MAIN MAN - SAM ERMOLENKO During a break in preparation for his recent farewell meeting, Sam Ermolenko gave one of his most candid interviews ever to Backtrack.
From his early BL days at Poole in 1983 through his many years of loyal service to Wolverhampton, the former American star recalls the highs and lows of his spectacular career, on and off the track. Read why the Californian admits he was "lucky" to finally win the World Championship in 1993, where he thinks his main rival Hans Nielsen made a big mistake . . . and why he deliberately 'threw' a race to mess up Nielsen and avenge what he perceived to be some dodgy dealing by the Danes years earlier.
Why 'Sudden' Sam wishes he could turn back the clock and do things differently at the 1985 Bradford World Final and why being "too eager to please others" ultimately cost him more individual glory.
The terrible injuries that nearly killed him, his role in Wolves' most successful era and what he might do next now that he has quit racing . . . this is probably the most revealing Sam Ermolenko interview you've ever read.
Our lead columnist JOHN BERRY also runs his usual impartial rule over the colourful American. DEFUNCT TRACK: HACKNEY Another tear-jerker from the archives as we look back at the now sadly defunct East London track, where Hawks, Kestrels and Lions had their time on one of the fairest, most raceable raceways in the world. Bengt Jansson, Barry Thomas, Zenon Plech, Dave Morton, Andy Galvin, Mark Loram, it's a three-page feast for those who couldn't wait to 'Make it a Date Friday at Eight'.
Plus more new exclusives with past favourites: THE GRAHAME BROTHERS To mark the re-opening of Birmingham, we visited two of the Brummies' finest products - Alan and Andy Grahame, who remember their earliest shale days in the yellow-and-red, as well as their experiences at numerous other clubs, including Milton Keynes, Swindon and Oxford.
Alan talks about the controversial incident with Chris Morton that left him with a broken leg. He also reveals his uplifting battle to conquer Hodgkins Disease and his courageous return to enjoy yet more success with Cradley Heathens.
Andy reflects on the 1982 British Final, the greatest night of his career when he and his elder brother dominated the plum Coventry meeting. We also catch up with youngest brother John and find out what all the Grahames are doing today.
GRAHAM DRURY Still on the Birmingham revival theme, we talk in-depth to the man leading the Brummies' comeback at Perry Barr. Graham looks back at his racing days with Ellesmere Port, Crewe, Hull and Long Eaton and why his court case against Oxford won him a hefty pay-out and led to a new career. Also, why John Berry doesn't feature on Graham's Christmas card list...
ALAN MOLYNEUX One of the unsung heroes of Coventry's back-to-back championship-winning teams of the late 70s, Alan explains the importance of his formidable partnership with Brandon legend Ole Olsen and what two spells with his home-town team Long Eaton did for his career. And why it went wrong for him in his one season with Sheffield.
MIKE KEEN Another who was never an outstanding star, but a dependable middle order man nevertheless. Mike gave Swindon many years loyal service but he reveals why his well-earned testimonial turned out to be a wash-out in more ways than one.
IPSWICH 16-LAPPER Starting a new series of 'Bright Ideas', we take a close look at the success of the marathon 16-lap race at Ipswich, where former Witches boss John Berry explains the background to this popular annual event that first caught the fans' imagination in 1979.
IN MY DAY - PETER THOROGOOD One of the most popular promoters of his time, Peter Thorogood reveals the good, the bad and the ugly from his managerial days with Rayleigh, Crayford and Arena Essex.
Plus...the final round of our MASTERMIND QUIZ and SPEEDWAY MUSEUM update.
Colour team photos of BELLE VUE (1976) and EDINBURGH (1981).
The usual cover price of Backtrack is £3.50 if you buy your copy from the track, so why not save a fiver by subscribing in the UK for as little as £16 for 6 issues. Go on, turn back the clock and relive the 'good, old days'.
ISSUE 20 (May-June 2007) MAIN MAN – DAVE JESSUP Is he still haunted by the nightmare of those very costly mechanical failures in successive Wembley World Finals? Editor Tony McDonald visited the Kent home of DJ to find out how he now views those massive blows and much more from the former England international whose glittering career took in Eastbourne, Wembley, Leicester, Reading, two spells with King’s Lynn, Wimbledon and finally Mildenhall.
Wee Dave looks back candidly at the highs and lows of his 19-year career. He explains why he got the nickname ‘Cardigan Man’, why he was never seen in the bar after meetings and why he regretted to doing his Lynn team-mate Michael Lee a ‘favour’ on the way to the 1980 World Final.
Dave also has plenty of forthright and controversial things to say about his three years as manager of the England team at the start of this decade. He reveals why he had no choice but to lie to the crowd over one rider’s non-appearance in a Test match and his revelations about other problems he had to contend with behind the scenes make compelling reading.
Our top columnist John Berry also provides his personal insight into the speedway star who might also have made it to the top in golf.
PETER COLLINS Recalling with PC probably the most courageous effort by any top rider to overcome pain and all the odds to finish second in the rain-lashed 1977 World Final in Sweden. Peter relives the horror of the freak leg injury that almost ruled him out of the Gothenburg final and possibly cost him his second successive world crown.
BEATING WORLD FINAL PAIN It wasn’t only Peter Collins who defied medical advice to take his place on the big night. We look at others who took bravery to another level.
DOUG WYER Sheffield legend Dougie looks back over his career as one of the top Tigers before a dispute with the management led him to Halifax, before his National League swansong with Birmingham and Edinburgh. He reveals why, after a visit with Berwick, he never wanted to go back to Middlesbrough, how he came to wear those distinctive dazzling leathers with arm tassels and the thrill of making it to the World Final in 1976. He also recalls what Aussie fans threw at the touring British Lions!
BARNEY KENNETT One of the biggest and most controversial characters of the NL, the former Canterbury ‘hard man’ remembers his stormy relationship with the crowds and why being a Kennett wasn’t always easy.
TREVOR GEER A league title winner with White City in 1977, Trev explains why going back home to Eastbourne, the track where he first made his name, didn’t work out for the best. Now back at Arlington as team manager, the former Oxford and Reading middle order man also names his greatest team-mate. DEFUNCT TRACK – CRAYFORD They started as the Highwaymen in 1968 and bowed out of the sport as the Kestrels in 1983. We reflect on the good, the bad and the average at the little London Road track in Kent. HOW TO BEAT STARTING GATE CHEATS John Berry examines the ways the authorities tried to resolve the starting gate issue and make procedures fairer for all.
SPEEDWAY MUSEUM OPENING After a brilliant fund-raising project lasting two years, the new museum opened at Paradise Wildlife Park at the end of April 2007. We were there to take a sneak preview.
STEVE WILCOCK A ‘God’ on Teesside, Steve reminds us of the bitter KO Cup final battle with north-east rivals Berwick that left him fuming . . . and made Nig Close public enemy No.1 among Middlesbrough fans.
Plus…
WOLVES IN PICTURES, the result of our first Mastermind quiz, your letters and more.
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ISSUE 22 (September-October 2007)
MAIN MAN - MARTIN ASHBY Think Swindon legend and you will automatically think of Martin Ashby, a top British League star for countless years but possibly underrated by some beyond his Wiltshire stomping ground. Maybe ‘Crash' put his finger on why he was not always considered right up there with the very best of the 70s track heroes when he described himself as "too easy-going." In this exclusive six-page interview, Martin reflects on his long and illustrious career for Swindon and England, the high of almost winning the BLRC and the low of the crash that did much to bring an end to his racing days. He looks back too at his three successful years at Exeter - a track he was at first loathe to join - and, ultimately, the acrimony that led to him leaving his beloved Blunsdon for one final championship-winning season with Reading in 1980. And, of course, the Marlborough marvel also recalls the pinnacle of his international career . . . his brilliant, match-winning display for England in the 1975 World Team Cup final
MITCH SHIRRA There have been few more controversial characters in speedway throughout the 70s and 80s than Mitch Shirra, the little Kiwi with the enormous heart, who was banned for the first time in his career for racing under-age at Coatbridge. Backtrack tracked the former Coventry, Reading and Swindon star down at his home in Queensland, Australia and chewed the fat with a fiery personality who had a lot to get off his chest . . . We could start with his confessions of how Coventry bent the rules to stay within the points limit and how his Danish team-mates and their mechanics ‘shuffled' their back wheels to get a vital edge on their tyres and the opposition. Shirra tells what it was like having mighty Ivan Mauger and Ole Olsen as team-mates for club and country. He reveals how he was ‘hounded' by the authorities after failing a drugs test and then refusing to ‘throw' a major World Championship race. In the end he was given two season-long bans from the sport, but still came back fighting and was riding in veterans' races in Oz only last year!
SEAN WILSON One of the most popular racers to wear the colours of Sheffield in the latter part of the 80s, Shawn ‘The Prawn' looks back on his early days with the Tigers and how he revelled in being alongside the Moran brothers before his moves to Coventry, Bradford, Belle Vue and then back to Owlerton.
