TigerTom

Congratulations to Nick Fafard on his 2005 Championship win. Report from the Canadian speedway Racing Association. NICK FAFARD IS THE NEW CANADIAN CHAMPION With Kyle Legault racing professionally in the UK and unable to defend his title, it meant that at the end of the night there would be a new Canadian Champion. The big question was whether either of the past champions, John Kehoe and Jeff Orosz, could win another title or would a new name be added to the trophy. By the end of the night a new name was added to the list of champions as Nick Fafard rose to the occasion, got stronger as the meeting progressed and finished a comfortable winner. Afterwards, a very happy Fafard explained why being the first rider from Quebec to become the National champion meant so much to him. Not only was it a personal triumph but he felt that his win was also a tribute to all the good riders from that province that had tried so hard for many years to win the title. Quite a night for this young man whose parents were on hand to see him win. With the event also being a round of the Blendzall sponsored East Coast Speedway series, it attracted a strong contingent of American riders. The result was not only the largest field of riders (28) for several years but one that was also deeper in quality riders than last year. Add in perfect track conditions and the stage was set for a great night’s racing and the large crowd was certainly not disappointed. Despite the riders being seeded in the first round there was plenty of entertaining racing in it. Drew Kehoe got things going right from the start when he led Aaron Hesmer for a lap before having to settle for second. Then Rob Dixon provided the first highlight of the night when he dented the hopes of one of the pre-meeting favorites, Jeremy Parsons, by coming from behind to take a very impressive win. Nick Fafard won the next heat that had a dramatic finish when Merle Craven went wide on the final turn and just managed to hold off a final burst from Joe Heye by half a wheel. More action in the next race as Alex Heath fell and John Bennett paid a visit to the hay bales while avoiding him. On the restart Heath caught the eye with a third place finish from the penalty line while Jeff Orosz ended the round with a win from a hard charging Adam Mittl. The best race in the second round saw the second place finishers battling one another to stay in contention for a chance at the title. Parsons grabbed the early lead from Brian Hollenbeck with Mittl in third but it was Mittl who was ahead at the flag as he first powered around Hollenbeck and then a lap later switched to the inside line to pass Parsons with a fine effort. The first two turns were critical in the ‘Top Scorers’ race with Orosz getting the lead from Fafard, John Kehoe, Hesmer and Dixon. Four fast laps later that was also the finishing order and local favorite Orosz had the early points lead. Round three saw 15-year-old visitor Katalin Davis delight the crowd by beating the boys fair and square in her race. Then it was Hesmer and Dixon finishing 1-2 to get back into the ‘Top Scorers’ race in the next round, although for the second time Heye supplied the excitement as he almost caught up to Dixon as they crossed the line. The fast guys then served up another cracker. This time it was Mittl who emerged from turn two with the lead which he maintained all the way to the flag to establish his credentials as a possible winner. Behind him the other four were bunched close together for all four laps but there were no changes in the order and Kehoe took second from Fafard, Parsons and Orosz who simply couldn’t find any space to move up. So half-way through the meeting only two points separated the top five with Mittl, Kehoe and Fafard on 15, Orosz on 14 and Hesmer on 13. With the pressure now on for a top ten finish, Merle Craven won his heat to clinch his spot. The remaining three contenders were out in the next heat and Heye was the unfortunate one not to make it as he slid out and down while chasing Orosz. An