Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #15 on Dec 29, 2007, 8:37pm »
Interview with David Howe, with our thanks to him.
1..You finished 2nd in the British Final, gifting yourself the wildcard for the British GP for your second appearance there. What was it like riding in front of the home fans again, and do you hope to be there again next year? It was really special, something that 12 months before I would never have dreamt of doing, ok I didn't do fantastic but I had a great day and loved every second of it, and I'll be doing my best to get back there again, but if I don't manage it I achieved something that was very special to me and got some great memories from it.
2..You spent a short time as captain at Oxford, making you one of the youngest riders to hold that position. You've also been praised this season for helping out the younger members of the team; does leading come naturally to you, or do you take any advice when you can get it? I've always been one to ask all the time, maybe to the point of annoying people, but if you don't ask you don't get. Peter Karlsson has always been great with me and I have learnt so much off him, same can be said about Todd in 07. I think without him I would have walked away mid season and that was the reason I gave up the captain's job, because he was so much better than me at it. As for helping others I think at times last year some of the younger riders found me easier to approach than, say, PK and I did enjoy it, but being captain or not I'll always be the same. I love being in the team environment more than individual.
3..You were back with Wolverhampton last year, but have spent the majority of your career at Peterborough. Where would you call "home"? I actually raced for both clubs the same amount now, so that's even, but Wolves is my home for sure. The whole place suits me and I love being there. Peterborough was special; I was very young when I first rode there and had so much success in the years I spent there, but to be honest it was never quite the same after Peter Oakes left - he was the person who first went out of his way to help me ,so when he left it never felt quite the same. Since I left there I have had so many bad injuries at that track that it has left me with a bit of a block of the track but I am starting to get better there again.
4..What do you think about the decision to lower the points limit in the elite league? I think something needed to be done. Whether it is the right thing we will have to wait and see. I do think the league looks like it will be closer together now, which is a good thing. We have to remember it is only elite by name - it's no good having a super strong league and in one or two years it totally falls apart. The elite will still be the strongest in this country and with the injection of some new exciting riders, ie Holder, I think it will be an exciting year with some great racing.
5..There's been no increase to the British reduction for next season, although it was widely speculated there would be. Do you think it should have been considered, given that it's possible British riders like Lee Richardson and Scott Nicholls may be struggling to find a team place next year? (Asked the day Eastbourne announced, funnily enough.) It did surprise me, to be honest. When I heard the limit I did think that they would increase the reduction because it would encourage britsh riders, but then again there isn't enough good British riders to go around, so again there would be an uneven balance. I mean just think how strong Eastbourne would be if there was, say, a 10% reduction because they have (and fair play) got most of the English talent.
6..And promotion and relegation - do you think that will work? I hope so. It works in other leagues so why shouldn't it here? I know not every premier club would want to come elite but there are a few that do, and the play offs give those teams a chance -and if nothing else, some exciting end of season matches.
7..What's your view on having regular race nights in Britain? It seems that the GP riders are all for it, but those who rely on riding here would like to see more meetings. Which side are you on? The problem is that we share most of our stadiums here, so the times are limited. Also its okay for a GP rider to say I only want 15 or 20 meetings, but what about the other 75% of riders, and riders that only ride in england. I mean, the elite lost Kevin Doolan mainly because there wasn't enough meeings for him. I need about 60 meetings over here - 15 or 20 just isn't enough.
8..How do you like the tracks to be prepared, and what do you think gives the best racing? I prefer tracks to be fairly deep - how Wolves was prepared at the start of the season was really good, plenty of dirt and you could pass anywhere. I just think slick tracks are boring, its boring to ride on as well as to watch.
9..Do you think there should be more support for young Brits looking to come into the sport, and if so, what form should that take? The hardest thing for a British youngster is getting track time. Obviously its an expensive sport, but if you were a young rider in Poland you would be able to go down to your track and practice, and that doesn't happen in England as the promotions don't own the stadiums, which makes it harder for British riders to progress.