DAVE BAUGH Odsal devotees will doubtless remember Dave, the tall scoring Bradford star who piled up the points in the early 70s while wearing glasses under his racing goggles. Well, as out exclusive interview with him reveals, he is now working as a fully-qualified diving instructor . . . which is a long way from having bricks thrown at him by irate fans at Berwick!
LET DOWN FOR SUPPORTERS Our top columnist John Berry on why the sport has lost so many thousands of fans since the last boom of the 70s. Our readers also have their say on what they feel has gone wrong with the sport and the reasons why many have left, never to return.
RUSS HODGSON The former Belle Vue ‘Ace' couldn't believe his good fortune when he was offered the chance of top flight action with the Hyde Road club in the mid-70s. But when injury struck, this extraordinary man turned his attention to boats . . . and sailed to the other side of the world!
MAREK CIESLAK Polish speedway fans today know him as the man who masterminded their country's recent World Cup victory in Leszno, but this feature is all about Cieslak's days as a rider - for London White City's title-winning team of 1977 and his contribution as a top Polish international and world finalist.
SIMMO SLAMS BRITS Never one to pull punches, former World No.2 Malcolm Simmons hits out at the Great Britain riders and management following their dismal display in the recent World Cup final in Poland.
GREAT ENTERTAINERS...of the National League Our editorial team has taken a good, hard look back at the 70s and 80s and picked the riders they feel provided most entertainment. Is your favourite among them?
MARCUS WILLIAMS A tragic accident sadly cut short his racing career before it had barely got going in 1983, but this former Reading and Exeter prospect has certainly made the most of his life in every way since then, despite being confined to a wheelchair. An inspirational interview with a special man.
DEFUNCT TRACK: MIDDLESBROUGH If you were a regular visitor to Cleveland Park, then this one's for you. Forrester, Leadbitter, Wilcock, Dixon, Havvy . . . they're all there as we look back on a track that last heard the roar of the bikes in 1996.
KING'S LYNN...In Pictures Bettsy, Simmo, Mike the Bike, DJ, Tiddler, JD, etc, etc . . . a feast of Star-gazing in our two-page picture review of past Lynn favourites.
MASTERMIND Yep, it's back! Get those brain cells dusted off and launch into our second quiz competition to test your knowledge. Who knows, you could win free tickets to the 2008 British GP at Cardiff.
COLOUR TEAM PICTURES Our two teams featured on the back cover this time are the HACKNEY HAWKS, who went close to winning the BL in 1980, and the RYE HOUSE ROCKETS of 1979, a year before they did win the NL.
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ISSUE 23 (November-December 2007)
MAIN MAN - ERIK GUNDERSEN He nearly died on the track after crashing in heat one of the World Team Cup final 18 years ago, but Erik Gundersen is alive and well and talking to Backtrack from his lovely farmhouse home in Denmark, where editor Tony McDonald recently flew to exclusively interview the three times World Champion.
Erik, a one-club Cradley Heath legend, gave us his most candid and heart-warming interview ever.
Now 48, he recalls:
*The accident at Bradford's Odsal Stadium in 1989 that almost killed him and left him partially paralysed, and how he has learned to cope with those disabilities.
*How living among the local Black Country community shaped his British League career and gave him the inspiration to become a Heathens hero. What he thought of promoter Dan McCormick and Bruce Penhall, his predecessor as No.1 and skipper at Dudley Wood.
*The real inside story on his intense rivalry with fellow Dane Hans Nielsen - and how Erik was inevitably caught in the crossfire once Ole Olsen became his personal mentor. ‘Gundo' now admits that it was wrong of Olsen to manage the Danish team AND him personally simultaneously in the mid-80s - the relationship that only deepened the rift between Erik and Hans.
*Read Erik's astonishing admission that he believes Hans Nielsen was a better all round rider than him.
*But how psychology played such a huge part in helping him to win his long-running battle with Nielsen on the biggest occasions.
*And why Denmark's domination of world speedway in the 80s was "boring" and bad for speedway as a whole.
*What Kenny Carter did that shocked him.
*Plus much more from this ever-popular Dane who has shown such remarkable courage to earn the right to enjoy what he calls his ‘second life'.
BOB KILBY One of the most consistently successful Brits of the 70s, Bob recalls his starring roles for his home-town team Swindon, plus Exeter and Oxford. The fast-starting former Robins flier, the Wiltshire town's best-ever speedway product, hits back at those who questioned his trapping technique. "I didn't used to cheat," Bob protests.
He explains his reluctance to move from Swindon to Exeter, and why it turned out for the best, and then his dislike of Ivan Mauger that led him to leave the County Ground for Oxford.
He ended his career back at Blunsdon and Bob names his all-time Swindon Top 7. Now 63, he also talks candidly about his serious health battles, which have included three heart operations and a stroke.
JIMMY McMILLAN One of Scotland's all-time greats, Jimmy Mac looks back on the days when his small nation were an international force in the World Pairs, as well as being represented in the World Team Cup.
Glasgow legend Jimmy admits that, in the interests of his career, he should have moved south earlier than he did when he became Hull's first BL No.1, before spells with Wolverhampton, Belle Vue and Berwick, but he still enjoyed 20 proud years in the saddle.
Jim, who is now technical steward for the British GP and plays a key role in the Coventry pits on race nights, also gives his assessment of all four Glasgow home tracks on which he has led the Tigers.
PETE SMITH Another loyal, one-track man, Pete Smith was part of the furniture at Poole throughout the 70s, when he celebrated a well-earned testimonial before retiring to run the thriving family car business he still has today.
We talk to ‘Pirate Pete', Poole's first championship-winning skipper, about his career at Wimborne Road and the fellow stars he appeared alongside on the south coast, including hard men like Reidar Eide and John Langfield (who he once punched in the pits) and stylish Malcolm Simmons, who succeeded him as the club's top man. "Simmo was crapped on by the management," says Pete.
RICHARD KNIGHT One of the rising England stars of the 80s, Richard talks about his emergence from National League Mildenhall to star status with Ipswich, then King's Lynn, before a brief spell in the sun with ambitious Berwick, where his son Jake began his own speedway career in 2007. A World Team Cup finalist in 1985, Richard also made it to the big one in 1990, but he admits now that he didn't invest enough in his machinery before the Bradford World Final.
ZDENEK KUDRNA Mad? Dangerous? They are just a couple of labels attached to Czech star Zdenek, a former daredevil who rode in Britain for Exeter and Birmingham before his tragic death in 1982. Zdenek's widow, Jirina, provides an interesting insight into the caring husband she lost and the multi-talented tracksport star known in his homeland as ‘Demon', while fellow Czech legend Vaclav Verner adds his views.
ROD HAYNES The former Scunthorpe and Sheffield teamster with his first column - Life and Times of a 70s Racer, reflecting on his struggle to get practice and second-half rides in the north, including his first forays at ‘dusty' Doncaster.
WIMBLEDON The latest in our Defunct Tracks series, the once dominant Dons deserve their four pages of nostalgia, as we recall the highs and lows of speedway at one of the sport's greatest venues.
EASTBOURNE in PICTURES Soaring with the Eagles in a pictorial review of the 70s and 80s at Arlington, where the academy produced England discoveries such as Dave Jessup and Gordon Kennett, who went on to become World No.2s.
STEVE BAST Memories of the former American ace who sadly died recently in his native California.
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ISSUE 24 (January-February 2008)
MAIN MAN - OLE OLSEN We've brought you some major exclusive interviews in Backtrack over the past four years, but they don't come any bigger than this one, with three times World Champion Ole Olsen - the most powerful man in speedway.
Editor Tony Mac recently visited the original Great Dane at his home in Denmark and the result is a captivating 8-page interview with the man who put Danish speedway on the map.
As forthright and controversial as ever, Ole talks about his own illustrious racing career, including his memories of riding for Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Coventry in the British League.
Read what he has to say about:
*Mike Parker, the rebel promoter who brought him to England in 1967.
*Learning from the maestro, Ivan Mauger.
*Why he would have quit BL if he hadn't been granted his wish to join Coventry in 1976, when the BSPA tried to force him to Hull. And what did he call Ian Thomas that so incensed the Vikings' boss?
*Ole's reason for turning down Briggo's invite to join the Golden Greats...and why this man of the future always prefers to look forwards rather than back.
*His radical thoughts on the state of British speedway and how to cure them. "I think they should stop British speedway for two years - close it down - and then come back with a whole new concept," he says.
*Olsen advises the BSPA how to handle riders who refuse to ride in wet conditions.
*And among his revolutionary plans for the continued development of the Speedway Grand Prix is to change the starting system, so that the man on the outside starts one metre in front of the rest on an angled start-line grid.
Our top writer John Berry airs his own personal thoughts on Olsen, the man who became his most difficult opponent when they managed England and Denmark respectively in the mid-80s.
All this and much more...and this is only Part 1! The second instalment of the interview, when Ole talks candidly about his feud with Hans Nielsen, explains why he backed Erik Gundersen and how that, in turn, also upset Tommy Knudsen, will be in our next issue (No. 25), when he also talks about his World Final ups and downs and Vojens.
ERIK GUNDERSEN The second part of our Erik Gundersen interview, a 5-pager, also makes for compelling reading, although it won't please British track bosses.