unfortunate end to a night in which he deserved a better result for his determined efforts. That race also ended Orosz’s title challenge as he could do no better than third behind Parsons and Hollenbeck. In the ‘Top Scorers’ race Hesmer had the lead for the first lap but Fafard showed impressive speed as he drove around him in the second lap and increased his lead as the race went on. Behind him Hesmer held onto second ahead of Kehoe and Dixon while Mittl ‘s challenge faded as his bike was misfiring. This meant that it was now a three man race for the title with Fafard two ahead of Kehoe and Hesmer a point further back. In the first semi Parsons had his best race of the night and led it from start to finish. Behind him Hesmer went wide on turn four in the second lap and dropped back from second to fourth but charged back to first pass Dixon and then power his around the final two turns to overtake Kehoe for a vital second place. In the next semi it was Orosz who won the charge to the first turn and had the lead before Fafard again showed that extra speed by going around him on the second lap to take the win with Mittl finishing third. That effort all but clinched the title for Fafard as it gave him a four-point lead over both Kehoe and Hesmer with only one race to go. Behind them Orosz, Parsons and Mittl were tied on points so a run-off was needed to decide the remaining two places in the final. With the pressure on the riders moved into the tapes before they went up. Although Parsons argued strongly that he was not at fault and was drawn into the tapes after Orosz moved, the referees decided that both Orosz and Parsons had to go to the penalty line. From there Orosz got the better of the restart and eventually caught and passed Mittl but Parsons was eliminated. Although Fafard only needed a fourth place finish to take the title he didn’t settle for this. Instead he confirmed that he was indeed the best rider on the night by powering his way past first Orosz and then Hesmer to take another convincing win. Orosz then got past Hesmer to finish second while Kehoe had a good scrap with Mittl before finishing fourth. So in the end Fafard was champion and Hesmer’s strong performance in the second half of the program earned a second place finish while Orosz just edged out Kehoe for third via the tiebreaker route. Adam Mittl’s fifth place was particularly impressive as thi s was his first time on the Welland track and combined with his victory at St-Alex confirmed his place as one of the rising stars south of the border. Although Jeremy Parsons didn’t quite match his performance last year he came close to reaching the final for the second year in a row and provided plenty of entertainment. Other Americans to catch the eye included Alex Heath, two falls and a win in his first three heats, Katalin Davis who rode well and would have had a second win but for an engine failure and Merle Craven who was much improved from his previous visit. Amongst the Canadians Rob Dixon has improved steadily year by year and is now firmly established as one of the top riders on large tracks and can beat the best of them in any race. I doubt if Joe Heye has ever contributed so much entertainment to a meeting with so little reward for his efforts. Hopefully the fates will be much kinder to him next year. Despite it being his first outing of the year, veteran Fred Legault is another who could have made the semis were it not for an engine failure that cost him the points he needed while John Perry will likely be pleased with his performance that included a couple of wins. RESULTS: NICK FAFARD 34, AARON HESMER 28, JEFF OROSZ 27, JOHN KEHOE 27, ADAM MITTL 24, JEREMY PARSONS 22, ROB DIXON 18, MERLE CRAVEN 12, MARC GAUTHIER 12, BRIAN HOLLENBECK 11, JOE HEYE 9, DREW KEHOE 9, FRED LEGAULT 8, JOHN PERRY 7, STEVE GLASGOW 6, PHIL SMALL 5, ALEX HEATH 5, SHAWN MORRISON 5, CHRIS HOUTBY 4, KATALIN DAVIS 2, JOHN BENNETT 2, MARK ENGEL 1, DOUG BEAUMONT 1, TIM MURRAY 1, MARK PRIEBE 0, ANDY CRAWFORD 0, BOB MOSQUERA 0, ALAN CHISHOLM 0.

