chunky

I agree with Moore and McGillivray, and the Swindon rider looks like it could be Ian Williams. If anyone wants to have another look, I'm wondering if Wimbledon (1) is Gil Goldfinch? Steve

Tony, as of today, there are still a few "unknown" riders on the site who have been positively identified, so you may want to check back through some of the recent posts here. Anyway, I have a couple of other answers for you: Southampton (1) is Ron Webb Swede at Wembley (2) is Bernt Nilsson. Steve

You just beat me to it, Gemini! Anyway, I confirm that you are correct. Steve

Actually, Bob, I think you'll find that Johnny Green is on the other end. Still researching the rest... Steve

Okay, I concur with Bobbath on Charlie Barsby and Ted Flanagan. I would also say that Bryan Elliott is NOT in the pic. Steve

It was Robin... I agree 100%, and said so on another thread recently. Do you also remember some of the other regular meeting reporters, such as Howard Jacobi, Frank MacLean, John Pilgrim, and Bill Cooper? Steve

Thanks, Joakim; I really appreciate your research. As incredible as it seems, it does appear that Goran died exactly a year after crashing at Aldershot. Thanks again, Steve

As I said previously, I don't believe it to be as much of an error as a simple lack of complete information. The actual date of death - certainly on my website - was posted merely as a result of the ONLY information that was available, ie the date of the original accident. As unlikely as it may seem, the fact that he DID ride at Aldershot, and on the 21st of July, 1952 also, and the fact that he seems to have been injured at that time and place, does seem to indicate that it was not only a tragic, but highly coincidental event. It seems that if Lejon can confirm this, it will be a most valuable piece of information. Steve

Actually, it doesn't seem that there are any errors. It was just that the information regarding his eventual, tragic death, was never widely known. It was pretty clear that he died as a result of injuries received at Aldershot, but nobody knew when. Steve

That's possibly the best item of information I have seen. If I can remember correctly, I picked up the original information from Speedway Researcher, and then what little stuff I found led me to believe that everything was correct. Of course, the one thing I couldn't understand either was that there seemed to be no "official" reports, but this new news does go a long way to explaining it. Steve

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Feb 1 2009, 05:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I still remember his great cut-backs on the 3rd-4th bends, of the last lap of the race, he caught out many a great rider, including Ole Olsen. I think the best against Olsen was when Roger and Eddie switched on the first and second bends against him and Shirra, and we got a last heat 5-1 to draw the match. How about the night he beat Collins from the back twice? Steve

It was the one and only Ronnie Moore! Full stats : Ronnie Moore 15 Ove Fundin 13 Barry Briggs 11 Olle Nygren 11 Aub Lawson 11 Brian Crutcher 10 Arne Carlsson 8 Peter Craven 7 George White 7 Geoff Mardon 6 Rune Sormander 6 Mieczyslaw Polukard 5 Josef Hofmeister 4 Ron How 3 Peter Moore 3 Cyril Roger 0 Ken McKinlay (Res) DNR Florian Kapala (Res) DNR Steve

It was red, Tony. Steve

Sorry Jim, I am 100% sure that it is Henryk Zyto is on the right. You could well be right about Kapala, though. I wasn't sure whether that was Polukard or Kapala... Steve

I agree with frigbo on Ian Ross, and I also think that the Wimbledon junior from 1976 is probably Ian Williams - obviously not the one who used to ride for Swindon! Steve

Oops; sorry, Jim! I did know that was Ronnie, so I don't know what I was thinking... That's what I thought... Steve

You're correct Bob; now I had another look, it is Jochen Dinse. Steve

Berwick (1) 72-1 - Geoff Davies Cradley (8) 76-1 - Steve Bastable, I believe... Edinburgh (1) - Henry Harrfeldt New Cross (2) - Bobby Croombs Newcastle (1) - Peter Kelly is the rider Newcastle (2) and (3) - Brian Craven Norwich (1) - Wimbledon actually, and it's Gerry King Poland (1) - Henryk Zyto w/helmet. Could be Mieczyslaw Polukard with him, but not a great view Poole (2) - Antonin Kasper (Sr) guesting Rayleigh (10) v BVC - Taffy Owen on the inside, and Dingle Brown next to him Rayleigh (4) 68-1 - Dingle Brown Rayleigh (8) v Boro - Pete Reading is the Boro rider Russia (1) - Valeri Klementiev Russia (2) - not sure, but it looks like it could be Vladimir Sokolov Russia (4) - A young Boris Samorodov Russia (5) - Boris Samorodov again Southampton (2) - Looks like Brian Crutcher Swede (4) and fans - Rune Sormander Swede at Wimbledon (3) - Birger Forsberg Swindon (2) - Ian Williams in Y/B Unknown 2 - Sure it's Peter Moore Unknown announcer - Ken Tozer it is Unknown on tractor - Looks like a muddy Ron Mountford Unknown v Oxford 68-1 - Colin Gooddy is the Cheetah Unknown WC Round - Peter Craven leading Briggo, Bob Andrews outside, Ronnie Moore at the back Unknowns at Wembley practice - That's Mirac rearing at the gate Unknowns and wives - Ted Flanagan in the middle, presumably with his wife! Unknown signs for fans - Agree with Jan Holub West Ham (2) - Is Bettsy guesting Wimbledon (2) - Is neither Reg Luckhurst nor Gerry King; it's Norwich's John Debbage Wolves (3) - Tommy Sweetman with beard, looks like Pete Jarman with Cup, and it looks suspiciously like a young Howard Cole/Kid Bodie with them Steve