For the triple World Champion talks enthusiastically about his new role as Denmark's Youth Trainer . . . and why the future looks rosy for his country and gloomy for the Brits.
‘Gunder the Wonder' explains, in detail, how the Danes are re-building for the future with a structured youth policy aimed at producing the next generation of Nicki Pedersens.
But, as Erik warns here, it's not only the progression of bike-mad kids in Denmark and Sweden who Britain should beware of. He predicts that Russia will follow Poland and become a major force in world speedway in the seasons ahead, having himself been offered a coaching role in the old Soviet Union.
The former Cradley Heath hero also offers to help Britain puts its house in order after years of neglect when it comes to youth development.
BELLE VUE - 80-year celebrations To mark the 80th year of racing at Belle Vue, and in Britain, in 2008, we talk to former Aces' boss Eric Boocock about what it was like to race at the much-missed Hyde Road raceway and the honour of being part of the famed Manchester set-up.
Booey also pays tribute to the late Allan Morrey, one of the unsung heroes of Belle Vie Speedway for many years.
JOE THURLEY Although currently awaiting triple heart bypass surgery that he hopes will happen in April, the former Birmingham boss reveals the highs and lows of reviving the Brummies at Perry Barr in 1971, the glory days of the mid-70s and then his ill-fated decision to take them up into the top flight. It's a gamble he now regrets.
KEVIN JOLLY A strong East Anglian feel to this four-page interview, as former Mildenhall starlet Kevin recalls the tension of past local derby clashes in the top flight between Ipswich and King's Lynn - and why he wished he'd never moved from Foxhall to Saddlebow Road.
DEFUNCT TRACK: RAYLEIGH If you were a regular at The Weir track in south-east Essex in the early 70s, you'll be wallowing in nostalgia with this 3-pager on the Rockets, who were revived by Len Silver in 1968 and ran until the dreaded bulldozers flattened the place at the end of the 1973 season.
NATIONAL SERVICE How speedway was back page news - and occasionally even made the front! - during the glory days of the 70s and early 80s, when England ruled world speedway.
Plus... The Rod Haynes Column, Life and Times of a 70s Racer . . . interview with former Middlesbrough announcer and team manager Tony Coupland, a tribute to ex-Oxford graduate Rick Timmo, and Q&As with Ian Hindle and Russ Dent, as well as your letters and the latest round of our Mastermind quiz.
ISSUE 25 (March-April 2008)
MAIN MAN - JOHN DAVIS 'Kick the useless foreigners out of British Speedway!'
That is the no-holds barred opinion of John Davis, one of the most eloquent and outspoken riders of the 1970s and 80s Backtrack era, whose exclusive, hard-hitting interview dominates our latest issue.
In trying to pinpoint some of the main problems behind England's demise as a world force in speedway, twice World Cup-winner Davis - who now manages GB international Lee Richardson - also questions the attitude of the Brits themselves.
He says: "There is a worrying tendency for every new, young British rider to have their name emblazoned on the side of their van before they have even made their name in speedway. You would think they would be too embarrassed to do it."
One of the sport's most charismatic characters of the last boom period, Davis talks in-depth about his colourful career that included spells with Oxford, Reading, Poole, Wimbledon, King's Lynn, Swindon, Sheffield and Peterborough, plus Diedenbergen in Germany, where JD was a big favourite.
He talks controversially about his turbulent England career and admits "there was a north-south divide in the national team set-up."
And the image-conscious JD, who pioneered pink leathers, also reveals how he felt about being called ‘Mavis' by his fellow riders and fans!
It's another thoroughly compelling interview in the magazine that always gets to the heart of the matter.
OLE OLSEN - Part Two Speedway's most powerful figure raised more than a few eyebrows with his opinions (and suggested remedies) for British speedway in our last issue, and the Speedway Grand Prix Race Director is back in the second and final part of Tony Mac's exclusive interview with more controversial views that are bound to captivate readers.
In particular, Olsen reveals his side of his famous feud with fellow Dane Hans Nielsen that dominated the headlines in the mid-80s, how it affected both Hans and Erik Gundersen and also why he was disappointed with comments from his former Coventry protégé Tommy Knudsen. Ole told Backtrack: "I did more for Hans Nielsen than anybody has ever done for him. Hans wanted to beat Erik just to prove to me that he was the better rider."
Three times World Champion Olsen also reflects on his highs and lows in pursuit of his World Championship dreams in 11 individual finals, and why he was determined to build his own track at Vojens.
Our latest seven-page feature on Olsen includes brand new colour photographs of Ole at home in Denmark with his family. plus a cracking full-page colour shot of the Great Dane's 24-carat gold plated Jawa machine.
Our lead columnist JOHN BERRY also provides his own view of both Davis and Olsen.
LARRY ROSS We've tracked down one of the most successful riders at his home in New Zealand. Larry tells Martin Neal what it took to follow in the tyre tracks of his fellow Kiwis from Christchurch, Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger in a career that embraced successful spells for Wimbledon, Belle Vue, Halifax and Bradford. Larry recalls his country's finest hour, when they became world team champions in 1979. He explains why he quit the UK scene so young . . . and what has prompted him to make a track comeback at the age of 50!
MEET THE BOSS It takes all sorts to become a speedway promoter, as this insightful piece by national newspaper journalist Richard Bott illustrates. Dick reveals his past dealings with leading Northern-based track bosses Mike Parker, Frank Varey, Reg Fearman, Ian Thomas, Bryan Larner, Eric Boocock, Eric Boothroyd and Stuart Bamforth.
STEVE LOMAS What became of the former Hackney, Wolverhampton, Edinburgh and Boston rider to is still getting his racing kicks on the beach!
DEFUNCT TRACK: SUNDERLAND Ivan Mauger never lost a race there, but speedway was only staged at Sunderland for five seasons. Taking a comprehensive, if curious, look back at this friendly North-East venue where the bikes haven't roared since 1974, but where a neat little stadium just made for modern speedway still exists.
Also...
The Rod Haynes Column, Q&As with Paul Evitts, Mick Fielding and Dick Barrie, your letters, the penultimate round of this year's Mastermind quiz and more!
ISSUE 26 (May-June 2008) MAIN MAN - TERRY BETTS There really is no other apt title for Terry Betts than ‘Mr King's Lynn', so who better to reflect on the 70s and 80s at Saddlebow Road than the Stars legend who spent 14 wonderful years with the Norfolk club.
Posing for our photographer with the Lynn Trophy he won in the first-ever meeting staged at KL in 1965, ‘Bettsy' talks of his respect and affection for Maurice Littlechild - the man who tempted him out of retirement.
He also pays tribute to the other man who set him on the path to domestic and international stardom, his great friend Colin Pratt, who made Terry realise that he needed a much more professional approach if he was ever to fulfil his potential.
Betts often fought a lone battle as Lynn's spearhead, until the arrival of Malcolm Simmons in 1968. Terry talks about their rivalry and how it led to him breaking his arm in a second-half final.
He reflects, too, on the sudden emergence of Michael Lee and then, at the end of 1978, his unhappy departure from his beloved Saddlebow Road, where he found himself out in the cold after the signing of Dave Jessup.
"My career didn't end the way I wanted it to," admitted a regretful Betts, who spent his final season with Reading before calling it a day at the age of 36.
Our lead columnist JOHN BERRY provides his insight into a rider he describes as a "down to earth bloke's bloke."
NEIL STREET We talk to the man who revolutionised speedway in the mid-70s with his controversial four-valve engine. Neil reveals how he masterminded the Jawa conversion that took the sport by storm in 1975 and why he wasn't able to sustain its initial success as rival companies, Weslake and Jawa, unveiled their motors.
One of speedway's most respected and enduring characters, ‘Streetie' looks back on the latter days of his own long racing career with Newport and his defence of the much-maligned Somerton Park track also makes very interesting reading.
Neil also explains the satisfaction he gained from nurturing the careers of his son-in-law Phil Crump and grandson, 2008 British GP winner Jason Crump.
BRUCE CRIBB Another one of the sport's most colourful characters, Bruce clearly revelled in his hard-man image and recalls some of his more interesting scrapes from a long career that took in spells with Cradley Heath, Wolves, Berwick and Exeter among others.
Also, he reveals what he remembers most from New Zealand's 1979 World Team Cup victory and chills out while recalling his ice racing exploits.
BOBBY McNEIL One of the finest products of the Eastbourne academy, Bobby McNeil showed promise at top flight Swindon and Hackney before retiring at a relatively young age to pursue business interests. He recalls how the death of a former team-mate and career-ending injuries to another good friend hastened his decision to quit.
BOSTON: DEFUNCT TRACK They were a dominating force in Division Two in 1973 but the roar of the bikes had gone before the end of the 1987 season. Looking back at Barracudas' highs and lows and local heroes like Arthur Price, Carl Glover, Robert Hollingworth and debutant Michael Lee.
JAN VERNER An exclusive interview from the Czech Republic, as we catch up with one of the famous racing family, who had spells in the BL with Exeter and Swindon and made his own slice of World Championship history.
WAGS Behind every successful man . . . we turn the clock back to the 70s and recall the views of three wives of former riders - Angela Collins, Pat Louis and Yvonne Sjosten.
