The Greatest Seven riders ever

[Shoddy 1]

Interesting (if you're a sad statto) to add up the forum dream team! There is always a bias to more recent riders and many have listed the best they have seen rather than all time but it's a pretty good side!!!

 

Taking people's 7's - all time rather than best seen where there was more than one list - comes up with the following...

 

1. Tony Rickardsson - 22

2. Ivan Mauger - 20

3. Hans Nielsen - 17

4. Erik Gundersen - 12

5. Barry Briggs - 11

6. Bruce Penhall - 10

7. Ove Fundin & Ole Olsen - 9

 

Just behind with 7 are Carter, Craven, Jonsson and Moore (Ronnie rather than Andy)!!!

[norbold 7,110]

Interesting (if you're a sad statto) to add up the forum dream team! There is always a bias to more recent riders and many have listed the best they have seen rather than all time but it's a pretty good side!!!

 

Taking people's 7's - all time rather than best seen where there was more than one list - comes up with the following...

 

1. Tony Rickardsson - 22

2. Ivan Mauger - 20

3. Hans Nielsen - 17

4. Erik Gundersen - 12

5. Barry Briggs - 11

6. Bruce Penhall - 10

7. Ove Fundin & Ole Olsen - 9

 

Just behind with 7 are Carter, Craven, Jonsson and Moore (Ronnie rather than Andy)!!!

Thanks Shoddy, that's very interesting. However, as I said before:

 

I think we need two categories here:

 

1. Best of all time

 

2. Best I've actually seen

 

Otherwise it sems to suggest that there were no top class riders before about 1980.....

 

Apart from making that 1960 instead of 1980.

 

No Vic Duggan or Tom Farndon......

[Shoddy 1]

Or Vic Huxley - you'd think there were no good riders before the mid 30's!!!

[norbold 7,110]

Exactly. Where are Frank Arthur and Sprouts Elder, not to mention Maldwyn Jones...

[shazzybird 10]

What era are they Norbold (purely out of interest)

[norbold 7,110]

Frank Arthur and Sprouts Elder were at their best in the mid to late 20s.

 

Maldwyn Jones is the man who is said to have invented broadsiding in America in the early 20s, so I suppose, at the time, there could have been no doubt that he was the greatest speedway rider in the world as he was probably the only one!

[iris123 20,987]

When and where was the first speedway then?I thought Reg Fearman had tracked some meetings as far back as circa 1916 in Oz.Was always wondering how Americans were over here at the start though

[norbold 7,110]

The start of speedway is a minefield!

 

Johnnie Hoskins, of course, always claimed he started it at West Maitland in December 1923, but the Americans had a similar sport just after the first world war - 1919 and early 20s - only it was on longer half mile and mile tracks. There is a report of a similar sport in South Africa in 1909. The earliest reference to motor cycles racing round an oval track comes from Ipswich, where a meeting took place on the Portman Road ground on 2 July 1904 on grass.

 

Although Hoskins claimed he invented it there is evidence to suggest that, even in Australia, motor bikes were racing round oval circuits before 1923.

 

As I said above, the Americans, in the shape of Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck, are credited with inventing broadsiding well before the West Maitland meeting. Curiously though, in an article in a 1933 American motor cycle magazine, Sprouts Elder, an American, said that he visited Australia in the mid 20s and that was where he learnt the art of broadsiding.

 

When brakes came off the bikes is still the subject of research and is uncertain.

 

Like all these things, the sport evolved over a number of years from different beginnings. It is not as simple as saying Johnnie Hoskins invented it at West Maitland in 1923.

Edited July 6, 2004 by norbold

[iris123 20,987]

Well i thought Hoskins was only involved with West Maitland in a very minor role and can be discounted as having started speedway even there.Interesting about Elders,always thought there must have been some tour from one country to the other or someone took the idea back a bit like Wills here

[norbold 7,110]

I think you might be underestimating Hoskins role at West Maitland. As far as I know, it was his idea to organise motor bike racing as part of the entertainment. It's just that it wasn't the first time it had happened.

[Guest clivehitch]

Best i have seen ,60S/70S only

 

1.BRIGGO

2.FUNDIN

3.MAUGER

4.KNUTSSON

5.ASHBY

6.OLSEN

7.SQUIBBO

[Canadian Star 6]

BEST I HAVE SEEN 1968 PRESENT

 

1/ IVAN MAUGER

2/ HANS NIELSEN

3/ OLE OLSEN

4/ BRUCE PENHALL

5/ DENNIS SIGALOS

6/ MICHAEL LEE

7/ DAVE JESSUP

 

I'm talking here of performances at Kings Lynn mainly, Barry Briggs, Tony Rickardson,Ray Wilson, John Louis and Peter Collins would have been next on the list. I particularly mention Dennis Sigalos as prior to his ankle injury he went 21 races undefeated around Saddlebow Road in the early eighties.

[iris123 20,987]

BEST I HAVE SEEN 1968 PRESENT

 

1/ IVAN MAUGER

2/ HANS NIELSEN

3/ OLE OLSEN

4/ BRUCE PENHALL

5/ DENNIS SIGALOS

6/ MICHAEL LEE

7/ DAVE JESSUP

 

I'm talking here of performances at Kings Lynn mainly, Barry Briggs, Tony Rickardson,Ray Wilson, John Louis and Peter Collins would have been next on the list. I particularly mention Dennis Sigalos as prior to his ankle injury he went 21 races undefeated around Saddlebow Road in the early eighties.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not even a mention of Terry Betts in your back up list

[spin king 1,923]

My best ever seen in the flesh

 

 

(1) Ivan Mauger

(2) Bruce Penhall

(3) Hans Neilson

(3) Eric Gundersen

(4) Ole Olsen

(5) Peter Collins

(6) Michael Lee

(7) Shawn Moran.l

[HenryW 1,178]

Top 7 that I have seen :

 

1. Erik Gundersen

2. Bruce Penhall

3. Tomasz Gollob

4. Tony Rickardsson

5. Dennis Sigalos

6. Jan O Pedersen

7. Shawn Moran