Over here in Canada we sometimes have 6 lap 6 rider races on a small 180 yard track! While the racing is fast and furious I see all kinds of riders creeping as there is only one gate. The speed at which rthe back markers hit the first corner is faster than the ones off the gate and luckily non of the front markers have fell off in turn one which would be my worst nightmare!... As for the fans they love it .... The riders, well as expected not as keen although most do it. The risk for injury is much higher but so far so good. I think it breaks the monotony for the fans who only get solo racing here. Tom..

To keep costs down the home team could supply a couple of riders for both teams to use as requried. The two reserves would be named and used on a first come first served basis. It wasnt unheard of in the old days for an away team to use a local lad as one of their riders had broken down enroute! Obviously the two reserve riders in the wings are considered inferior to any of the home team riders or they would be riding for the home team. I'm sure lots of riders would be at the meetings anyway in the hope of getting out on the track after the meeting. Just a thought! Tom Marriott

Jez, that's how they get confident!....They don't hold practice Sundays on the big track anymore so this is the only way they get to ride the big track! Going from the trasining track to the big Owlerton bowl would be quite a shock to some of these young lads! (It seems to be a shock to some away team heat leaders! LOL) They are all trying but some will just not have what it takes but they are all living the dream. Give them all the incouragement you can muster. TigerTom

I remember going to a practice at Belle Vue in 1970 just after I bought my first speedway bike. The olnly qualification you needed was to have enough money to pay and be abler to line up your bike in rows of 4!! It was winter and very sunny (first time I saw the sun in Manchester I believe!) Part of the stadium was in shadow and covered with some snow the sunny part was mud! Off I went went with the other three. my most humble rememberance was having to bring on the throttle again to get to the bend! It seemed huge. I enjoyed many race days but non as a rider as I was adept at one thing only. Being able to fall off at the drop of a hat (actualy there was never a hat!) Looking back in my memory it looked so big in my minds eye! Have to say though my favorite was Halifax. There most Saturdaysme and a lot of others showed up with the bike in the trunk and off we went after the meeting! Now 35 years later and living in Canada I still own a speedway bike (no not a jap but a tried and true Weslake) and I can still drop it at the drop of the non existant hat! I have many memories of the old palce at Hyde Road and like many others it has sucommed to the almighty dollar! (or in your case thew almighty pound!) surely they can build houses and Azda's somewhere else! We have a nice little speedway track here at paris Ontario and now we have houses built adjacent to the track. Every house owner was advised in their home owners agreement that a fairground existed but once these morons move in they want the speedway out!...Why because of the noise they were told about before they bough the house. Now we are safe for a while but heaven help us if we tried to relocate or change the size of the track because then we would need to go to council for approval! Reminds me of the idiots who buy near an airport and then want restrictions on the airport so they can increase the hous values! Enough of the rant. Keep supporting your home track because you never know when you may loose it!

Sadly Toffeeman the search for the holy grail programme had a sad ending due to internet server problems! At least we know it exists now although like many dreams it is a little jaded as it has the run of the mill from cover. So where are the other several thousands that were never used!!!!??????

Don't worry neither did I untill I dug out the old programme! ...we used to go to Hyde Road from Sheffield. It always seemed to be raining hard and even though we could not see the road ahead we always went to the track with the god given belief the meeting would be on. Oh well, you had to have faith. Also went for the stock cars the odd time. One of my favorite riders we stole of Belle Vue, Jack Kitchen. Off topic again I am oh well........I am getting old so I guess it's o.k.

If it's easier why am I so bad.....thank goodness I'm not right handed or I would be worse! Methinks there is more to being a good speedway rider than being left handed. I would gladly exchange hands for talent!

Pudding, just go have fun!....nice to see another old girl still running and being used for pleasure!

Thats funny, I will also be riding a Weslake at Paris Speedway Canada in 2005. We should have a weslake race! Wait a minute we are! At the Dean Benscics Memorial meeting four of us will be racing in a Wessie only race. Long live the old girls as they sure are a pleasure to ride. nice smoth power band and more than enough power for us old lads to have between our legs!!!

Ian, In 1964 touring with the Russian side was Anatoly Gruzinsev Born in 1941 in the town of Termes in Uzbekistan. It says In a 1964 programme he is very difficult to beat once in front. Sadly looking at his scores at Belle Vue (the real Belle Vue that is, Hyde Road) 0,0,0,0,1,0, he wasn't in front too often! ( I guess it does pay to collect speedway programmes!) And before anybody corrects me I know that Kirky Lane was used before Hyde Road but I am from the Hyde Road Era and that will always be Belle Vue to me.

I didn't realise he was that old. I remember him from his Stoke days. Sorry to hear of his death but 85 is a good innings. I keep forgetting they get older even though I remember them in my mind in their racing days! I miss the racing fron the 60's and wish I could have seen some early days racing as well. My condolences to his family. Tiger Tom

I knew I should have taken forgery at shool!.... Who would have been the promoter at Poole back then? maybe his family knows! As promoters need to print days in advance. And maybe add the riders page later the programmes must have been printed and I cannot see them getting tossed out. Do you know how soon it was rained off?

