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Sidney the robin

Craven v Fundin

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Was doing some research on the head to head  record of Peter Craven and Ove Fundin    (ie ) the golden helmet (ect)  .Unfortunately never got to see Peter wondered if some of the older brigade on the forum have any special memories of there battles .Compared  to most Peter fared very well against the great Ove ( and  being a huge Briggo  fan it does touch a nerve )great man though and a great rider Ove.

Edited by Sidney the robin
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Being a New Cross supporter, I have to say that to me the biggest rivalry was between Ove and Briggo - which Ove always won - sorry Sidney!

I never saw a match race between Ove and Peter Craven, but, again, when I saw them in individual meetings, Ove nearly always came out on top. However, you are correct to say that it was Peter Craven who had the best record of any of the Big Five against Ove.

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1 hour ago, norbold said:

Being a New Cross supporter, I have to say that to me the biggest rivalry was between Ove and Briggo - which Ove always won - sorry Sidney!

I never saw a match race between Ove and Peter Craven, but, again, when I saw them in individual meetings, Ove nearly always came out on top. However, you are correct to say that it was Peter Craven who had the best record of any of the Big Five against Ove.

Thanks Norbold looking back Ove was pretty dominant over Barry but if Barry had of won it in 72 five a piece which in hindsight would of been  very harsh on Ove so no rose tinted glasses there !,

There rivalry in a way is similar to the Hans / Erik one where really Hans was the better rider but Erik had his number in certain events all four great riders Ronnie Moore is the interesting one if his career was different along with Bjorn who knows all for debate I suppose.

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Hi Sid

Peter Craven is one of my great Speedway heroes, and I, sadly, never got to see him race either.

My interest in Speedway started back in 1964 (Sunderland 'Saints') - less than a year after Peter's fatal accident in 1963.

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I think Ove had a lot of respect for Peter, more so then any others of the top 5. Whilst Peter was at BV I was a fan of him.  I only saw OF and PC race together at BV or Wembley world final. Peter was always a clean rider, a gentleman in general, and when they rode together I never saw Ove try anything dirty toward Peter.

Their match races at BV were always exciting and close, so very close at times, but total trust in each over, that was clear.

Such a shame the sport lost Peter whilst still youngish, a good few years at the top still in him. He was always a great sport, very approachable with fans, and ready to have a chat with them.

Of the two, Ove was the most consistent, you can see that just in his record in the world championship, that’s why he was called Mr Perpetual Motion.  Peter still ranks with me highly in the all time greats though.

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Further to my above post, Ove Fundin is a real nice guy. About 10 years ago I emailed him, didn’t get a reply for ages, getting on for a year maybe, then I got a reply and he apologised for being forgetful. He keeps himself busy, walking, cycling. 
I mentioned to him our family were very friendly with Bob Duckworth, BV rider late 50’s/60’s. I read Ove tried to keep in touch with riders but he hadn’t Bobs email, so I gave it him. He said he liked Bob, but perhaps he was too nice to be a top rider. And that was right, Bob was another gentleman, but to be top rider you have to be ruthless on the track. Bob wasn’t, Ove was, and that perhaps why Peter Craven, as good as he was, wasn’t quite in Oves league over his career.

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10 minutes ago, mickthemuppet said:

Going back  even further Freddie Williams met Peter Craven 18 times  and was successful in two-thirds of these races.

How old was Peter Craven in those 18 races?

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One rider I dearly would have liked to have seen was the late, great Peter Craven. To think that his track record at Cowley stood for nearly ten years and nobody got anywhere near it despite changes to bikes etc. Only a change in the track length warrented a new track record!

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19 hours ago, Sidney the robin said:

Was doing some research on the head to head  record of Peter Craven and Ove Fundin    (ie ) the golden helmet (ect)  .Unfortunately never got to see Peter wondered if some of the older brigade on the forum have any special memories of there battles .Compared  to most Peter fared very well against the great Ove ( and  being a huge Briggo  fan it does touch a nerve )great man though and a great rider Ove.

Great post Sid! I miss your speedway related subjects...something lacking on the BSF at the moment!

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Steve,  Maybe we all COVID tired.  I managed last summer very well as I got busy in the garden, but winter was long even though I have other interests to keep me occupied.

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17 hours ago, The White Knight said:

Hi Sid

Peter Craven is one of my great Speedway heroes, and I, sadly, never got to see him race either.

My interest in Speedway started back in 1964 (Sunderland 'Saints') - less than a year after Peter's fatal accident in 1963.

Hi WK hope you are well one of my biggest regrets is not getting to see Peter or Bjorn ride.My interest started in 68/69 both superb riders and in my humble opinion Peter is still England’s greatest  ever rider.

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1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

One rider I dearly would have liked to have seen was the late, great Peter Craven. To think that his track record at Cowley stood for nearly ten years and nobody got anywhere near it despite changes to bikes etc. Only a change in the track length warrented a new track record!

Why did Cowley get changed Steve? was that down to Jones/ Dunton/  Dugard ? or the Control board.

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33 minutes ago, Sidney the robin said:

Why did Cowley get changed Steve? was that down to Jones/ Dunton/  Dugard ? or the Control board.

That's a good question Sid? The track length was 354 yards, if I recall, when Peter achieved his never to be beaten track record of 63secs. It was shortened to 350 yards in 1973 (the reason I have no idea) and when Hans arrived in 1984 it was altered again when the entrances and exits of the bends were pulled in.

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I suppose a lot of how we remember the riders is coloured by our early recollections of them. As you know, my first two speedway years were at New Cross. Fundin was a master of the Frying Pan and was virtually unbeatable (except for that one unforgettable night when Split Waterman beat him three times!). Ronnie Moore was also a top man at New Cross. Whereas for some reason, Peter Craven and Briggo (even though he rode for New Cross in 1960) never seemed comfortable on the track and were definitely behind Fundin and Moore. I didn't see Bjorn Knutson much, but after New Cross closed I moved across to West Ham, where Bjorn was the no.1. He was class personified and almost unbeatable at Custom House. So, in my memory from early days, I always put Fundin, Moore and Knutson ahead of Craven and Briggo.

One other class rider I should mention is Jack Young. He was, of course, well past his best in the early 1960s but at the end of the 1961 season, he took part in two individual championships at New Cross - the King of the South Cup and the Tom Farndon Memorial Trophy. He won them both, beating every one of The Big Five in the process. I felt very privileged to see Youngie as he must have been at his peak in the early 1950s. For just those two meetings, he turned the Big Five into the Big Six - and he was the best!

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