COVENTRY IN PICTURES A feast of Brandon brilliance from the 70s & 80s...Booey, Ole, Mitch, Tommy, Kelvin, Rick and the rest...
Plus...
The Rod Haynes column, Q&As with Mike Wilding, Andy Meldrum and Mike Bennett, your letters the final round of Backtrack Mastermind and more...
ISSUE 27 (July-August 2008)
MAIN MEN: THE COLLINS BROTHERS Peter, Les, Phil, Neil and Steve are the most famous brothers in speedway history - and we've got exclusive, new interviews with all five of them!
Les laments going so close to winning the World title at Los Angeles in 1982 and offers his own take on that infamous Penhall-Carter scrap that ultimately cost him the crown. He did win the BLRC in 1980 but he reveals why the BSPA's attitude marred what should have been his finest moment in UK racing.
Phil talks to us from his home in California, where he settled after suddenly quitting British speedway at the end of the 1986 season. Read what he has to say about his time with Ellesmere Port and Cradley Heath and why he decided to give Britain the boot.
Neil, who holds the all-time British appearance record after an incredible ?? seasons in the saddle, takes us on his eventful journey from track to track. Find out too why he was never best mates with Kenny Carter!
Steve, the youngest Collins, talks in-depth for the first time about his struggle to follow in the tyre tracks of his more illustrious brothers.
And Peter, the 1976 World Champion they all set out to try and emulate, provides a fascinating insight into the characteristics of all four of his brothers.
We find out what the Collins boys from Cheshire are doing now, while lead columnist JOHN BERRY has his say on each of them.
REUNIONS We're at Belle Vue and Wolverhampton to bring you exclusive coverage of their recent 80th anniversary meetings, while we also catch up with the Rayleigh reunions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Rockets' launch and their revival 40 years ago.
NEIL MACFARLANE One of the most influential and controversial characters in Scottish speedway history, Neil talks to Backtrack about his promoting and managerial experiences at Glasgow, Coatbridge, Edinburgh and Paisley.
JOE THURLEY Following the sad death of the former Birmingham promoter, John Berry pays his own personal tribute to the man who brought him into speedway back in the late 60s when they were business partners at Ipswich and Doncaster, as well as at Perry Barr.
HENNY KROEZE Arguably the greatest ever Dutch speedway rider, Henny recalls his injury-plagued years with Halifax (where he made BL history), Bristol and Sheffield - and reveals how his motorcycle skills are still thrilling crowds.
ROMFORD: DEFUNCT TRACK The Bombers lasted only three seasons before they were grounded by one crusading anti-speedway resident. We re-visit the Essex town to find out why they attracted regular 5,000 crowds and what was so ‘different' about their so-called safety fence.
READING IN 1975 Through an extract from the new book, Tears and Glory - The Winged Wheel Story, to commemorate 40 years of Reading Speedway, we reflect on the Racers' first season at Smallmead, in 1975, when Anders Michanek was the local fans' idol.
Plus...Rod Haynes' Column; Arena Essex in Pictures; Q&As with former Weymouth and Crayford rider Garry May and Berwick announcer Dennis McCleary; the result of the 2007-08 Backtrack Mastermind competition, your letters and, of course, another huge dose of nostalgia.
ISSUE 28 (September-October 2008)
MAIN MAN: FINN THOMSEN He was one of Denmark's leading riders, but few who saw him doubt that Finn Thomsen could have achieved even more than three World Team Cup and two World Pairs medals to his name.
In our new in-depth, six-page exclusive interview with the former Wolverhampton and Hackney favourite, he candidly admits: "My downfall, and it was always my problem as a rider, is that I never had the ambition or desire in me to become World Champion. There was always a little something missing."
Tony McDonald caught up with Finn, who also had BLK spells with Poole and Swindon before retiring in 1986, in Spain, where he reflects on what might have been.
As forthright as ever, our lead columnist JOHN BERRY also runs the rule over Thomsen¹s career and he admits: "We were never bosom pals and would not have made a natural mix."
ANDY SMITH Three times British Champion and twice a World Finalist before going on to become one of England's original GP stars, ever-spectacular England star Andy Smith invited Martin Neal into his Stoke home to look back on the early part of his career for Belle Vue and Bradford. Andy told Backtrack: "I took out a Polish licence because I had no choice. I had to work. Sometimes I felt like quitting and I think most people in my position would have - but I still had ambition and I still wanted to race."
BLRCs of the 70s We look back over the decade of the 70s at the 10 stagings of the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, recalling the major incidents, spills and thrills of this annual individual classic that regularly attracted 20,000-plus crowds to the famous Manchester track. Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Peter Collins, hat-trick hero Ole Olsen and John Louis (left) all added their name to this prestigious title during the period under review.
PAT BLISS As Reading leave their home after 23 years, Bob Radford recalls old times with Pat Bliss, who had the longest period of those involved in the Racers¹ management in the Smallmead era. Pat, who is now retired, says: "I've missed the day-to-day running of the Racers and the people, but not the politics of the sport."
RUDY MUTS Following his chat with Henny Kroeze in our previous issue, Vitek Formanek caught up with Rudy Muts, another one-time leading Dutchman of the 70s, who had a lengthy spell in the British League with Wimbledon before a broken neck curtailed his track career. Looking back, Rudy admits: "Some people told me I was too nice to be a speedway rider. I think I was fair and didn't do anything bad to anyone. Maybe, if I had my time again, I would try to be a bit tougher." ROBBIE GARDNER A feature on the Northern scene in the early 70s, Robbie Gardner tells Richard Bott that it was the tragic death of a Newcastle team-mate that made him decide to end his own once promising racing career.
FELTON There are precious few learning opportunities for would-be riders in Britain today but there was once a thriving training facility in the North-East of England. Martin Neal talks to Ken Marshall about how he, partner Will Hunter and other far-sighted enthusiasts helped to make some dreams come true at Felton.
Plus . . . Rod Haynes¹ column, Ipswich in Pictures, Q&A's with Sean Courtney and announcer Laurence Rogers, your letters and, of course, another huge helping of speedway nostalgia from the 70s and 80s.
ISSUE 29 (November-December 2008)
MAIN MAN: BARRY BRIGGS WHEN Barry Briggs beat big rival Ivan Mauger in his first race of the 1972 World Final, it seemed a fourth world title was within his grasp. Just minutes later, Briggo's title dreams lie in tatters . . . a serious crash at Wembley saw him on his way to hospital requiring emergency surgery and the amputation of a finger.
For the first time since his ordeal 36 years ago, the four times World Champion talks candidly and in great depth about the incident that he believes robbed him of a fifth crown. BB has never forgiven Bernt Persson, the Swede he accuses of knocking him off on the first bend, but with the refreshing honest that runs throughout our exclusive interview, he admits: "When I look back at the TV replay of the incident, I can see that I wasn't smart. I left Persson too much room."
As well as taking a closer look back at that '72 drama, Briggo explains why age didn't deter him from making a comeback with Wimbledon in 1974, at the age of 39, and going on to enjoy a few more seasons for the Dons and, finally, Hull in 1976.
He talks about his rivalry and friendship with Ivan Mauger, on and off the track . . . how he couldn't cope when his former idol Ronnie Moore nearly died at a World Champions Series meeting that was promoted by him and Mauger...how the Kiwis conned the Poles at Exeter...helping Swindon team,-mate Martin Ashby to second place in the BLRC and why ‘Crash' couldn't repeat his performance that night at Belle Vue in 1972...in his role as mentor and advisor in the 80s, Barry explains why he thinks Kelvin Tatum never fulfilled his potential...and the difficulty he had trying to help Kelly Moran win the World Final...why his Golden Greats idea led to the invention of the dirt deflector - and the frustrations that followed...he names the two things that have done British speedway most damage (and it's not the GP!)...what Briggo is up to these days, his latest invention and why hip replacement surgery and dodgy knee can't keep him off a bike for long!
To complement our major, eight-page interview with the biggest personality speedway has ever known, our top columnist JOHN BERRY also takes a close look at the massive impact Briggs made on the sport. JB recalls the time Briggo revealed how he had pumped oxygen pumped into his blood to help keep him fit and feeling younger than ever.
JOHN TITMAN We catch up with the former Australian star at home in Brisbane, where he recently made a one-off comeback at the Ekka track where it all began for him back in 1968. John looks back on his BL career with Halifax, Exeter, Leicester, Hackney and Wimbledon, plus his two World Final appearances and what riding for Australia meant to him.
He pays tribute to a few of the promoters he rode for and explains why leaving Leicester in 1983 proved a good move for all concerned. A reputable engine tuner, John admits that perhaps doing all the work on his bikes backfired on him and stopped him achieving greater success.
IAN TURNER One of the smallest and most spectacular riders throughout the 70s, ‘Tiddler' explains why just riding for his beloved King's Lynn was a dream come true and that he never had any aspirations to become World Champion. The little man with the big heart recalls team-mates such as Terry Betts, Michael Lee and the people who helped him to become an unsung hero at Saddlebow Road.
