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25th January 2007

Track Pictures: Victorville Victorville Spedway is located approximately 80 miles north-east of Los Angeles. The circuit is a bit of a tiddler at only 150 metres long. These pictures were taken by Cary Cotterman at the meeting held there last Saturday.

Track Pictures: Newcastle Showground The Newcastle Showground in New South Wales was one of the venues used in the recent Australian championship. Alan Garner was the photographer who took these shots.

Dream Team: Ian Manley Ian has supported Crewe Kings, Ellesmere Port Gunners, Belle Vue Aces and Sheffield Tigers at various times over the years. He includes John Jackson, the greatest Gunner of them all, in his selection. He also picks a rider that used to 'flick the V' to supporters on the terraces.

The past, present and future of speedway in Cymru will be discussed on the new Welsh Speedway Forum. Whether your interest is in Newport, Cardiff or Neath, this looks likely to become the place to go. At the end of January the Cleveland Parklife website, based on the history of speedway racing in Middlesbrough, will be online at a new address. After six years of being hosted by the 'In The Team' network they are moving to a north east based website design team: Methanol Internet. If anyone fancies a trip down memory lane on the early history of speedway racing in Middlesbrough it might be well worth paying them a visit. The new address is clevelandparklife.co.uk.

Richard James on Tony McDonald Interview: "Although I'm now 57 I still have many fond memories of the riders from the 60's on. I was interested to see Peter Lipscomb mentioned, I spent many an evening at Aston Clinton discussing various issues, but he still always managed to sell me something! Still whilst pondering one of my memories was of Colin "Joe" Gooddy chasing Bengt Larsson at Cowley after what he thought was OTT! And then throwing a punch whilst BL still had his helmet on." Dudley Jones on David Wills: " I was there at West Ham, third bend, when the accident happened, more or less in front of me. I can still see it now, Dave lost it going into the corner, riding close to the white line, a simple overslide. It seemed a simple accident, the kind that everybody gets up from, except that Barry Lee was close behind and had no chance of avoiding Dave wills. It seemed that Dave was moved out by the overslide and Barry's wheel collided with Dave's head. It looked bad and we feared the worst. We also felt sorry for Barry, because he was in no way at fault. Dave Wills had joined the Hammers at the start of the year, but he probably was not quite ready for national league, as he dropped out of the team, into the second halves. Sad that both Barry and Dave were lost, in their different ways, to the sport. Sad for Dave's family in Australia, it can be a cruel sport, especially at larger tracks like West Ham. Tough for Barry, although there was nothing he could have done. When Teo Teodorowitz was injured at Custom House I was still in East Anglia, but I remember wishing and hoping, everyone of those days as he lay in a coma, that Teo would recover. An asylum seeker, Teo had made himself popular, not just at Swindon but everywhere, made a home here and, I believe, was doing what every rider seemed to do then, run a garage. We should remember all those who have died in our sport, from Tom Farndon and little Peter (I can still remember where I was, the weather, etc. when I heard Peter was dead) to those all too many beginners who, perhaps, never became known to most supporters, except perhaps as a name on a memorial trophy competition somewhere." Bill Elliot on Seventies Track Pictures: "Great pictures of 70's tracks, especially Cliftonhill which I visited more than once! Felt like Dr Who, immediately transported back more than 30 years to tracks I visited with the Tigers and loved, except Rowley Park, which I only "saw" through the pages of the "Speedway Star & News" every winter!" Don Maddocks on More Confessions: "I am just going to bed at nearly 2.00 a.m., having just read through this superb, eloquent tome by John Berry. I could not go to bed until I had finished reading it, thank you John. If there is a person who has given as much as John to Speedway, then please let us all know. A fantastic observer of the sport from its basic grass roots, to its highest pinnacle, John deserves the greatest accolade that the whole of Speedway, from riders, promoters, and supporters, can give. I came to the Sport in the late forties, and I have never known another personality grace the scene, other than perhaps the wonderful Johnnie Hoskins, as much as John Berry has done." Steve Jenkins on Speedway on Screen: "Not mentioned in the article is the fact that Raquel (who was at one stage married to Curly Watts) briefly dated a Scandinavian speedway rider in the soap Coronation Street." John Hyam on Stan Bradbury: "An interesting article on Stan Bradbury, who was also featured a while back in 'Vintage Speedway Magazine' as was Mike Tams. However, I am certain that Fred 'Friar' Tuck did not emigrate to Canada nor did he race there. The rider in question was Fred's son, Ron Tuck." Click here to leave your own feedback

 

19th January 2007

Interview: Tony McDonald Tony McDonald edits and publishes the popular Backtrack and VSM speedway magazines through his Retro-Speedway concern. In this interview he talks about the guiding principles of the magazines, his experiences in the line of duty and how he sees the publications evolving. If you've still not signed up to Backtrack then Tony has offered to send you a free copy to see what you're missing! This offer is open to the first 100 (yes 100!) of our visitors who send him an email requesting one. Full details of this incredible offer are contained within the interview.

Track Pictures: Divisov These pictures of the Divisov track in the Czech Republic are courtesy of Andy Reid and Graham Porter.

