Notoriously Dirty Riders

[Reviresco 708]

Sean Wilson and Roman Matousek have been mentioned by a few people. Here's a clip of them enjoying each other's company:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkGzwOIiXqs

[22A 3]

Interesting list of names from across the years in this thread. I thought Emil Saifutdinov was at different times; aggressive (totally acceptable), and either foolish or dangerous by some of his riding and on other occasions actually "dirty".

[no-brakes-uk 76]

Off-topic slightly, Sudden Sam has cropped up on here. Was it my imagination, or did he have a habit of inexplicably falling off on the 3rd/4th bends all by himself? I've seen him do it more than once at both Brandon & Monmore.

I was a regular visitor at Wolves for a few years when Sam was there and he did have a habit of inexplicably sliding off all on his own. Never seen a rider of his calibre do that so often. That said, when he wasn't crashing he pulled off some amazing passes that defied belief. Never a dull meeting when Sam was racing. Edited January 20, 2016 by no-brakes-uk

[gee jay 234]

Sean Wilson and Roman Matousek have been mentioned by a few people. Here's a clip of them enjoying each other's company:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkGzwOIiXqs

it's the after meeting interview that's the best bit , when sean has cooled down NOT.

[Bagpuss 10,781]

A couple of absolute headcases.

[teddy2706 166]

 

It was definitely deliberate, I was there and saw it. However, it was well known tha Grahame was dirty on a weekly basis and would take riders to the fence on bend 1 of the race from the tapes. A friend and I used to discuss this and we thought that if he tried this on Alan Wilkinson he would come out the worst. So we we went to the Birmingham v Belle Vue match. Lo and behold Wilkinson wasn't involved because Grahame did it to Morton first who chased after him and took full retribution. I have to admit bias in my views, as a Wolves fan, Grahame was enemy number 1.

I cannot comment on the truth or otherwise of the Chris Morton incident, but I watched Alan at Cradley and he rarely went anywhere near the fence. That said, I remember Kenny Carter bleating on TV that Alan had banged into him hard to allow Andy to get away.

At Norden, as Egon Muller was taking the applause on a victory parade, I remember a broad East Anglian voice shouting "Send 'im to Ipswich, Donkey'll 'ave 'im!"

English fans around me were tittering and nodding at both the sentiment and reality of the statement.

Undoubtedly, the most dangerous rider I ever saw in the old BL was Gugliemi.

[xmas 19]

Tim hunt

Edited February 1, 2016 by xmas

[Ommer Mon 381]

Not dirty but best piece of fencing I ever saw was at Dudley Wood in the early '70s. Sandor Levai was guesting for Cradley against Swindon and either Clive Hitch or Mike Keen took him wide on the first bend. He gave chase and caught the 'offender' going in to the first bend, dived up the inside and took him all the way out to the fence before turning at the last second and leaving his opponent on his backside. It was almost poetry in slow motion.

 

I'll have to check the programme out to see who Sandor's 'victim' was. RIP Sandor. One of Speedways great characters.

[steve roberts 9,246]

Not dirty but best piece of fencing I ever saw was at Dudley Wood in the early '70s. Sandor Levai was guesting for Cradley against Swindon and either Clive Hitch or Mike Keen took him wide on the first bend. He gave chase and caught the 'offender' going in to the first bend, dived up the inside and took him all the way out to the fence before turning at the last second and leaving his opponent on his backside. It was almost poetry in slow motion.

 

I'll have to check the programme out to see who Sandor's 'victim' was. RIP Sandor. One of Speedways great characters.

Would have enjoyed watching Sandor in his prime...only saw him towards the back end of his career but apparently was a real character!

[E I Addio 15,845]

Not dirty but best piece of fencing I ever saw was at Dudley Wood in the early '70s. Sandor Levai was guesting for Cradley against Swindon and either Clive Hitch or Mike Keen took him wide on the first bend. He gave chase and caught the 'offender' going in to the first bend, dived up the inside and took him all the way out to the fence before turning at the last second and leaving his opponent on his backside. It was almost poetry in slow motion.

 

I'll have to check the programme out to see who Sandor's 'victim' was. RIP Sandor. One of Speedways great characters.

I don't think it would be for Sandor Levai to complain about other riders being dirty. He was one of the worst. Certainly not above getting inches in front of someone and snapping the throttle shut to have the man off. More than dirty he was downright dangerous at times.

[steve roberts 9,246]

it's the after meeting interview that's the best bit , when sean has cooled down NOT.

Yes he certainly didn't come across as the most articulate of characters!

[DubaiTiger 1]

bit of a theme going there North and Poole both have something in common with their modern counterparts Holder and Doyle . however the worst incident I have ever seen can be attributed to Carl Blackbird , causing a career ending and life threatening injury to Simon Green at Sheffield

I was there for that meeting as well. The stadium went totally quiet, everyone instantly knew it was terrible. I was 16 at the time so the memory may be not be that clear, but I seem to remember it was a hard race, neither giving way, and they locked together down the home straight, and into the first bend. I can still picture the lead up to it, but to be honest if it was a deliberate fencing I didn't pick it up at the time. Amazing that Simon lived after that, I remember the report saying that he recovered mostly because he was in great shape, a normal person would probably not have survived.

[remembertheracers 171]

Didnt he cause that horrific injury to Dave mullett at reading all those years ago?

 

Yes Compton certainly had him off. Also remember Carl Stonehewer kicking Anders Henriksson at Smallmead when Anders crashed and was on the ground.

 

But then also remember Bobby Schwartz and Steve Gresham not getting on at all during Gresh's one very poor season with the Racers.

[steve roberts 9,246]

Would have enjoyed watching Sandor in his prime...only saw him towards the back end of his career but apparently was a real character!

Remember reading in John Berry's 'Confessions' book that Sandor and Olle Nygren often 'put themselves about' to protect the younger and more inexperienced members of the recently 'promoted' Ipswich team of 1972. I recall that during a meeting at Sheffield (1972) certain Sheffield riders were giving some of the 'Witches' a rough time and that Olle stepped in and rode in a rather 'boisterous fashion' thus allowing a rare Ipswich win at Sheffield.

Edited February 4, 2016 by steve roberts

[van wolfswinkel 635]

Josh Auty's reckless move on Kenny Ingalls at Derwent Park in 2012 was one of the worst i've seen, Ingalls hasn't rode since.

 

There was also the incident when Auty was riding in the second half as a junior 15/16 year old and rode across the centre green into one of the start gate staff and broke his leg, i remember thinking he was uncontrollable then.

I was at that one...was sat in the main stand with a couple of hundred others when he smashed into the marshall. Got a right rollicking from Drury. Never liked the young sulky sod since then.