This, I'm afraid may be your quest for the holy Grail! I would have thought with all your contacts already in place that this question should have been answered! ( I'm sure in your advanced years you did not miss doing this! LOL surely the old programme collectors brigade must have some info on this.) As the meeting was to have taken place and being a rain out programmes should have been printed. Most tracks I'm sure sold off these programmes to offset costs. I answer your question with a question. Were all the series programmes printed by the same press or were the local tracks to do their own? Are the company who printed the Poole programmes of the era still in business and I wonder if the Poole track has any records of this meeting or were they destroyed or lost years ago. A strange one indeed.... p.s. I can't wait to see this one once you get it!.....If it comes up on e bay be prepared to remorgage the house!

Brian, as the gentleman involved is still with us it would be a good idea for someone to go see him and get his life on tape before he leaves us like so many other riders from the past and some non to far in the past! It sounds as if his life story would make interesting reading. Tom

I don't know where the Sheffield fans are on this thread but Frank Varey promoted at Sheffield for the longest time. He was Mr Sheffield speedway for me in the 60's and 70's. A bunch of us worked the track on Thursdays and gave up our weekends to help out on Sundays at the practices!....Once or twice the old Diablo Rojo temper came out at the meetings even though Frank had a heart complaint!... A few times we were invited back for Sunday dinner at his home. He was a great guy to know. I wish I had been wiser back then and asked him questions about the old days. Frank left Sheffield to go to our Arch rivals Belle Vue but he had ties there first even though he was a yorkshireman through and through! I remember him bringing an old Dent Oliver into the team and once he brought in an over 50 Wilf Plant for a meeting! I miss the 60's at Owlerton!

I remeber watching Ivan at Sheffield in the early sixties and he would always sign my photos I had diligently cut out of the speedway stars. He would sign more than once and always seemed willing to personalize it such as Beat wishes to Tommy whenever asked. I always hated him as he always seemed to score a maximum and clean up in the second half beating my heroes in the process. I met him again in the 90's at Welland County Speedway for the Canadian Nationals where he was looking for riders for his series. He grinned when I told him about the above and promptly gave me yet another autograph!...I know the story goes he never signed an autograph before a meeting but I have at least 50 signed photos so I know he did sign autographs. I was just looking at an old Wimbledon programme from 12th April 1958 where he rode in a junior handicap with him off scatch. Bob Andrews off 20 yards, Gerald King off 20 yards and Bobbie Croombs of 10 yards. Needless to say Ivan won the race with Andrews second! Tom Marriott Canada

I have been loooking for information on Eric Chitty also for an article for the Paris Speedway Canada programme. Eric had to be by far the most sucessful rider from Canada to ever ride in the UK. I would also be interested in any info from any source in the UK on Eric as the more I find out the more intrigued I become. What a shame more isn't known about Canadian riders who rode in the UK. Unfortunately many have passed on and little is know about them. SO any info on any Canadian riders you may have would be appreciated. tmarriott@sympatico.ca Tom Ontario, Canada. Many thanks so far to Diamond Geezer,speedwayplus and the Hammers web sites and most of all to Eric's son for information so far.

Please send me a copy of the list also at tmarriott@sympatico.ca Any reason you are not using E Bay as it gets to all collectors? Tom quote=Al Stewart,Feb 13 2005, 09:07 AM] I daresay advertising isn't really allowed on here but I hope this will be permitted. Last summer Edinburgh supporter Raymond Jarvie died, a very sad occurrence for all of his many friends. He left me his memorabilia collection, and I am selling it to raise money in order to provide a Trophy to be awarded annually in his memory along with cash. There are some very fine items, eg programmes from Wombwell, Tamworth, Wigan, Fleetwood, a 1961 World Final and many other things. If anyone is interested I will email or send a list. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>