Dream Team: Derek Grant Derek selects his all-time Wimbledon Dons side, unsuprisingly there's a place for the great Ronnie Moore.

We mislaid one of Graeme Frost's pictures last week, one that shows the entrance to the Frederecia circuit in Denmark. It's now been added to his selection of Seventies Track Pictures. No prizes for spotting that this is one of Jason Crump's bikes, but look more closely. It's actually a perfect replica scale model from our friends at No-Brakes-UK. Check out their website for further examples of their work and details on how you can order. If you get in quickly you'll be able to take advantage of their January sale. Mikael Johnsson has set up an online gallery of Swedish pictures, some of which are from the seventies and some from the present day. Many of the vintage pictures feature Tommy Jansson - did you read our extract from his biography? 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko will stage his, much delayed, farewell meeting at Wolverhampton on March 18th 2007. As has become the custom, a website dedicated to the event has been set up - check out suddensamsflamingfarewell.com The Newcastle Diamonds have a new forum - click here to go there. Scott Collier's project to build a 'fire themed speedway bike' to raise money for charity is a little too complicated to explain here. Best to check out his Speedway Corner Blog for the details. Speedway On Disc is a website that links to speedway videos on YouTube. Sounds like an ideal place to visit when you're in need of a 'speedway fix'. We've had to add an 'Online Video' section to our links page to accomodate this, let us know of any other sites that could be included therein.

Ste Bellerby on Plymouth: "First impressions of the first bend? Cleveland Park Stadium, Middlesbrough. The similarities are striking!" Don Maddocks on Simmo - The Whole Truth: "I bought Simmo's book as a Christmas pressie for myself, and found it absorbing. Simmo was my idol at Poole, and was easily the greatest rider to grace Wimborne Road. If you want to enjoy the inside of Speedway for the period, in which Malcolm was involved, then buy his book, it is an excellent read, and has loads of pictures, and anecdotes. Perhaps he is a bit of an egotist, but that is probably why he was such an accomplished rider. Thank you Malcolm for all those wonderful races, and achievements, you will always be known as the King of Wimborne Road." John Hyam on David Wills: "Just a follow-up to the fatal accident involving Dave Wills and Barry Lee. It has generally been supposed that Lee retired after the crash, but I have found references to him in later seasons as racing for Canterbury and Rayleigh in 1968 and Rayleigh again in 1969. He actually topped the Rayleigh averages in 1968, albeit with only seven matches to his credit for a 7.75 average. I am certain that after the West Ham accident Lee rode in second-half races at Hackney. I last saw Barry Lee at Wimbledon Stadium in August 2006 when he was a guest commentator for a Brisca F1 stock car meeting. " Graham (Pirate) Wale on Wimborne Road: "Love the Wimborne Road pics, thanks. Brings back a lot of memories." Steve Hebden on The Ken McKinlay or Ove Fundin saga: "As an old West Ham fan who has only recently found this site I would agree that it is indeed Ken McKinlay. A hero of my teenage years!" Paul Hook on Rowley Park: "I congratulate you on visting the site of Rowley Park Speedway. The track where a very young Ivan Mauger began his international career." Bryan Tungate on 'Soldier Boy' (see last week's feedback) and Trevor Gay's Dream Team: "Re Soldier Boy, Yes he is still around. He was in attendance at the Gala Day here in Norwich in September 2006 whilst he was visiting Trevor & Pam Hedge. "He hasn't changed much over the years". Re Trevor Gay's Dream Team: The rider listed at the bottom of this team, Christer Lofqvist, did not ride for Kings Lynn. It was in fact Dennis Lofqvist who was a Stars rider. " Click here to leave your own feedback

 

11th January 2007

Seventies Track Pictures Graeme Frost shares a small collection of track photographs he took back in the seventies. The tracks in question are: Ellesmere Port; Katowice; Coatbridge; Rowley Park and Bradford.

Dream Team: John Downer John follows Reading and the majority of his side have turned out for the Racers and/or Bulldogs at some stage. Jan Andersson is amongst the riders selected.

John Hyam is looking for photographs of Trevor Blokdyk taken in Britain - Can You Help? Speedway now has its very own dedicated search engine. Adam Jennison is the brains behind this project that aims to make it easier to locate information of interest hidden on the numerous speedway sites out there. Adam hopes to expand the project to include picture searching if the site proves popular. The all-important URL is www.speedwaysearch.com. Speedway Memories is a new website that features many speedway images - programme covers, autographs, ticket stubs etc. Three sites from Slovenia have been added to the links page. These are for Krsko, Ljubljana and MediaSpeed which is an excellent photography site.

