Grachan

Sorry about that, Sir L. He's here.

Not sure of Ole in particular, but there have been handlebars of all shapes and sizes over the years. There are some excellent examples of different styles here

Interesting site - but that picture of 'Racing at Belle Vue' ain't from Belle Vue.

Dave Mullett?

The biggest memory I have of Ray Wilson is taking Martin Ashby on the last bend in the British Final and condemning my hero to reserve in the 1975 World Final. I still haven't forgiven him!

I thought it was 14 but you may be right. Whichever it was, hardly any other member of the Swindon team beat a Cradley rider all night. Now if there was a topic on the best one man team ever......

Looking back there are certain riders that seem to be at the start of a new trend due to their success with a certain machine - eg. Egon Muller with the GM and Neil Street/Phil Crump with 4 valves. Who was ther rider who started the trend for Weslakes in the first place? Was it Peter Collins?

Without doubt the best team I've ever seen too, and probably ever will. Phil Crump scored a maximum against them though!

And there was me thinking this thread had died ages ago and Cyclone had revived it!

To me it seems to be an obvious opportunity to give some GP experience to possible future contenders. It has to be David Howe and Simon Stead in my opinion as our top 'juniors'. These riders need experience at this level to bring them on and it would be interesting to see how they cope. To be honest I think they would still be a way behind, but it would be invaluable for them and auger well for the future.

I remember when Swindon signed Alf Busk in some cock up that led to Steve Bastable leaving. Basically, he was hopeless, but the Swindon fans were patient as it wasn't his fault and he was trying with little success. Then, suddenly, he top scored with 10 points at Belle Vue and from that point on proved to be a very capable and popular performer. Another one I remember was in 1975 when Bobby McNeil had done very little all year then, in the last match of the season, scored 14 points from 5 rides against Hull.

It’s certainly sometimes hard for fans to see their old favourites struggling and sporting that shiny little leather paunch underneath the race jacket. I suppose some riders are just happy to be there whereas others are forced to face up to the sad realisation that they are no longer World beaters. Most of the riders mentioned here soon retired after realising the young ‘uns had the beating of them. Others (eg Malcolm Simmons, Les Collins come to mind) seem quite happy to keep going for as long as they possibly can and just enjoy their racing.

On the Crumpie thing, I have to agree that it just didn't feel right watching Phil Crump on his come back. Sure, he may have done the job that was expected of him, but we're talking Crumpie here - the man who once had an article in Speedway Star headlined: 'The best rider in the World?' In defence of Bob Kilby - yes he was hopeless but wasn't he only persuaded to have a go due to a chronic injury problem in the Swindon team?

Martin Ashby riding as a reserve for Reading - oh how the mighty had fallen!!

At the risk of going into territory from another thread - got to be Michael Lee. If my memory etc. he top scored with 12 points for Boston in his first ever match, and averaged about 7.5 for Kings Lynn in Division One as their number 8. Not bad for a 16 year old!

Maybe not quite as dramatic but I remember a match around 1987 where King's Lynn were leading at Swindon by 12 points and the Robins come back to win 43-35.

Cliff Anderson and his golden handlebars come to mind.

I got Ivan's autograph once when I was about 14. He was standing at the back of the pits car park talking to Swindon Junior Melvin Soffe, and I was standing there ages with my little autograph book. Eventually he took my book, without breaking away from the conversation he was having, and signed it, then handed it back - still talking away. When I eventually saw his signature it was just an I with a line, right in the middle of my John Davis autograph!

Just to let you know I've added an extra page of photos that were sent to me by Steve and Marty. Click here

Don't have any myself, but try the Video Archive section here: http://www.bellevuezoo.co.uk/

My top 10 of all time for today is as follows: 1. Ivan Mauger – Certainly the greatest rider I ever saw in terms of both stature and ability. When I began going to speedway it was generally accepted that he was the best in the world, in much the same way as Rickardsson is today. His World Final record shows just how dedicated and professional he was. 2. Ove Fundin – Many people say he was the best ever, and it’s possible he was. I never saw him ride during his career, so on that basis I have to put him below Ivan. 3. Tony Rickardsson – It’s hard to judge Rickardsson’s World Championship record against Ivan and Ove because of the Grand Prix system making it more likely that the best rider in the World will win. It’s possible it would have made no difference anyway, but either way a record number of wins looks to be his for the taking. 4. Hans Neilsen/Erik Gundersen – A major case of fence sitting but impossible for me to split them. Hans was by far the better rider, but Erik always seemed to find the edge on the night. 6. Barry Briggs – Would have to be the most famous rider ever, one of the few riders that people with no knowledge of speedway had still heard about. Four World titles and a phenomenal record in the BLRC put him among the greats, though again he was past his best by the time I started going so loses out to Hans & Erik on that basis. 7. Bruce Penhall – who knows what he would have achieved (or Hans & Erik) if he hadn’t retired. He may well have gone on to be the best of all, but we’ll never know. To win the World Title knowing that you have to do it for a TV show takes some doing though, whatever the arguments for and against the referee’s decision, and his 1981 win was just sheer brilliance. 8. Peter Collins – Falcace’s posting says it all really. The best one time winner and could have won many more with more luck. 9. Ole Olsen – winner of the first World Final I went to, and did the same at Wembley again 3 years later. Seeing him charging about in the GPs and making the referee’s decisions for him makes it easy to forget just how good a rider he actually was. 10. Michael Lee – I once saw Michael Lee take on Phil Crump in the Golden Helmet at Swindon. In both races he was just larking about and pulling wheelies down the straights, yet he still won them both easily. You just couldn’t do that to Crumpie at Swindon! I still reckon this was the most amazing single display of riding I have ever seen. Such a shame he threw it away

I went to Prague back in 1989 and stayed in a Hotel called the Hotel Pariz, which was very nice but times mayhave changed since then. You probably wouldn't have to eat lunch on a table with all the Western people while being watched by closed circuit TV any more!

Thanks Steve. A lovely load of Andrew Silver to choose from. I can't wait. Thanks everyone for the info. Shoddy - you're fired.

How transparent I am!! At the moment Arena Essex and Eastbourne look the most attractive options, though I have to pick 3 consecutive meetings so if they're not on the same tape I may have to make a BIG decision.

My boss can't manage to get me to come into work by 9.30 so you've no chance!!! Think I am going to try and work / skive from home later so I will stick some more teams on if I have time in my heavy schedule!!! If you have the time it would be great. Don't put yourself out though. I work from home myself quite a lot so I know how hard it can be!