RICK FRANCE After 12 years with Coventry, the early 70s heralded a fresh start for Rick, who enjoyed his later years in Yorkshire with firstly Sheffield and then Halifax. The 1967 World Finalist and former England international quit at the end of 1975 and he explains why - plagued by persistent problems with his shoulder - he had no thoughts of dropping into Division Two. READING HEROES So just who did Bob Radford include in his Top 20 of people who made the most significant contribution to Reading Racers from 1970 to 1990 inclusive? Anders Michanek (pictured left with John Davis) and Jan Andersson are certainly in there, of course, but who else joins them in our colourful four-page tribute . . . and who didn't make it? Definitely cause for debate among former Tilehurst and Smallmead devotees. We've also got colour pictures of former Racers as they look now - taken at the End of Era finale in October.
BLRCs of the 80s Following on from our look at British League Riders' Championships of the 70s in our last issue, we fast-forward to the 80s decade and review the Belle Vue biggie that saw Englishmen and Danes dominate this annual classic before it passed into American hands. Read how Collins, Carter, Gundersen, Nielsen, Pedersen and Moran all took the main honours.
Plus . . . Rod Haynes' column, Q&A's with Stuart Cope and announcer Peter Morrish, your letters and, of course, another huge helping of speedway nostalgia from the 70s and 80s.
ISSUE 30 (January-February 2009)
MAIN MAN: PREBEN ERIKSEN Committed rider who never gave less than 100 per cent or a wild man who should have been committed? He was one of the most forceful riders of his era whose robust riding style divided opinion. Preben Eriksen talks about his ‘hard man' tag and recalls some of the explosive incidents that brought the Danish World Team Cup winner unwelcome headlines during his eventful spells with Ipswich and Wolverhampton.
In this exclusive, Eriksen told Backtrack: "I was never a dirty rider. I never did anything to anyone deliberately. Sometimes I was a bit too ambitious and I tried a bit too hard, but I never went out to push someone out of the way."
It was our lead columnist JOHN BERRY who introduced Preben to British speedway in 1979. Read what the former Ipswich boss thinks about one of his few overseas imports.
NEIL MIDDLEDITCH As supporter, rider and now successful team manager, Neil Middleditch has virtually done the lot at Poole. Backtrack ventured into deepest Dorset to talk to a candid Middlo about all aspects of his speedway life with Eastbourne, the Pirates and Arena-Essex his highs and the lows, how it all turned sour at Wimborne Road and the problems and heartache of managing Great Britain.
BARRY BRIGGS Only a track legend as determined and passionate for his sport as Barry Briggs would even dare contemplate a racing comeback at the age of 49. But that's what Briggo did 25 years ago. Following part one of our in-depth exclusive interview with the mighty Kiwi in our last issue, we talk to Barry about other events that followed his retirement from British League speedway in 1976, including New Zealand's historic World Team Cup victory.
SHAWN McCONNELL He may not have scaled the dizzy heights of his American contemporaries but just like vintage California wine, Shawn McConnell has matured into one of the finest products of the west coast scene. We catch up with the former Birmingham and Swindon rider.
ROCHDALE and ELLESMERE PORT Speedway tracks come and go but mostly they go, never to return. Sadly, we have seen the last of two old northern venues, Rochdale and Ellesmere Port, where success on the track was not reflected at the turnstiles. Rochdale's Athletic Grounds is now the site of a Morrisons Supermarket and Thornton Road Greyhound Stadium, Ellesmere Port, which has not staged speedway since 1985, is expected to be sold for housing this year. But both venues and their speedway history are inextricably linked because when Rochdale closed after only two seasons, in 1971, many of their riders moved to Ellesmere Port, near Merseyside, which opened the following year.
This article is really about why the two tracks opened in the first place and why they closed.
SWINDON HEROES We name the Top 20 Robins heroes from the Backtrack era of 1970-90. Martin Ashby, Bob Kilby, Phil Crump and, of course, Barry Briggs are in there, but who else made it?
Plus . . . Tribute to the late Bob Kilby, Andrew Silver's comeback bid, John Berry on junior second halves, Rod Haynes' column, Q&As with former Wembley announcer Ed Stewart and Mark Crang, your letters and another huge helping of nostalgia from the 70s and 80s . . .
ISSUE 31 (March-April 2009) No, this is not another grim examination of the current global economic recession . . . we're talking England's miserable standing in world speedway.
It's 20 years since England last won the World Cup. As another new manager takes charge, we conduct a special report into what went wrong through the eyes of three former national team managers and look back on an era when Britain was a truly great speedway nation.
Read the hard-hitting, no-nonsense views of JOHN BERRY, who guided the Lions to World Cup glory in 1977, and also those of IAN THOMAS and ERIC BOOCOCK, who worked together to mastermind the World Championship grand slam in 1980.
All three men are renowned for their outspoken opinions and they are here for all to read, including the question of whether Scott Nicholls - or any other GP rider - should be considered for the national team having decided to skip the Elite League.
Berry says: "With all due respect to Rob Lyon, his new position might well carry some kudos and give the media something to write about, but the role will be entirely incidental until, and unless, the promoters collectively decide on a radical rethink on how the sport is run in the UK.
"Spending time and money on training camps and assistants and matching suits is all well and good, but this is just expensive window-dressing at a time when the sport is fighting for survival at domestic level."
Thomas says: "I have to say I think that too many riders these days are more concerned about doing well on the Grand Prix circuit than anything else. They don't take the World Cup as seriously as our blokes did in the 70s and 80s. It was our good fortune to have so many lads who really WANTED to ride for England."
And his fellow Yorkshireman ‘Booey' added: "Kenny Carter's attitude was ‘stuff everyone else', including his team-mates! He wanted to do his best for the team and three points was better than two. He was 100 per cent British and always wanted to get one over the foreigners. We could do with half a dozen like him now."
As usual, we've also got some compelling, new major interviews...
TREVOR HEDGE Following our in-depth interview in the latest issue of Classic Speedway magazine, we met up with ‘Hedgey' to reflect on the second half of his racing career - with Wimbledon, King's Lynn and finally Hackney. Trevor admits his disappointment at being denied a richly-deserved testimonial after 10 full seasons at Plough Lane, recalls the pain of his one and only World Final appearance and explains why he is no longer the UK's main GM agent.
RICHARD GREER It's not easy keeping pace with the multi-functional Peterborough legend, but we spent time with ‘King Richard' to look back on his eventful career, which also embraced spells with Oxford, White City and Birmingham.
ROBERT HOLLINGWORTH He's been riding a speedway bike for 36 years and, astonishingly, he continues to do so. Backtrack meets a Boston legend who rode for pride rather than glory . . .
IPSWICH HEROES John Berry, the man who made the Witches one of the greatest teams in British League history, selects his Top 20 heroes from the period 1970-90. See who did and who didn't make it.
SHEFFIELD in PICTURES Looking back at some of the major names and fans favourites who wore the Tigers¹ racejacket during the 70s and 80s, including Bob Valentine, Doug Wyer, Reg Wilson and Shawn Moran.
Plus . . . Rod Haynes' column (including his thoughts on past visits to Hull and Halifax), Q&As with Mark Chessell and announcer Graham Hambly, your letters and another huge helping of speedway nostalgia.
ISSUE 32 (May-June 2009)
AMERICAN IDOLS There is a strong American flavour to this issue as we look back at the new wave of Californians who crossed the Atlantic in the early 70s to make their mark in British speedway - from Scott Autrey to Bruce Penhall, Bobby Scghwartz to the Moran brothers, and Sam Ermolenko to Greg Hancock, plus all the others who appeared for British teams.
Columnist John Berry, who managed England in Test matches against the USA, examines the impact those fun-loving, wheelie-popping, colourful and sometimes controversial characters from the States had on the British League scene.
He writes: "They lived their lives in the same way they rode their bikes . . . on the edge. Somehow they seemed to represent everything that was good - and bad - about Californian speedway riders. On track they were each worth the admission money by themselves. The skill, the daring, the panache made them true entertainers.
"Away from the track they seemed to live their lives as if every moment should produce a new sensation. Hang the consequences, let's live for today.
"The British public loved the way the Americans brought action and colour into the sport. They loved the wheelies and the flag-waving and the extrovert character of these devil-may-care riders who all seemed to be prepared and able to project themselves both on and off the track.
"The supporters also seemed to shrug their shoulders at the rumours of drug taking and of wild parties, even when some of the lads were caught red-handed. A rudimentary drug testing regime was introduced around that time and, it has to be pointed out, no American was found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs but there was plenty of evidence to back up claims of a fair amount of ‘recreational' drug use."
We've a full list of every American who rode in the BL from 1969 to 1990. Berry goes on to name his American Dream Team. So who did make it into his top 7 from the Backtrack period?
BRUCE PENHALL Many champions have come and gone through the years but probably none have created a void as big as the chasm left by Bruce Penhall when he left speedway in a hurry in 1982. Editor Tony Mac on why Cradley Heath's American Golden Boy was such a huge loss to the sport and he offers a controversial view on why the British public were wrong to turn against the double World Champion who quit while on top.
He writes: "What Bruce did that afternoon in West London was hardly different to what many, many others have done to facilitate the greater need of others. If he was guilty of anything, it was naivete."
