Brian L

Looking through my photo collection and found these photos who I don't know/not sure of/forgotten who it is! Can you identify any of them? If you leave your cursor over the photo it gives you the date they were taken. Please don't guess otherwise it leads to confusion. Bryn, Paul T might recognise some of these. Cheers Brian http://community.webshots.com/album/500076286TRtKYK

Tony, I remember Reading walking out of a meeting against Hackney after heat 10 when the match was poised at 30 - 30. Hackney recorded three 5 - 0's in the last 3 heats to win 45 - 30. Also, Tony Featherstone wouldn't sign my autograph book on a green page because he thought it was bad luck!

This is the correct link to the VSRA website http://www.vsra-web.co.uk/ More new profiles online: Bert Harkins Wembley, Edinburgh etc etc and Ken Mellor Aldershot & Southampton. Please ask all former riders to get their profiles online, level of racing is not important as long as they were contracted to a Speedway club.

New additions to the rider profiles are Steve Lomas formerly Hackney, Wolves, Edinburgh and Boston and Pete 'Speedy' Saunders of Oxford, Crewe and Peterborough. If anyone has a good photo of Pete could they send it to me? Come on all you retired riders get your profile on the website and let us know what you are doing these days! Just fill in the profile form online or I can send one in the post to you.

Simon Wigg - Speedway with a smile! Brian Longman - Hackney

Barry Thomas' red Iwade leathers were the best- very distinct, Keith White had a yellow set that had other colours twisting through and Steve Lomas was unmissable in his bright green leathers. There were a lot of dull dark leathers in the mid sixties, in the seventies they became more colourful and then in the eighties the advertising on them became more and more prominent. It was so easy to recognise the riders in those days wasn't it? With the matching modern kevlars I have trouble working out who's who!

Veteran Speedway Riders Association click on the link above or website address... www.vsra-web.co.uk

The VSRA are looking for all former Speedway riders to submit a profile form for the proposed Speedway Museum archives and their new website vsra-web.co.uk Former riders need not be members of the VSRA as long as they were contracted to a speedway team during their riding career they can submit the profile form online or by hand/post. If you are a former rider please submit a form or if you have contacts with former riders please encourage them to do so. I have an invitation letter and profile form that I can email to you and you can print off or I can send it to you by post, please contact me through the forum. Most of the riders who are members of the VSRA will probably be contacted through the association so it is those riders who are not VSRA members that need to be invited to submit profiles. The VSRA website is fairly new, but already has a few profiles online. It is possible for each rider to have a photograph album of up to 20 photos within their profile. Any help with this would be appreciated.

I've got one action shot from '76 and one of Gordon kneeling by his bike from '77 or '78 both colour excellent pics in White City Rebels race jacket. Can send them to you if you want them.

Alongside those and don't forget Banger!

Cheers - Got a DVD copy from Re-Run. watched it, enjoyed it, Andy Galvin was one of the best ever Hackney riders, a great team man and entertainer.

That makes two votes for Bobby McNeil then! TMC should get a chance to ask him on 22/07. Also Zenon Plech (as a main feature/cover man), Mike Lee who is up next; look forward to that. Andy Galvin would be another. Really enjoyed the Carl Glover, Steve Weatherley and Neil Evitts articles!

1976 Malborough Southern Riders Championship at Hackney 21st May 1976. I was 14 and went with my friends from school. I remember walking up to the stadium and peering into the window of the Lesney factory and one of the workers gave me a matchbox car through the grille. Also remember the bikes reving up as we approached the turnstiles. Stood on 1st bend and loved every minute of it. Dave Jessup won the meeting with a 15 point max followed by Gordon Kennett on 14 and Keith White 12. Tommy Jansson was programmed to ride, but this was the week when he sadly lost his life. Went to the pits after racing had finished and came away with my programme covered in riders' autographs - Dave Morton, Gordon Kennett, John Titman and Laurie Etheridge - makes me feel old thinking about it now!!!

The response so far has been excellent, I am now okay with pics from 1991 Hackney Team. Anything from 1990 Robyn1972 would be fantastic. Still need more from '38, '39 & '66 and a pic of Len Silver riding for Hackney in '64. Also does anyone have a decent B&W pic of Linden Warner in 1984? Cheers All!

