Super Trick!

[Steve Shovlar 10,453]

Well that was a stroll in the park for the world's best ever speedway rider. No one got a sniff from the guy tonight.

 

Class personified and a doddle for the champ!

[Grachan 7,370]

Looks like another good GP win for Trick, firmly establishing his position as the second greatest rider of all time. Tonight was all about one man though - World Number 3 (that's THREE), Leigh Adams. At last!

[shazzybird 10]

Number 2 son is still on the ceiling and doesn't look like he's going to come down for a while I'm sure I wasn't this bad at his age

[norbold 7,184]

Definitely an excellent win for the world's third or fourth or maybe fifth greatest ever rider.

[shazzybird 10]

All depends really Norbold on who's everyones favs but then the Mauger/Rickardsson one has already been discussed.

[norbold 7,184]

Exactly, Shazzy. That's the point I was trying to make.

[Bobbin' Along 5]

Definitely an excellent win for the world's third or fourth or maybe fifth greatest ever rider.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This sounds like it should be another thread - who is the best ever rider.

 

No doubt about it, Trick is the best rider bar none at the moment. I also think that winning a GP shows how consistent a rider has to be. In the old one-off world finals, you could have a rider who had been consistent during the year yet stuff it up on the night (Phil Crump springs to mind here). Trick has had to be at the top of his game all year- to start and finish the series with 7 ride maximums, and only drop 28 points over the whole year. Well, I'd would like to see if any of the other world champions of the past 50 years would be able to doit. Loram came close - didn't win a single GP all year but ended up as World Champion through consistency.

 

Don't get me wrong - Ivan Mauger was, without doubt, one of the greatest the world has ever seen (and coincidentally the answer to the only speedway question in the original Trivial Pursuit) but as to whether he'd be able to be that consistent over 9 rounds....

 

It was also nice to see TR didn't drop his game once he had won the title in August. It would have been easy to sit back and relax, but he just went for it.

 

Well done TR.

 

Now, let's see if Leigh can go 2 better next year!

[norbold 7,184]

The converse to that is that riders like Ove Fundin and Ivan Mauger might have won MORE World titles under the Grand Prix system as in their own time they were just as dominant as Trick and under the Grand Prix system wouldn't have lost out just by losing on one big night.

 

The fact of the matter is no-one will ever be able to say who is/was the best ever nor as every one will have their own ideas based mostly on who they have seen in their life.

[Steve Shovlar 10,453]

Rickardsson, Mauger, Fundin, they are all greatest of the great. just because Rickardsson rides in this generation doesn't make him a lesser rider than Mauger or Fundin.

 

In 20 years time when a new rider comes to dominate the same way, we will all be comparing again.

 

I was too young to watch Fundin. I certainly saw Mauger in his prime, and the guy was pretty awesome. But it must be remembered that in those days moving at the tapes was permitted, and also in league racing heat leaders had the choice of what gate they wanted to take, hence we had a dozen or so riders with 10+ averages.

 

If TRick makes it a seventh world title in 2006, and lets be honest there is no reason why he can't do it, unless a injury stops him, will you then admit the guy is best rider ever to ride a speedway bike?

[norbold 7,184]

I agree that in any discussion of the greatest ever you have to include Rickardsson. But really it's impossible to say. How many people would now include Vic Huxley in their greatest ever? And yet he dominated the sport in the late 20s and early 30s in the same way that Fundin, Mauger and Rickardsson did (do) in their time. But there are now very few people left alive who saw him in his prime.

 

"Greatest evers" are always skewed to recent riders because that's who people have seen. It's not to say they are wrong. Rickardsson might be the greatest ever. But how can you tell? Can anyone really be the greatest ever? Put Huxley, Fundin, Mauger, Rickardsson in a series of races together, assuming they could all start on equal terms with machinery, current techniques etc. and could you really say that one of them would consistently beat the others? Wouldn't they all win their fair share of races?

 

It's all good fun arguing over the respective merits of riders from different eras but it's a sterile argument in real terms.

[Subedei 0]

But it must be remembered that in those days moving at the tapes was permitted

 

The majority of Mauger's career - and certainly his great successes - was spent in the "free-for-all" at the tapes. Rickardsson's in the "stand still" at the tapes. So they both knew what was what. It's the likes of Gundersen and Neilsen who were most affected. The rules changed during their era. Anyway, I believe Mauger and TR would have adapted to whatever the rules were.

[Bobbin' Along 5]

The fact of the matter is no-one will ever be able to say who is/was the best ever nor as every one will have their own ideas based mostly on who they have seen in their life.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fair comment. I stand by what I said about TR being the best bar none at the moment tho'.

 

I came late to speedway, so consequently the only time I ever heard of Mauger was when he had that ridiculous clause in his contract saying he would only ride home matches for Exeter. My impression of him wasn't that great to be honest!