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS We also talk to Andy Hale, the English speedway fan who boasts the biggest collection of Bruce Penhall memorabilia, as well as racing mementoes purchased from other top US stars.
NORSE POWER Norway was a major speedway force early in the Backtrack era. Apart from Australia, New Zealand and Sweden, British speedway then imported more Norwegian riders than from any other country. Sverre Harrfeldt, Reidar Eide, Oyvind Berg, Odd Fossengen, Dag Lovaas, Edgar Stangeland and the rest . . . Bob Radford reflects on the highs and lows experienced by former BL riders from this small Scandinavian nation.
REIDAR EIDE A No.1 for Wembley, Poole, Sheffield and Newport, Reidar Eide was perhaps the best known and most successful of all the Norwegians who rode here in the BL era. Bob Radford provides a personal view of a controversial man, known to many as a mercenary, who became his country's major force in the late 60s and early 70s.
STEVE REGELING Steve Regeling spent 14 seasons in British speedway, several of them at a time when Australian riders were a much more rare species than they are today. Martin Rogers, who brought Regeling to the UK in 1980 and was his promoter for eight of those years at Leicester and King's Lynn, catches up with one of his old favourites.
FRANK AUFFRET In a new and remarkably candid exclusive interview, former Middlesbrough and Hull favourite Frank Auffret tells Richard Bott about the rider he hated, the best promoter he ever rode for, why he didn't much like Ivan Mauger and why something a supporter said to him made him give up speedway. He'll also explain why we've all been pronouncing his name wrong all these years! ALAN BRIDGETT If there's a problem with the track, then there's only one man who can cure it. Martin Neal caught up with a former rider who is still very much in demand today. Alan also looks back on his career as a second division racer with Doncaster, Bradford, Stoke, Paisley and Edinburgh, where is still very much involved as the Monarchs' highly-respected track curator.
EMIL SOVA He spent only a brief while with Belle Vue Aces in the late 70s but as Vitek Formanek reports, Czech international Emil Sova is still remembered with much affection 10 years on from his sad death. Miroslav Verner provides a fascinating insight into a popular man.
NEWCASTLE Diamonds definitely were not forever for Ian Hoskins, the beleaguered promoter who explains the problems he faced in dealing with Anders Michanek and other issues that plagued him in that ill-fated 1970 season at Brough Park.
Plus...Reg Fearman and John Berry lock horns over the Halifax track on our letters' page! Rod Haynes' column, Q&As with Gary O'Hare and Brett Saunders and another huge helping of speedway nostalgia.
ISSUE 33 (July-August 2009)
BRITISH SPEEDWAY IN CRISIS British speedway is in the grip of another crisis - and this time there are genuine fears that our sport is on the brink of losing its professional status. The sport's history is littered with major setbacks - the introduction of Entertainment Tax and television in the 50s and the dreaded curse of VAT in the early 70s among the most drastic to threaten its existence - but there was always a cure on the horizon.
However, this badly wounded patient is now fighting for survival on a life support machine and there are few signs of recovery. Of course, many of today's ills are deeply rooted in the past, where problems arose and were allowed to fester to the point where they have become monumental and, in some cases, irreversible.
20 BIG PROBLEMS So where did it all go wrong? While the BSPA continue to sit on their hands and plan their next re-write of the rulebook, we've asked JOHN BERRY - the same man who should have been empowered to lead our sport out of this mess many moons ago - to recall the 20 Biggest Problems to afflict British speedway between 1970-90. Find out what JB believes was the worst thing to happen during the period under review . . . and see if you agree with him!
IT'S NOT ALL BAD - 10 GOOD THINGS It would be very churlish - and totally wrong - to try and claim that there were nothing but problems and negatives to arise throughout the 70s and 80s. We are all - fans, media and the people who run speedway - sometimes guilty of being too hard on our sport. That is only natural, because we care for it passionately, always want to see it make the best of itself and to appeal more to a much wider audience.
The era Backtrack is all about will also be fondly remembered for a number of very positive things that served British speedway well and contributed to its self-proclaimed status as the nation's second biggest spectator sport.
Here we recall 10 very good things to come out of that period in time, which still evokes lots of happy memories for many of us . . .
BRUCE PENHALL & MALCOLM SIMMONS JOIN THE BACKTRACK TEAM We are delighted to announce the ‘signing' of Bruce Penhall and Malcolm Simmons, two of the finest riders to grace the BL scene during the 70s and 80s. They present the first of their regular columns in this issue. Double World Champ Penhall reflects on his early days in England in 1978, while former World No.2 and British Champion ‘Simmo' has plenty of typically forthright views on the state of the sport today compared to his era. Read what he thinks of the GP tracks, the clothing worn by modern day riders, the recent SCB investigation into points-throwing allegations and more.
SCOTTISH SPECIAL There is a distinct Scottish flavour to this issue, with plenty to interest fans of both Glasgow and Edimburgh. We've got a new, exclusive four-page interview with former Tigers and Monarchs favourite BOBBY BEATON, who also starred for Hull in the top flight. Richard Bott has unearthed some cracking tales from Bobby, who is now driving a coach for a living.
Mike Hunter presents his Scotland Dream Team from the 1970-90 period. Who made it in and who was left out? Martin Neal talks to Bobby's father, JIMMY BEATON (Senior), about his determined struggle to keep Glasgow Speedway alive through thick and thin since he first joined the promotion at Hampden Park in 1972.
And our intrepid reporter stayed up in the far north to visit and photograph all eight of Glasgow's former home venues.
Talking of travel, the globetrotting Bob Radford presents the first of his reviews of all the tracks he visited during the Backtrack era - starting at Arena Essex with 11 more venues also under scrutiny from one of the sport's most travelled scribes.
In another new feature, we talk to PAUL THORP, who recalls his Big Night in winning the 1986 NLRC wearing the colours of Stoke Potters. From Australia, we catch up with the hard-riding CARL ASKEW, who looks back oin his days with Birmingham and Oxford.
In the south-east, we popped along to the recent Romford Bombers reunion, where old Bombers Des Lukehurst, Frank Wendon, Stan Stevens, John Hibben and general manager Maurice Morley were reminiscing about the early 70s at Brooklands.
Plus...Web Watch - what they're saying on the British Speedway Forum, your letters and another huge helping of speedway nostalgia.
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ISSUE 34 (September-October 2009)
WORLD FINAL versus GRAND PRIX - The 70s As the 2009 season comes to a close and Jason Crump celebrates his third well-earned Grand Prix world title, we re-visit the ongoing debate about the respective merits or otherwise of the traditional World Final and the modern GP, and its damaging effect on the domestic scene in Britain.
Our resident ‘experts' John Berry and Tony Mac also examine how history could have been re-written. They look back on the 10 World Finals of the 70s and assess who would probably have won the title each year had the current GP series applied then. How many titles would Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Ole Olsen, Peter Collins, Anders Michanek and Malcolm Simmons, etc, really have won under this formula compared to the knockout-style format that was abandoned by the FIM after 1994? It's controversial, thought-provoking . . . so check it out and see if you agree with their conclusions. BRUCE PENHALL ‘Juicy Brucie' is back with his second column all the way from sunny California. But what the double World Champion has to say about former England No.1 and his biggest rival Kenny Carter in this issue will no doubt cause a storm around Halifax and throughout West Yorkshire.
The American is scathing in his highly personal condemnation of Carter for murdering his wife Pam in 1986.
He also has the final world on their explosive Heat 14 World Final clash at the LA Coliseum in 1982 that still provokes strong argument among fans all over the world today.
And Penhall also questions Ivan Mauger's motives in agreeing to become Carter's business manager and mentor for the 1981 and '82 finals. MALCOLM SIMMONS Our other big-name columnist is, as usual, no less hard-hitting. Dismayed by the poor standard of racing at many GPs this season, Simmo asks why the elite riders have not got together and threatened strike action over slick track conditions.
In a critical analysis of Tai Woffinden, he also doubts whether England's great new hope for future glory is ready to have a crack at the GP series as early as 2010.
And with typical controversy, the former England and Poole skipper is calling for regular testing of the GP stars' engines to dispel growing rumours that there are some ‘big' engines out there. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Much travelled journalist Richard Bott, who covered speedway for the national press, reflects on his eventful trips to Poland and Sweden to cover World Finals in the 70s and how conditions then were so much harder than they are in the modern world of laptops, the internet and mobile phones. ROGER JOHNS Moore, Briggs, How and Hedge are all Wimbledon living legends . . . and so too is Roger Johns. We catch up with the former Dons skipper to find out what he made of his time at Plough Lane, as well as his spells in the second tier with Eastbourne and Rye House. LEN SILVER To coincide with the launch of his new book, As Luck Would Have It (Retro Speedway £15.00), we present en edited extract covering Len's two spells as England team manager. He explains the problems that led up to his sacking in 1976 and his resignation in disgust in 1981. JOHN LOUIS To mark ‘Tiger' John's 40 years in speedway, his former Ipswich promoter John Berry pays tribute to the rock on which the Witches were built and says why it's time the town's most famous shale star was honoured for his loyal services.
