience.

Forward 10 years and now living in Devon. My all-time favourite Chris Morton visited with Sheffield on his mini-comeback. Of course, he was nowhere near the rider he had been. But he won a race..something I thought I'd never see again. Loved it!

I think as fans, we can get a bit hung up on riders going on too long, being past their best and somehow tarnishing their reputation. But if they still enjoy it, the fans enjoy seeing them and they don't hurt themselves....why not? It doesn't remove the great careers they have behind them. 

Yes I can equate with much of that but I did find it sad seeing riders like Martin Ashby, Chris Pusey, Arnold Haley etc etc struggling to find anything like their former form having seen them in their prime but that's a personal view. I did however enjoy watching past riders competing in Barry Briggs' "Golden Greats Meetings" but that was a whole different scenario.

Edited by steve roberts

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Chris pusey rode for the comets early season very overweight red as a beetroot after the race sad to see and thankfully didnt last long.on the plus side terry kelly had his best year as a comet.

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18 minutes ago, geoff100 said:

Chris pusey rode for the comets early season very overweight red as a beetroot after the race sad to see and thankfully didnt last long.on the plus side terry kelly had his best year as a comet.

Chris did put in a decent performance at Cowley when he rode for Weymouth but beyond that he tended to struggle.

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On 2/7/2021 at 7:00 PM, 25yearfan said:

I also remember that in the early 80's. It was painful watching one of the top riders in the World at his peak, a colossus of the British league and in my opinion Halifax Dukes best ever rider scratching around at the back for a point or two. I think he averaged under 3 and had quit before the end of the season.

 

Leigh Lanhams right in not coming back cause he had a very good career, finishing cause he was on the wane and no one wanted him in the end.  If he came back he'd struggle to average 5.

 

Paul Hurry might just about eek out a 6 average and Crump will average under 8.

 

I remember reading something Ivan Mauger put in one of his books or an article where he said he was seriously considering a comeback on the Longtracks in the late 80's but backed away after consulting his son Kym who rightly said that you've got nothing to prove and you wouldn't be as good as before.

 

Hopefully the new plan for young Brits will result in more homegrown riders filling out teams and Britain becoming stronger on the International stage.

Hurry will be doing very well to get anywhere near a 6 average IMO.

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Mauger while past his best still attained an 8+ average in 1984 and remember he only did it for mainly financial gain and everything was done on his terms, so it was mission achieved from his point of view. The big reason given for not riding in the away games was cause he had business commitments and racing commitments on the continent but I'm sure a big untold reason was that Ivan knew if he rode away meetings as well his average would of probably struggled to reach 6. - He'd only partially retired anyway so he could do it without disgracing himself, especially on his old stomping ground the notoriously home advantaged County Ground!

 

The likes of Chris Pusey and Eric Boocock cameback after lengthy spells out, in Boococks case 9 seasons so they were always going to find it difficult. Puseys was especially sad cause he couldn't adjust to life after speedway so thought he could make a comeback in a poor physical shape with an alcohol problem in what he thought would be a less competitive 2nd Division.

 

One must remember that nearly all riders start racing cause they love the thrill of it so its to be expected that some like to continue racing some sort of motorcycle sport just cause they love it. I've watched ex Rayleigh rider terry Stone have races on his vintage bikes!. 

 

   

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5 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Hurry will be doing very well to get anywhere near a 6 average IMO.

I think your right and I did say might although if he gets out of the gate at Kent I'm sure he will be difficult to pass on a track thats not condusive to overtaking.

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