Wessex Wanderer

Hans Jurgen Fritz must be included. Only saw him once but this guy was good. Pity he never rode in the UK - good BL heat leader at least.

Add in Stefan Dunne. A regular at Weymouth training schools in the 60s and did appear in one or two official meetings. Can't think of any others though.

Wasn't Howard Cole (Kid Bodie) born in Wales? Would definitely make the team. One Welshman not been mentioned is Tom Brown. Might not make this team but would be an enthusiastic and entertaining member of the squad.

Sad news. RIP Danny.

Lewis was one of the most talented youngsters I have ever seen. I remember thinking he was as good as Peter Collins and Michael Lee had been at similar ages (personal but unbiased opinion). Such a shame that the potential has never been consistently achieved. Also a real likeable young lad when he was with Weymouth. Some off track situations have probably not helped his progress. Maybe a break from racing is just what he needs and he will come back refreshed and raring to go. I certainly hope so.

I don't think there was much problem with the footy pitch condition until they put the roof all round the stadium. Before the turf was open to the elements from all directions and seemed to weather back in easily and quickly but once the roof went on it was very different. Probably something to do with atmospherics and air flows or something like that. Always ready to be corrected by anyone with some professional horticulture knowledge.

Very enjoyable meeting. Strangely "biased" start grid but the way the track allowed some great racing more than made up for that. Once again Jack added to the meeting with that enthusiasm and unashamed enjoyment of the proceedings not even remotely matched by any other commentator. I don't care one little tiny bit that he gets a few things wrong, he enhances the presentation without yelling his head off or being an all knowing spouter of obvious facts. I truly cannot see the point of some people's insistence that the most important part of a commentary is to be told what you already know in the first place. Looking forward to the future rounds. Only drawback for me (apart from no Jack) is the lack of UK representation. And I don't care whether it is not an official competition - it is an international Speedway series for \}$€< sake and the UK SHOULD be involved. Anyway - a good three hours worth of viewing.

Real shame. Jack was a brilliant part of the programme. What the hell did it matter if he made a few mistakes - if those whingeing about it knew better then what did it matter. One more bit of fun and entertainment lost to Speedway. Still, the "everyone ought to know every last detail about Speedway" types will no doubt be pleased. Speedway theme tune should be "Down, Down, Deeper and Down". A guy like Jack made the whole thing more enjoyable for the fringe fans and newcomers who Speedway desperately needs to convert into regulars. Go ahead, slag me off. I have had 50+ years of trying to convert people to Speedway. Too often the response has been it is boring. One more win for the anoraks. One more nail in Speedway's coffin.

Same thing used to happen at the original Weymouth track. Problem seemed to increase when the start gate was moved to the opposite side so that the problem area was then on the first bend. Again it was the setting sun that caused the problem - no problem when the sun was higher in the sky. Martin Yeates and some other riders tried the tinted goggles solution but it was not a success so the occasional hold ups continued.

Yeh. I went to the 1965 one at West Ham. Bloody rain off. A days leave wasted (we had only 10 days total then!) plus lost travel costs. A real jinx track for me - 3 visits and 3 rain offs. Grrrrrr.

Answer to the original question is that he was of World Final quality. At that time that was about as big an accolade as possible. Might very well have made more World Finals if he had not retired so early - maybe even a rostrum place. Aussie number one when they had a pretty decent team including (I think) skipper of the team that knocked out England and then won the WTC. For quality comparison think Terry Betts, Ray Wilson, John Boulger, Martin Ashby, Chris Morton, Berndt Persson, Dave Jessup, Gordon Kennett, Edward Jancarz etc etc. that sort of level. That's a personal view but others may very well have different views. Hope this helps

Very much enjoyed the meeting. Jack and Sam were an absolute blast as commentators. Some British track should give Jack a job as track announcer - don't bother with music between heats just let Jack chatter away. Once again the only downside was no GB involvement. At this rate we might get hoofed out of the WTC by Latvia or Germany.

Hope he has a wonderful birthday. Always a 100% trier and great entertainer.

Really sorry to hear about this but it is good that Lewis has taken the important first step in acknowledging his condition. At Weymouth we knew Lewis as a thoroughly likeable 15 year old with a very bright future so it is hard now to hear of this. Get well soon Lewis.

