asturmer

Correct me please for my lack of computer literacy. When I got on to this site which is the original Canterbury Crusaders site, I just looked at those photos I had been looking at for the past 5 years! If there is a special link could you please let me know? thanks!!!

I have just sent Mike Ferreira a christmas card as he is living would you believe ,back in Harare Zimbabwe ! He must be encountering difficulties just to survive on a daily basis!I hope to have more news in due course, if a worker at the post office there does not take off the Aussie postage stamp and throw away the card!! Yes, such is the desparation there that a foreign stamp, used, is worth something!

My first meeting was Canterbury v Eastbourne in the National League. I must have been around 13 yrs old. It was the whole spectacle that got me! Johhny Hoskins hurrying up the riders to get ready in the pits. The collective sound of 14 jawas and japs revving up and that new smell of methanol. The spectacular style of the late Graham Banks round the outside, and Barney Kennett round the inside almost on the football pitch. Ted Hubbard scoring a maximum. Being coated in shale on the first bend;Les Rumsey looking like a rock star with hair down to his waist. Away supporters chanting in the main stand, adding up scores in the programme, and the family atmosphere !

I know sounds shocking, Paul Pinfold who you may know, was regularly driving from Quinns Rocks to Northern Queensland and often to Sydney for sidecar speedway championships!! It,s like driving from London to the Middle East!!!

Hi Ross, Alan certainly was spectacular here at the tiny Pinjar circuit in Perth. Its great to hear about the blond hair and sun abuse, as Alan is now not the only head shaved bald middle aged sportsman with sun spots. I think all the 50 somethings spent too much time in the sun!! Alan is very approachable and there were a couple of incidents on the track where he had to lay his bike down for inexperienced riders , he stayed down of course for the re run to occur!! He was worth the gate money and I was not sure if he drove over from Brisbane to Perth!!

I do have an address for Kathy Moran in Adelanto, California. She is linked to a Shawn and a Kelly Moran through Public Records. there are about 5 Moran addresses in Adelanto which I think is a small desert town. If anyone emails me I can supply this address although I am not 100% sure its Shawns mum.(95% certain though) I believe at least 2 of the addresses in the town are relatives. You can obtain this info from White Pages Adelanto, California. If anyone can confirm Shawns mums name then we have an address to which we can send lots of Christmas cards and goodwill messages to Shawn and his family, reminding Shawn of how we are still thinking of him, and I am sure that would be a positive move, but I,m not doing anything until I receive feed back from you people, -- out there!

Larry Ross is up to a lot. Go to worldspeedway.com and type in his name. His son is a good rider too over in New Zealand, and Larry has not retired from the sport!!

Hi WA Tigerman, really enjoyed the meeting though could have reduced the numbers of pee wees and juniors or put them on before at 6pm to bed in the track! Late finish as a result! and looking forward to the next 3 meetings there!!

Thanks James, last night he wore skeleton black and white kevlars and was a real crowd pleaser, coming from the back in all his races and falling off twice, the second time excluded and therefore just missing out on the final. He was an etertainer just like the National League riders of the 70,s!!!

A 52 year old rider from Queensland called Alan Rivett rode here in Perth last night at Pinjar Park speedway. He was very spectacular and kept up with Frank Smart and beat many up and coming junior riders. He would probably be good enough for Conference League and possibly even a Premiere League Place!! He used to ride in England in the late 80,s when already 30 yrs old, does anyone recall him?

Last year at the Ron Johnson International Meeting in Perth, Peter did a few laps on a modern lay down and was running at the same lap times as the International riders! Racing conditions would of course be different on such a small track as Pinjar Park!

Hi Kev H Gunter (Hec) Hasslinger was born on 27th February 1942 in Salzburg, Austria. He is happy to be included in any statistics. He is a really nice person, friendly etc. He rides his BMW to his own Garage business every day which he runs with his Son. He emigrated to Perth in the 70,s and says hi to all speedway followers!

Hec Hasslinger(Aussie Austrian) lives here in Perth. He rode for the team in 69 or 70 or both. I will ask him if I see him at his garage tomorrow!!

Rumour has been circulating sometime over here in the West that Shawn Moran has met with very hard times over in Southern California. Does any one know if its true ?

Being chased halfway home on my old (fast) motorbike, by a copper on a slow LE Velocette and getting away, having imagined myself as Les Rumsey or Barney Kennett, after a night at Canterbury speedway!!!

News hot off the press and heard here in the Worlds most isolated City, Perth Australia!! Roman Abramovich is looking to trial Ice RACING AT STAMFORD BRIDGE with a meeting on an artificial track next June,at Chelsea, followed by a round of the World Ice Racing Series. Can someone out there look in to this as it came from a reliable source here in Australia! The Russians are saying that Abramovich is a keen ice racing fan!!!

Why is there no ice speedway in England, I mean real ice speedway with spikes n all!(not Telford style) Is there an ice venue big enough like Assen in Holland, or would one need to be built and would the weather allow for an outdoor refrigerated venue which could be used for ice skating or even ice car racing by another club or clubs! Britain has such talented youngsters and I,m convinced the UK would produce a match for the Russians. Ok its easy for me to imagine this from the dust bowl of Western Australia, but has anyone ever tried to start up such a venture in the UK?

Do you know what happened to the Moran brothers. I have seen a photo of Kelly at a recent reunion and have heard negative stories in Australia about the fate of Shawn who was brilliant in his day!!

I think his son did have a go at the pro ranking in golf but was not quite there! Re nasty attitude, could be small man syndrome but I think most speedway riders are small in stature but big in attitude and skill and bravery!!

Dave was always a good golfer as was his son, who looked the perfect size for a speedway racer and chose golf instead!

Great reminders of 70,s and 80,s. Nice photos of an extremely slim Roger Johns. He only needed a pint with the cigarette and he would look like he,s related to Barry Thomas another lanky rider, and a man who in his day could probably drink an Aussie farmer under the table!! Could Roger be Mr Wimbledon speedway as Barry was to Hackney? I have not heard anything about Roger since he retired! Met his brother Alan at a bike repair shop he was running in SE London a few years ago before I left for Aus!

I do recall reading that Cyril Roger had some health issues towards the end of his career which may not have been too serious! Did he not have a brother Bert who was perhaps not quite such a high scoring rider but non the less still very good? Do you know if Bert is still alive?

Hi Tony, Seems Mike had to leave Zimbabwe as during the Rhodesia war he was on the wrong side and the economic crisis probably lost him his savings like many other Zimbabweans!! I remember he had a Godden at one stage which was immaculately presented. I remember him being swamped by kids at the Davington school fete in Faversham, when he showed off his bikes, and I think they had more people through the gate at Canterbury speedway after that!

Sorry to hear that the once high point scoring and ultra reliable National and British League rider Mike Ferreira is struggling and doing it tough, working on a farm in South Africa. Does anyone else have any news?

I played 18 holes of golf yesterday and I also still enjoy speedway , almost given up on tracking Hans Nielsen though!!!!