Having witnessed how our "World Finals" thread developed into a discussion about Jerzy Szczakiel (notice the spelling, Derek... ), plus a few Poles who rode in the UK, I thought it would be fun to start something more specific. There were some interesting points made and questions asked, but I often wonder what would have happened to Polish speedway if more Poles had ridden in the UK in the '50's and '60's, and more importantly, they had stayed for longer. Of course, I suspect that the Polish authorities may have been responsible for the latter, but that's just me being cynical. The first of the top Poles to ride in the UK was Marian Kaiser, who replaced the late Gerry Hussey in the 1959 Leicester team. Tadeusz Teodorowicz first appeared for Swindon in the same year, but as he had already "defected", and went on to become a naturalised Briton before his tragic death, I don't think that his case can be discussed in the same manner. Obviously, had he lived, things may have been very different... Kaiser was an immediate success, but was in turn replaced by Stefan Kwoczala for the 1960 season. Also in 1960, Coventry signed Henryk Zyto, who had a seemingly satisfactory season. However, both only lasted for a year before being replaced by Pawel Waloszek and Kazimierz Bentke for 1961. Waloszek ended the year as Leicester's top scorer, but his fellow countryman never quite got the hang of British speedway. By 1962, they had both gone too, leaving just "Teo", and if I am remembering correctly, we had to wait over 10 years for Antoni Woryna (1973) to appear. What if Kaiser, Kwoczala, Waloszek, and Zyto, had been able to enjoy and extended spell in British racing? Would they have really emerged as true World-class riders? Sure, they were always very capable, but were never able to master the western European tracks like they did those in the Eastern bloc. Like Zenon Plech, they were young enough, certainly, unlike Woryna and Edward Jancarz, who were both very much the elder statesmen when they received their opportunities. The same applies to Henryk Glucklich. What impact though, would their success have had on Polish speedway as a whole? Had Szczakiel been able to ride in the BL, we don't know how that would have affected his career, but I do feel that he was a much better rider than most westerners would have you believe. Of the Poles to start filtering through in the late '60's, I am certain that Andrzej Wyglenda could have been a great asset to British speedway. Very highly-rated on the continent, Wyglenda was never able to reproduce his known form on the international stage, yet few would disagree that overall, he was a far better rider - for a far longer period of time - than the much-maligned Szczakiel! I look forward to reading some of your posts... Steve

I agree. The strange thing is that people forget that it wasn't the ONLY thing he won. Jerzy had previously scored a maximum when winning the World Pairs Championship. Even though the final was in Poland, that was no mean feat, and the fact that he managed to win both the individual and pairs World Championships should indicate that he actually wasn't that bad a rider. Steve

Sorry I'm a few days late, but here goes... 1969 Wembley - My main memory is Torbjorn Harryson's horrendous crash. 1978 Wembley - What a brilliant performance from Jerzy Rembas, but what about Jessup's EF? 1981 Wembley - I can't add anything to what has been said... 1982 Los Angeles - Whatever anyone says, it was still a fantastic place to go for a final. 1983 Norden - Brilliant display by Muller; a worthy champion. 1985 Bradford - I took Keith Yorke up there with me to see Kelvin. 1987 Amsterdam - Made a nice little holiday out of that one. Steve

According to "The Complete History of the B.L." : ....................................M......R......P......CMA 1988....Wimbledon......5.....16.....18.....4.50 1988....M. Keynes......15.....56.....85.....6.07 1989....M. Keynes......26....124...184....5.94 1990....Eastbourne...34....177...287.....6.49 Unfortunately, I don't have any stats from 1991 onwards, but I do recall Tony being a fairly competent rider. He also did a bit of grass-track; I remember going to see Maxine Hill racing somewhere out Caterham way, and Tony was there too. Steve

It was pretty brief, but according to "The Complete History of the British League", this is it: .................................M.......R.......P.......CMA 1970 Doncaster.......31....125....156.....4.99 1971 Birmingham.....31....107....118.....4.41 Steve

Yep, I'm pretty sure it was the 1978 I-C Final also, as that is Ila Teromaa. Steve

That's right. Ricky flies for Angel Flight, a free Australian air service for non-emergency medical patients, and charities such as the Red Cross. You can check out their website at www.angelflight.org.au. Steve