Pretty sure that in one meeting in the 60's Wilf Jay and 2 sons (Alan and ???) rode for one team while Wilf Plant and son Graham were on the other team. Seem to remember that it was at or involved Sheffield. Not quite Rempala or Serrurierlevel but maybe the Jays are a British record. Quite open to correction here as that is totally from memory.

Very enjoyable meeting. Commentary was a hugely funny addition to the enjoyment. Jack getting a lot of criticism from the "Speedway is a serious sport and how dare anyone not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of it" brigade but a bit of light relief never hurt anyone. The real negative about the meeting and its presentation was the lack of a GB pair. Even during some dark pre 70's days we did always compete. Looking forward to the next round - Jack and all.

Don't get to see much of my favourite league these days, also don't know much about current averages either but here goes: Joe Jacobs Lewis Rose Josh Bates Brendon Johnson Daryl Ritchings Ryan Blacklock Matt Williamson I don't really care if my team wins but they are all favourites who I have enjoyed watching. Thanks for starting this thread.

That's the one Salty. Just couldn't remember the title - another age concern situation!!!

I only have a GCE in English so I am a bit hesitant about getting involved in this thread! Anyway the original question was about books concerning Ipswich Speedway. Web sites will throw up anything obvious but one which might be more obscure was written by (ghosted probably) John Louis in the late 1970s. He was very much an Ipswich icon so there will be a lot about the club in it. Apologies for anything not up to MA standard. And please none of you comma commandos go looking for the book. It was very badly edited and will likely give you palpitations.

26/4/83 at Weymouth Biles and Humphreys rode in first start as per programme. Both fell in same incident. Humphreys excluded. Before restart Biles had bike problems and despite borrowing a bike from Yeates was excluded under the 2 minute rule. Martin took the place of Biles and won the race from the back for a 3-3. Hope this helps.

Are you sure you don't mean Derek BATTLE who rode for Ipswich in the Metropolitan League in 1964. Don't know where he came from or when and where else he rode. Just a possible suggestion.

My first visit to Central Park and what an impressive stadium it is. Good crowd too - the 6.30 start time does not seem any sort of deterrent. Pity the track was a bit slick but there was enough in the racing to expect a real racing track once that is sorted. Team wise the Kings have a great top two and some decent youngsters although they could probably do with another middle type scorer (Brendon Johnson?). The kids just need a bit of time and patience and from the people around me the crowd seems willing to give them both. Real refreshing attitude that. The Islanders were mainly what I expected and will surely be contenders in all NL events this year. Slight exception was Tom Perry who seems to have taken a step back. Still, it often happens that young riders have a temporary slump in form and in the main they recover from it. Overall I enjoyed my visit. Everything about the Kent Kings organisation is a very welcome addition to the Speedway family. :)

Another first class advert for Speedway. Great meeting with close racing in just about every race. Credit to all involved - riders, officials, track preparers, promotion and the Sky presentation team. I know I say it after every Sky PL meeting but again - please let us have more PL meetings. Oh yeh - two teams who will be amongst the front runners in the play offs. :)

Still fondly remembered at Weymouth. One of Speedway's real nice guys. Great rider, team man and captain. R I P Vic

Went on my annual overseas jaunt a couple of weeks ago for the Buxton meeting and , as usual had a very enjoyable trip. For such a young team they are a very formidable outfit and must be favourites for the NL this year. Buxton got some real battlers too. The new start time should help attendances and definitely made for a good atmosphere in the club after the meeting with the riders able to be there instead of having to make a mad dash for the ferry. The new promotion seem very enthusiastic and determined to make a success of their venture. Often thought why not make a bigger push to get the citizens of Portsmouth more interested - a few hundred thousand population just a ferry ride away - but maybe there are reasons and I am speaking out of turn. One thing if they want to avoid being reported for upside down flags again - many years ago I was taught by a former WW1 officer it is "Wide white, uppermost, to the post". Believe me he would have wanted far more serious repercussions than a mere report if anyone got our flag upside down!!!! Good luck Islanders both on and off the track. :)