Plus...Laurie Etheridge recalls his biggest night in speedway, when his NNLRC victory at Wimbledon put Crayford Kestrels on the map in 1975 . . . Phil Collins reveals his new hobby in the USA . . . Bob Radford continues on his global travels . . . and we've a Q&A with ex-Peterborough and Coventry star Kevin Hawkins, as well as your letters and more.
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ISSUE 35 (November-December 2009)
WORLD FINAL versus GRAND PRIX - The 80s Following our attempts in the last issue to determine who would have won the World Championship finals had the modern GP system applied in the 70s, this time we leap forward to the 80s, as John Berry and Tony McDonald choose their main men from that era.
After Michael Lee and then Bruce Penhall claimed victories in the first three World Finals of the 80s, it became a decade dominated by the dynamic Danes. But just how many titles will our ‘experts' JB and Tony Mac award to Hans Nielsen (below) and his great rival Erik Gundersen - and not forgetting Tommy Knudsen and Jan O. Pedersen?
And did they ‘give' another glory night to Lee or a much sought-after first crown to his fellow Englishman Kenny Carter? The individual world title eluded Dave Jessup but would it have done had the championship race been decided over a long series? Where did Sam Ermolenko (left, chasing Nielsen)and the other Americans feature in the reckoning? Surely Egon Muller wouldn't have got near the rostrum under the GP format? All is revealed in the latest issue as we analyse the who, what and when of World Finals/GPs of the 80s.
MICHAEL LEE - Exclusive interview Talking of Lee, we catch up with the 1980 World No.1 and find out what keeps him busy today - apart from starring in his own, new DVD!
The controversial former King's Lynn and Poole racer (right)explains his mechanical background and why he gets such a buzz from tuning engines for several of today's star names, including England's new white hope and 2010 GP challenger Tai Woffinden.
BRUCE PENHALL Our big-name columnist from across The Pond gives his own thoughts on Michael Lee, as well as recalling his former Cradley Heath team-mate Erik Gundersen (left), who was forced to quit racing just over 20 years ago following his near-fatal crash at Bradford. And just what did Ivan Mauger have to say to Bruce when he called him up recently in California?
MALCOLM SIMMONS After more bad news from Wimbledon Stadium as the main stand is closed to the greyhound racing public, our other regular star columnist ‘Super Simmo' provides a fascinating insight into three of the London tracks he rode at most often . . . Plough Lane, plus Hackney and West Ham, in what he calls his ‘London lament'. He also reveals some sorry news about his former Hackney team-mate Andy Galvin and has some words of praise for Terry Russell following his recent resignation as BSPA president. Oh, and why did World Champion Jason Crump have cause to phone chez Simmo in Kent? Was it something you said, Malc?
CASTLEFORD A place fit for Kings? Well, you would hardly describe the now sadly defunct Whitood Stadium in West Yorkshire as a venue for royalty but this training track cum open licence venue served a very useful purpose in 1979 and '80, before its sudden closure. Martin Neal talks to an ex-Kings rider and team manager who were part and parcel of the Castleford scene, plus we've images of the old site after the bikes moved out.
DOUBLE DUTCH National newspaper journalist Richard Bott is back from hospital to recall what it was like covering the World Finals of the 80s, including trips to Poland, Sweden and Amsterdam for the sport's one and only two-day final in 1987.
ALAN MOGRIDGE - My Night As a key member of Hackney's all-conquering National League team of the late-80s, ‘Moggo' relives the night, in 1988, when the Kestrels overpowered London rivals Wimbledon to win the KO Cup and complete a glorious NL double.
TED HUBBARD Q&A The former Canterbury, Rye House and Hackney favourite (right) is the subject of our latest ‘On 2 Minutes' interview. Amongst other things, read why he didn't go too much on Crewe and who he enjoyed riding with most.
RADFORD'S TRAVELS Intrepid Bob is back with more tales of his trips to far-flung places. He's reached the Gs and K's, which means we're on the go from Getingarna to King's Lynn, via Glasgow, Gorzow, Gothenburg, Hackney, Halifax, Hull, Ipswich and Katowice.
ZDENEK MAJSTR - Exclusive interview Probably not the first former Czech rider's name you will recall from the early-70s, but an international performer with an intriguing story to tell nonetheless. Vitek Formanek caught up with ‘Zen' to find out all about the determined man from Slany who emerged from the shadow of the favoured Red Star Prague team members.
Plus...
Your letters, including a backlash for Bruce following his controversial comments about Kenny Carter in our previous issue.
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ISSUE 36 (January-February 2010)
JAN O PEDERSEN - Exclusive interview Former Denmark and Cradley Heath favourite Jan O Pedersen bares his soul in our latest big exclusive. The 1991 World Champion recalls his rollercoaster career that began with the Heathens in 1983 and ended cruelly less than a year after he was crowned speedway's No.1.
Little Jan O, one of the most thrilling and spectacular racers of his era, reveals the legacy of his career-ending crash at the start of 1992 that has left him to commit to a daily course of pain-killers to ease the suffering he still feels in his back, hands and legs.
But he talks about the good times, too . . . nine successful seasons with his beloved Cradley and the Black Country life that remains so close to his heart. An enjoyable year spent on loan to Sheffield, how he adapted his gating technique to succeed fellow Dane Erik Gundersen as Heathens' top rider and became a triple world champ in the months before his racing days came to an abrupt end. He explains why he refused to gift Gundersen the win that would have guaranteed him the 1988 World Championship and re-lives the heartbreak of missing the following two World Finals due to injuries.
The ever-popular Jan O reflects on his life after speedway - as promoter of Cradley at Stoke and Oxford team manager - and talks of his ambition to become a youth speedway trainer who can help nurture the next generation. John Berry also runs the rule over one of the sport's genuine nice guys. BRUCE PENHALL Our American star columnist turns the spotlight on two of his former USA Test team-mates, Bobby Schwartz and Dennis Sigalos. BP partnered ‘Boogaloo' to World Pairs glory in 1981 - the Yanks' first World Championship victory since 1937 - before his retirement allowed ‘Siggy' to join Schwartz and retain the pairs crown in '82.
Bruce also recalls the embarrassment he felt when he was left without a partner in his first World Pairs Final, at Vojens in 1979, and explains why the American authorities did little to help. MALCOLM SIMMONS Our other former star rider columnist explains why Maurice Littlechild, his former boss at King's Lynn, was the best promoter he ever rode for.
Super Simmo also continues his review of old London tracks with a look at the spacious White City, which was one home to the biggest meetings in the UK racing calendar. And he begins a new series of technical insight with his opinions on the once dominant JAP engine on which he began his career in the early 60s. MALCOLM HOLLOWAY One of the sport's biggest characters, Malcom Holloway looks back over his racing days with his hometown club Swindon, plus his spells with Reading, Oxford, and Milton Keynes, etc. Find out who Malc describes as his ‘hero' and what he thinks of former team-mates such as Bob Kilby, Phil Bass, Phil Crump and Steve Gresham. ‘Mad Wellie' recalls some of his exploits both on and off the track, as well as his ill-fated period in management at cash-strapped Reading. WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHARACTERS GONE? Richard Bott laments the loss of so many colourful characters who made speedway such a vibrant and much-talked about sport in the 70s and 80s. STEVE BISHOP Q&A The former Swindon, Exeter, Stoke and Arena Essex rider reveals his favourite tracks and promoter, plus much more... RADFORD'S TRAVELS Bob continues his world-wide journey with reviews of visits to Huddinge (Sweden), Landshut (Germany), Larvik (Norway), Leicester, Lejonen (Sweden), Long Eaton, Lonigo (Italy), LA Coliseum (USA), Middlesbrough, Mildenhall, Mildura (Australia) and Milton Keynes. WORD ON THE WEB In association with the British Speedway Forum, we debate World Champions That Never Were, Unforgettable Speedway Names and the 1979 British League title decider between Coventry and Hull.
Plus...Your letters, previously unpublished pictures and more...
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ISSUE 37 (March-April 2010) KELLY MORAN - Exclusive - his final interview The speedway world was recently shocked to hear that popular former American star Kelly Moran had been rushed to hospital, where doctors didn't expect him to make it through the night after he was found collapsed at home. The good news is the ‘Jelly Man' is still hanging in there and fighting to regain his health having suffered serious damage to his liver and lungs.
The former Hull, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Sheffield and Belle Vue favourite recovered well enough to give Backtrack an exclusive, in-depth interview from his bed in California.
Now 49, he talks candidly about his hell-raising ‘party lifestyle' that led him to the brink of death, his regrets and why he must now put alcohol and drugs behind him.
Kelly talks about the highs and lows of his memorable British racing career - his early days with Hull Vikings and the crash that nearly wrecked his career, why Eastbourne was his happiest period in the BL and the reasons he stunned the Eagles by leaving them after two very good seasons.
Having conquered the US scene in the mid-80s, he explains what brought him back to England and a move to Sheffield, where he teamed up with younger brother Shawn, before winding down his BL career at Belle Vue and Swindon.