I am working on a project for the Hackney Speedway Reunion and require the following pictures:~ 1964 pic of Len Silver portrait or action riding for Hackney, Any Hackney rider portraits or action from the 1966 season showing the one-year bodycolour (Gold Hawk, Red background, Blue trim), Any rider pics from 1938 or 1939 with the Claret & Champagne chequered bodycolour, 1990 & 1991 Colour Team Pics plus rider's portrait or action from these two years. Pavel Karnas, Tim Hunter, Tim Kornelliusen, Vladimir Kalina, Tony Olson, Dave Hamnett, Roland Pollard. The pictures can be photographs or clippings from magazines and can be scanned and emailed to me. The project is purely for the enjoyment of the riders and supporters of Hackney Speedway attending the reunion in July. If you can help with this please get in touch, any help would be much appreciated. Thanks to those of you who have helped with this already!

"Also, Bobby McNeil. I've often wondered how Bobby McNeil might look these days." Another excellent read, old speedway riders giving some honest interviews, love the Fanzine type feel of Backtrack. Great to see the pic of Bobby McNeil one of my speedway heroes; I definately would never have recognised him today even if he was standing right in front of me! The PC newspaper clipping I have in a scrapbook along with many other clippings from national newspapers (mainly the Daily & Sunday Mirror) from that era. Coverage in the daily papers nowadays is virtually non-existent which is a real shame.

Made many visits to White City in '76, '77, & '78, I think most of the speedway fans there were probably Wimbledon or Hackney supporters as the team never ran long enough to build it's own fan base. Huge stadium with all the spectators gathered around the start line/first bend so the rest of the stadium looked and felt empty, it therefor lacked any real atmosphere. Bikes roar used to echo around the bends and back straight! Seemed really dark as well, which didn't help. Daytime meetings were much better:~ Hackney on Good Friday '78 and '77 Intercontinental Final were excellent memorable speedway meetings. Shame it's gone as the big meets there were good. Names that spring to mind are:~ Gordon & Dave Kennett, Dag Lovaas, Kai Neimi, Marek Ceislak, Trevor Geer, Steve Weatherly, Richard Geer, Richard Hellsen & Paul Gatchet, most of which moved onto Eastbourne in '79.

Andrzej Huszcza - still in good form in the main body of his team from Zielona Gora . Phenemenon for me. Other great polish riders in his age, Roman Jankowski or WOjciech Żabiałowicz, ended their careers years ago systematically scoring less and less points. Zenon Plech had to leave his bikes in a garage at the age of 34. He had horrible heart problems, because of his easy way of thinking about health. It was complications after influenza as far as I remember. He felt unconcious one day in 1986 in his garage on the stadium. Appeared in 1 or 2 clashes after that and ended career in 1987. He was the greatest Polish rider ever and became the hero here in Gdansk for every speedway fan. Do you want to know anything more about Zenon? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Andy Huszca rode for Hackney in 1981, 24 years ago and he's still riding - excellent! Zenon Plech was my first speedway hero in 1976: thrilling, brilliant, talented and a charming personality. He is very highly regarded among Hackney Supporters. Roman Jankowski also rode for Hackney in 1980/81.

I've had mine about a week so might be worth checking with Backtrack to make sure it was posted. Great magazine...the picture of Tony Davey with his leg bent forwards made my toes curl!

From the leathers I thought it was the same rider as in the crash sequence getting sandwiched between Laurie Etheridge and Richard Davey? Someone informed me Pic 4 is Brendon Shilletto and the crash sequence is Steve Koppe? The other rider in pic 1 is Eric Dugard of Eastbourne. Great pics of Barney Kennett eh?

Saw Bruce ride his ice bike in the 80's, he just leaned the bike to the left and round he went, no sliding all traction, obliterated track records (un-officially)wherever he went! If you can get a copy of 'Anything can happen on the Night' by MBI video it shows Bruce riding the bike at Kings Lynn.

I have sent some Crusaders photos from my Speedway photo collection to www.canterburycrusaders.co.uk hopefully they will be posted soon. Some great pics of Barney Kennett plus some action photos (including a crash sequence) of riders who I can't identify (I think one is Les Rumsey). The webmaster will probably recognise them!

Michael Lee was the best I've seen so far, so many great riders around at that time and he could beat them all!