Bill Elliot on Blackbird Road: "Although I only ever made it to Blackbird Rd once, in 1972, fond memories of a really good racing track - maybe it's the seasonal spirit talking, but I swear I could almost see the ghost of "Soldier Boy" walking round the track in some of the photographs - anyone know if he's still around? I can remember a few of us from the Glasgow Tigers winding him up more than once but sharing a few beers after matches!" Chris Holmes on Blackbird Road: "Ian Sellar wanted to know what became of Leicester Stadium and I take no pleasure at all in confirming that it's now a "bog standard" housing estate (no offence to the folks who live there). I spent much of my early life in and around the Stadium and to this day cannot face visiting the area as it is now. Soon after the closure was announced, I went to a meeting at the City Council Offices which was also attended by Martin Rogers, the Promoter, and Greville Janner MP amongst others. To their lasting discredit, the Councillors said they did not want a Speedway track anywhere within the City boundary." Tony Webb on A Tribute to Brian Brett: " I would like to add another point of interest to the very good tribute on Brian Brett by Mark Dell. Brian I believe ran a very busy window cleaning service in Hoddesdon when he agreed to ride for the Diamonds. Brian decided to commute to Newcastle by the Inter city Express train, I think he was one of the few riders who 'let the train take the strain' since the days of Australian star Ron Johnson. However it would be interesting to hear of any other riders who put their faith in British Rail." Mick Cast on Jansson - Legend Who Died Young: "Have just finished reading my xmas present, the excellent biography on Tommy Jansson. When you consider it was written in Swedish originally, the Wimbledon years come across with lots of local Plough Lane atmosphere and Shannon almost becomes the heroine of this segment. It was very apparent that the general consensus was that Tommy would have been world champion, and that was from his peers not just the Wimbledon supporters. My present to myself this xmas was Moggo's DVD 25 years in speedway, I have only watched the first 10 years so far, lovely old very bad recording to begin with but it does get better, particulary during the 'captain crash' sequences, and his general personality shines through. During the period I have watched, he also maintained a full time job, it's not just supporters who try to getaway early after meetings to get up in the morning for work." Phil Sharples on Jansson - Legend Who Died Young: "A truly tragic but compelling account of events. GOD BLESS TOMMY" Heather Sturrock: "Thank you for your comments about Andrew Sturrock, you have made him one very happy lad!" Click here to leave your own feedback

 

5th January 2007

A Tribute to Brian Brett Mark Dell pays tribute to Brian Brett who sadly passed away in November. Mark recalls the highlights of Brian's career, one that started at the Rye House training track in the fifties.

Stralsund Track Pictures These pictures of the Stralsund circuit in Germany were taken by Doug MacFarlane.

Dream Team: Trevor Gay Trevor started watching speedway at the Firs in Norwich and later followed the team to King's Lynn. He's selected his favourite seven Stars to line up in his 'Dream Team'.

Trevor Chater is looking for details of the "Cavalcade of Speed" meeting held at Manchester's White City stadium in 1958 - Can You Help? Former rider Jason Reed now customises model speedway bikes to your exact specifications. Full details and examples of his work can be seen on his website. Nine year old Andrew Sturrock is just starting off in the sport at Redcar. You can follow his progress at www.freewebs.com/andrewsturrockracing. His profile tells us his interests are "Speedway, Football and Sexy Girls" - presumably in that order. 'Quiet Man' Darren Mallett of the Boston Barracudas is another with a new website. It's still a work in progress but there are some interesting pictures of his Dad Dennis' days as a rider.

Ian Sellar on Blackbird Road: "Hello, I am in my 41st year following solo racing in Australia, I am only a tender 50, and you hear of the tracks in England and Europe but you never see photos of them, only the riders, good to see what Liecester looks like after hearing of the exploits of John Boulger, Ray Wilson and the likes from many years ago, you don't mention what it is now but if it is anything like what happened to Liverpool Speedway in Sydney it is probably a shopping centre! Solo racing venues are few and far between in Australia and Jason Crump is lucky to rate a mention in the media here, keep up the good work." Terry Warby on Blackbird Road: "What a fantastic set of photos of Blackbird Road, Leicester. Memories came flooding back of some great battles between The Lions and my team the King's Lynn Stars. As a child I remember it being a big stadium and the pictures just reminded me of such. Thanks to Chris Holmes and Dean Murphy." Bill Elliot on Jansson - Legend Who Died Young: "Having been unable to visit the site for a couple of weeks I had a bit of catching up to do and found I had a morbid fascination for the excellent article re the late Tommy Jansson. So sad to think of him being taken when he was only 23 and without doubt would have been World Champion. Hard to comprehend it's 30 years ago now and your article certainly did him justice as it's important that we remember those who contributed to our sport to a greater or lesser extent but ultimately gave their lives for it." John Hyam on David John Wills: "The rider who sadly collided with Dave Wills was Barry Lee. He later graduated into car racing - much beyond bangers. Lee competed in rallycross, big circuit saloon car racing, National Hot Rods and big circuit truck racing. A couple of times he was a starter in the renowned Dakar Rally that runs across the Sahara Desert. Lee was good enough for the Ford company to sponsor him at one time. In 'genuine' motorsport besides small oval car racing, Lee is recognised and respected both as a competitor and personality. It was a tragedy that he was unable to miss Wills. Had it not happened, perhaps Lee would have stayed in speedway, his first choice motorsport, and been as much a respected figure and world champion as he became in car racing." Click here to leave your own feedback