With new colour pics of Kelly at home with his family and friends plus the honest opinions of John Berry, Ian Thomas, Ivan Mauger, Bob Dugard and Eric Boocock, this dominant feature of Backtrack 37 is a must for all Moran fans and those who appreciate just how much excitement and entertainment Kelly brought to the sport wherever he rode.
Sadly, Kelly Moran died, aged 49, just two weeks after publication of this issue. BENGT JANSSON - Exclusive interview One of the most stylish and likeable imports to ever grace the BL in the 70s, former World No.2 ‘Banger' Jansson recalls his brilliant racing days at Hackney, where he was idolised by Hawks' fans, before less happy spells with Reading and Birmingham.
He recalls his family's struggle to overcome the tragic death of Tommy Jansson in 1976 and his successful veteran days in the Swedish leagues. Bengt also reveals plans to revive his business as a promoter of his beloved country and western music. SIMMO'S COLUMN Our straight-talking columnist reports back from the World Speedway Riders' Association dinner, where he caught up with his former England team-mate Ray Wilson, plus Erik Gundersen and Terry Russell. ‘Super Simmo' also writes about former Hackney team-mate Andy Galvin's imprisonment, wonders whether he dare show his face at Swindon again and considers the merits of calls for a special memorial meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of Simon Wigg's passing.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES - Workington & Peterborough We spotlight two clubs that first opened their doors to speedway 40 years ago as both Workington and Peterborough celebrate their anniversary. Looking back at the opening season, with memories from several of those who were part of history, including Comets boss Ian Thomas and ex-Panthers' stars Pete Seaton (the first race winner at the East of England Showground) and Pete Saunders.
TIGER'S TALES We're in Ipswich - Tiger country - for An Evening with John Louis, as the Witches legend entertains us with tales of his successful racing career. CONCRETE CAPERS The inside story of the indoor speedway extravagabnza at Wembley Arena, where a bold experiment in 1979 snowballed into a five-year adventure. Co-promoter Ian Thomas reveals the successes and failures behind the scenes.
NIGEL LEAVER - On 2 Minutes Q&A Tracking the ups and downs of a rider who started out as Alan Grahame's mechanic at Cradley Heath and went on a long and winding journey that involved stop-offs at Arena-Essex, Rye House, Wimbledon, Exeter, Mildenhall, King's Lynn, Swindon and Belle Vue, where a bomb hoax once worked to his advantage.
AMAZING BRIGGO Erik Gundersen urges British speedway to get behind the ambitious charity mission undertaken by Barry Briggs, while John Berry reviews Briggo's new book, Wembley and Beyond. RADFORD'S TRAVELS Our intrepid reporter recalls his previous trips to far-flung venues. This time it's: Nearbo (Norway), Nelson, Newcastle, Newport, Norden (Germany), Ornarna (Sweden), Ostrow (Poland), Oxford, Paisley, Peterborough, Poole, Rayleigh and Reading (Tilehurst).
Plus...Your letters, previously unpublished pictures and more...
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ISSUE 38 (May-June 2010)
KELVIN TATUM - exclusive interview England's last World Cup-winning captain on pressure, regrets, coping with autism and much more.
The former Wimbledon and Coventry star and now SKY Sports TV commentator lifts the lid on his eventful career, which also took in later spells with Berwick, Bradford, London Lions and Arena-Essex.
He talks about his youthful naivety when starting out at Wimbledon in 1983: "When I signed for Wimbledon in 1983, I had no idea how much money speedway riders earned. I first rode for 4 and 8 - £4 per start and £8 per point - and was paid nothing upfront. I remember Maido telling me what they were offering and I said to him: ‘Really? What, you're going to pay me?'"
Read about his mixed experiences with Coventry, were he won back-to-back league titles in the late 80s, and his uneasy relationship with Bees' boss Charles Ochiltree: "I knew where I stood with Ochiltree. He always favoured Tommy Knudsen and I knew it would be a struggle to have any influence at the club. We were two No.1s on 10-point averages and banging heads. We weren't mates but our rivalry inspired each other and it was also good for Coventry."
In only his third season of racing, Kelvin rode in all three World Championship finals - individual, team and pairs - which brought pressures he now admits he found very difficult to handle: "I was hugely nervous and worried quite a bit. I'm quite a twitchy character when I'm under pressure and 1985 ratcheted it up massively. In hindsight, if I'm being selfish, I needed more time out of that limelight before I was genuinely ready for it. Mentally, I wasn't strong enough to cope with all that."
The 1989 World Team Cup-winning skipper recalls the difficulties of leading the national side: "The BSPA were short-sighted. A successful national team would have brought the sport more national publicity and led to more people coming through the turnstiles. If they had just dipped into their pockets a little bit and given more help with things like hotels and travel, it would have made a difference."He admits, too, that he was never the most popular or charismatic rider in the eyes of his fellow riders and supporters.
"I definitely wasn't well liked by my fellow England riders but they respected me. I wasn't in the clique and I think they saw me as being different from them - public school educated, slightly posh and a bit up himself.
"They (the fans) probably found me a bit miserable, a bit distant and a bit arrogant maybe. I was there to do a job to the best of my ability and that didn't always make me the most approachable human being in the world. A lot of supporters probably looked at me as just a miserable bugger."
Kelvin also talks candidly about the struggles he and his devoted wife Debbie have had bringing up their autistic son, Oliver. KELLY MORAN REMEMBERED Following Kelly Moran's sad death on April 10 after his long battle against lung and liver disease, more of the Jelly Man's former team-mates, rivals and friends pay tribute to him and recall their favourite stories about the hugely popular American who leaves behind a rich tapestry of memories.
BRUCE PENHALL COLUMN BP is back with an emotionally poignant piece about Kelly Moran and spending time with his former USA Test team-mate in his last days and hours in California.
SIMMO'S COLUMN In typically forthright style, the former England No.1 expresses his personal view that what the fun-loving Americans brought to the party was not always a good thing for British speedway.
BILLY SANDERS REMEMBERED On the 25th anniversary of the former Australian star's death, our lead columnist John Berry - the man who brought ‘The Kid' to Ipswich in 1972 - writes about the impact Billy's suicide had on him and others, and also explains why he has decided to abandon thoughts of writing a book on Billy. STAN BEAR - exclusive interview We track down the former Weymouth and Poole star in his native Brisbane, where he looks back on his brief but successful time in England in the mid-80s.
WORLD FINAL FLASHPOINTS To coincide with the rlease of our new World Finals of the 70s DVD, Peter Collins looks back at the first of our ‘flashpoint' moments from past finals when he recalls having a ‘grandstand view' of Heat 19 of the 1973 World Final, and why he believes Zenon Plech was robbed of a place in the run-off alongside Jerzy Szczakiel and Ivan Mauger.
WILKIE AND IVAN BOOK EXTRACTS We've an extract from the new Alan Wilkinson book, including a heart-rending account of the Belle Vue skipper's heroic battle to cope with his disability. Plus, Ivan Mauger recalls some unusually barren years in an excerpt from his forthcoming book, The Will To Win.
RADFORD TRAVELS Our intrepid scribe reviews past trips to Reading, Rochdale, Romford, Rybnik, Rye House, San Bernardino, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Skien, Smederna, Stoke and Sunderland.
Plus...
We've Q&As with Duncan Meredith and Gene Woods, we find out what happened to Vic Cross, there's a look back at England's 1980 World Pairs victory, plus your letters and even more besides.
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MAGAZINES
BACKTRACK Issue 39 out now! For fans who loved speedway in the 1970s & 80s
CLASSIC SPEEDWAY Issue 10 out now! Launched in May 2007, the glossy quarterly specialising in the 50s and 60s eras
Think Swindon legend and you will automatically think of Martin Ashby, a top British League star for countless years but possibly underrated by some beyond his Wiltshire stomping ground. Maybe ‘Crash' put his finger on why he was not always considered right up there with the very best of the 70s track heroes when he described himself as "too easy-going." In this exclusive six-page interview, Martin reflects on his long and illustrious career for Swindon and England, the high of almost winning the BLRC and the low of the crash that did much to bring an end to his racing days. He looks back too at his three successful years at Exeter - a track he was at first loathe to join - and, ultimately, the acrimony that led to him leaving his beloved Blunsdon for one final championship-winning season with Reading in 1980. And, of course, the Marlborough marvel also recalls the pinnacle of his international career . . . his brilliant, match-winning display for England in the 1975 World Team Cup final
MAIN MAN - ERIK GUNDERSEN
We've brought you some major exclusive interviews in Backtrack over the past four years, but they don't come any bigger than this one, with three times World Champion Ole Olsen - the most powerful man in speedway.
MAIN MAN - TERRY BETTS
MAIN MAN: FINN THOMSEN
MAIN MAN: BARRY BRIGGS
MAIN MAN: PREBEN ERIKSEN
No, this is not another grim examination of the current global economic recession . . . we're talking England's miserable standing in world speedway.
AMERICAN IDOLS
ISSUE 33 (July-August 2009)
ISSUE 34 (September-October 2009)
ISSUE 35 (November-December 2009)
(January-February 2010)
KELLY MORAN - Exclusive - his final interview
KELVIN TATUM - exclusive interview
