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Just noticed that there are seven swedes in the top twenty and three of them won the World Championship with one runner-up. Maybe it's the saunas that keep them fit and well.

I recall a mechanics' race being part of the end of season fun at Wimbledon. The time in the programme was shown as Hours ... Minutes ...

I only have to go down to Ray Wilson at number 34 to find a rider younger than I am - that's really scary!

I know how you feel. Oh, how I wish that speedway would return to New Cross but of course it's a forlorn hope. I was hoping that somebody would come up with the idea of building a speedway track around the football pitch when Millwall relocated (like Wembley in the old days) but I suspect that it would have been impractical.

It's surprising that Ivor Brown couldn't force his way into that team when we consider the success he had in later years with Cradley Heath.

Johnny Hoskins sometimes invited celebrity guests to appear during the interval at News Cross. I recall Nero and the Gladiators (a rock band of the 60's) being paraded around the track on the grader. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_and_the_Gladiators The team setting fire to Hoskins' trilby became a tradition which took place on the centre green during the interval to amuse the crowd. I assume that he eventually ran out of hats to wear.

The point I was making is that not necessarily on this forum, but generally it is only the winners of the official World Championship who get the recognition they deserve. Some of the names on that list come up when THE best rider ever is discussed (over to you Norbold). A combination of the suspension of world finals during World War Two and one tragic accident prevented these riders from having the opportunity to register a win in the official competition.

I was looking at the results of the Star Riders' Championship which was the forerunner of the official Speedway World Championship which was first held in 1936. - see below Some of speedway's best ever riders are featured and it's sad that the competition rarely gets a mention and that the winners don't enjoy the recognition they deserve. Year 1st 2nd 3rd 1929 (Overseas) Frank Arthur () beat Vic Huxley () 1929 (Britain) Roger Frogley () beat Jack Parker () 1930 Vic Huxley () beat Frank Arthur () 1931 Ray Tauser () Vic Huxley () Tommy Croombs () 1932 Eric Langton () Vic Huxley () Dicky Case () 1933 Tom Farndon () Ron Johnson () Bluey Wilkinson () 1934 Jack Parker () Eric Langton () Ginger Lees () 1935 Frank Charles () Jack Ormston () Max Grosskreutz (

So sad to hear that Gote Nordin is no longer with us. His name always seems to come up when we talk about the best riders never to win a World Final.

Very much part of the Belle Vue heat leader trio in the early 60's. He was also one of their three New Zealanders along with Ron Johnston and Bryce Subritsky.

Stefan Kwoczala was Polish champion in 1959 and seventh in the World Final the following year. He rode for Leicester that year but was only allowed one season of racing in Britain and returned to ride in the Polish domestic league in 1961. Sadly, he suffered serious head injuries in a track crash in May of that year which effectively ended his career. Who knows what he might otherwise have achieved.

Relying on my fading memory again but I seem to recall that a rider named Alf Wells rode for Edinburgh back in the 60's. Were they related?

P.S. I subsequently found this on a previous thread about the history of the Internationale, confirming that qualifying rounds were indeed held when the event was first held in 1961: "The New Cross meeting was a poor one for Timo Laine of Finland. Previous to the round at New Cross, he had been racing in Holland and somewhere along the way his bikes went missing and he had to ride on borrowed equipment - I think he used a bike belonging to Jim Chalkley (but not certain about that)."

Riders who excelled at long track have been mentioned in previous posts and one of these was Finnish rider, Timo Laine. As far as I can see, he never rode for a British speedway team but I seem to remember him riding at New Cross in a Speedway Internationale qualifying round in the early 60's - Norbold can probably confirm that. Laine won the gold medal at the European Longtrack Championship in the 1961 Individual Long Track European Championship. In addition, he won the Nordic Longtrack Championship three times (1964, 1965, 1966) and the Finish Longtrack Championship seven times (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1972).

I might not be old enough to have had the privilege of seeing the great Tom Farndon ride but anybody who stood on the terraces at New Cross in the 60's like I did would have spoken to many people who did. "Who was this Farndon bloke they keep on about," I asked myself, "was he that good?" Now I know, yes, he was that good! ."

Just picked up that the Swedish 1-2-3 from the 1961 world final are all on the list. Three great riders - long may it stay that way!

If not THE greatest.

I can t see Björn Knutson (born 27 April 1938) on that list. Is the ex-world champion no longer with us?

Yes, I think it was Les Owen who was the other rider involved in that crash. Ironically Owen later had a crash which left him paralysed down one side and with brain injuries and short term memory loss.

I was lucky enough to see Arne Pander ride when he was at his peak but he was never the same after he suffered that fractured skull in 1961. There is little doubt in my mind that he if he had remained injury free, he could have become world champion - yes, he was that good!

Ove Fundin had a beard that seem to appear and disappear just as quickly.

I'm open to correction but I think Norman Hunter finished top scorer for his team (Leicester) in his first year of league speedway. Quite an achievement !

American confusion regarding the Netherlands and Denmark?

Scotland Vs. Soviet Union?

When I saw "Scottish Pirates" I thought it might be a reference to Ross Gilbertson who once appeared for Scotland. When I approached him as he was going into the pits at New Cross and asked him if he had Scottish ancestry, he simply replied "och aye."