10..If you could make any one change to the rules in Britain, what would that be and why? That the number two rider in the team can start off the inside starts in heat one. For years I couldn't understand why this wasn't the case, as number three and five start on the outside in their first race, so why not the number one rider? But ask me again in twelve months time and if I've been number one I may not give you the same answer. To be honest all the silly moans about stupid rules, i.e green or white helmet colours, tac sub rule etc, does it really matter? I go to watch speedway because i enjoy the sport and I think some people get caught up in a wave of negativity and are more happy to poke faults at what we've got instead of enjoying the sport. At the end of the day it should be four riders doing four laps, hopefully in the same direction. It seems pretty simple to me.
11..Thoughts on next year? Do you have any new sponsorship deals lined up, or any goals you hope to achieve? Myself and Paul (my manager) are working hard on trying to secure old and new sponsorship for the coming season. As for next year I want to improve again, enjoy myself and get as far as I can in the gp qualifiers.
12..Young Dane Nicolai Klindt has just joined Wolverhampton. Are you looking forward to riding with him next season? I think Nicolai is a very exciting young rider, but the problem with him is that he comes with such a big reputation. But for one reason or another he had a tough year last season and people are writing him off now, which maybe is a good thing as he can now focus on his racing without people expecting so much of him. And if i get a team place at Wolves it will be great to ride with him.
13..How's the collarbone injury? Has it healed, and are you feeling fit and ready to ride? The collarbone is coming along well. Within a couple of weeks it should be fully healed, and by the time the new season comes around I should be fitter than ever.
14..And finally, are you hoping to be part of the WTC squad next year, and do you think we have a hope of winning it?! Yes, if I've had a good enough season I would love to be part of the WTC team. As for winning it, sadly I think we are behind the Poles and the Danes at the minute, but if another English rider has a season like Bomber did maybe that would turn around.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #16 on Jan 1, 2008, 12:42am »
Interview with Lawrence Hare, with thanks to Nevs, and a happy New Year to you all.
1..First things first: what got you into speedway? I understand you were riding motocross at the time, so what made you change? My Dad knew John Louis, and me and my brother grew up with Chris. He was racing junior Grasstrack and we followed him into that, then we went on to Motocross, and he followed suit. Then when he went into Speedway, he told me that this was the way to go - you even got paid to do it! Strange really, a lot of to-and-fro and all great experiences. In a perfect world, I'd have started 4 or 5 years earlier really.
2..Unfortunately you've had some very serious crashes over the years, the worst of which were at Newport. Did the track have a psychological effect on you, or was it just one of those things? It was a bit of a worry first going back to Newport after firstly the back injury, then the broken lower leg, but it wasn't a huge hurdle. After the back injury I had a great meeting to qualify for the British Final, so when I went on to hurt my leg it wasn't too bad to return. Ironically, my first meeting for Exeter was to be my first return to Newport after that injury. Also ironically, my van kept overheating on the way and I never made it!! I got ribbed over that in the changing rooms over the year but when we were there the next time I got 14 points and I won heat 15!! (Before these inuries I went for around 4 1/2 seasons without missing a meeting. I guess that's the way it goes.)
3..Following on from that, it has been said that the New Years Day meeting at Newport 2000, where you suffered a crushed vertebra in your back, was in appalling weather conditions. In hindsight, do you think the meeting should have gone ahead? No, not really - it was terrible. In the end I just couldn't see a thing and I lost all account of where I was on the track. It was quite scary as I was like a blind passenger waiting for a big bang, and when came it hurt to say the least! As it happened, when I had the final crash it had started to rain during the previous race and the track was very tricky again, and conditions played a part again. It's the type of material, I think, that makes it awkward when the weather changes for the worse.
4..Obviously you've become a great campaigner for sport safety and actively support the Leatt neck brace, which is designed to protect against spinal injuries by keeping the head still on impact. Have many speedway riders taken the opportunity to get hold of one? I had lots of enquiries at first but it's died down now a little. I'm very surprised as I thought in the off-season would be the ideal time to get set up, as riders are getting race suits sized up. Maybe, and hopefully, there are more guys going ahead and sourcing them.
5..What do you think is stopping more riders from utilising it? I do think speedway is a sport where some areas are slow to change. I can't understand for the life of me why this is one of them. There are heavier duty boots, but most stick to the more flimsy ones. Most guys are now going for the padded undersuits, and I'm hoping that when one top rider goes with the brace then it will snowball. I'm currently speaking with a GP rider regarding promoting safety, so fingers crossed, but like I say, speedway can be a fickle sport. I went to Mark Woods of Race Bitz back in 2001 and we made the fibreglass bike fairings and fork covers that evolved into those that the Reading Team used the season before last, but people were reluctant to go with them - they looked ace for sponsors etc too?
6..What do you think of the changes imposed by the BSPA this year? I guess something had to be done after last season. Only time will tell if the changes will work. Many clubs struggled last season but I didn't think the limit would be quite this low, however it looks as though Nicki Pedersen is the only top drawer casualty.People talk of attracting the top riders back but there are not many missing - most who are don't have many years left at the top anyhow. I had hoped that there would maybe have been a bit bigger British rider reduction but really, a weakened league should promote more British Premier League riders so maybe this will happen. This has got to be an area that we need to build on. The trouble is, many are earning a decent living in the Premier and staying put. Going Elite may end up a costly exercise, so it's a brave step, and I will say that the Premier is still very competetive, and the guys do have ambition, but ambition doesn't always pay the mortgage. There was also talk here and there of racing on a regular race night but I doubt it would work as some clubs can't move their race nights, (and what are the chances of all Elite clubs moving and agreeing to a specific day?) and attendances always seem low when clubs run on alternative days. Promotion and relegation is fine, I suppose, if the financial reward is suitable for a club going up, but what if they stay up and still struggle financially and ask to go down again? I'm sure these questions must have been talked through.
7..What do you think would be in the best interests for the future of speedway? Do you think sweeping changes need to be made, or do you think we're on the right track (pardon the pun)? I don't really know the answer. Like I say: time will tell and building from the bottom is crucial, I feel. The Conference League now has a solid base and is projecting riders into the Premier. Hopefully the projection into the Elite will follow a bit more, and we can get to the forefront of world speedway, with the most prominent league again. The other thing we need are air-fences for Premier League tracks, or those that want them - there are some painful looking accidents.
8..What about track preparation - what gives the best racing, in your opinion? Evenly prepared, maybe a little more dirt outside than in, but not as much as we often see where riders are scraping the fence at about heat 4 or 5!
9..And finally, who do you think will be world champion this year? I'm going with (and hoping!) Leigh. We all know he has the tools to do it, and think the last couple of seasons have made him the strongest he's ever been mentally.
A couple from Nevs added on...
10..When you were at Exeter you and Seemond were great crowd pleasers as a double act in front of the grandstand - matching bikes and kevlars. How did that first come about? We used to get on really well. I rode Exeter on the Monday and most of the summer ended up carrying on down after the meeting to Newquay (Trelawny were also running then as well, so I'd have the odd meeting there, or we'd sometimes go down anyway.) We'd often go for a night out too, and do our bikes, have a laugh, etc. We both seemed to bounce off each other and really started scoring well, and when you hit a purple patch it all seems to fall into place. We rode with wigs out of the back of our helmets, even an 18 inch kipper tie, and so on. The fans loved it!! The baggy gear came about when we found the Evel Knievel stuff, and we did the bikes the same. Like I say: it was fun, it worked and we rolled with it.
11..At The time of your accident, Seemond in particular appeared to be particulary supportive and a great mate to you, and at The Malthouse reunion of the Exeter faithful. How much do you value his support and are you guys still as close now? Time passes and things drift, but we are still in touch and still very good pals. But being in my situation and the distance invoved, it's hard to get together more often, although I made sure to get together when Plymouth were at Oxford at the tail end of last season, which was good.
12..Final question from me: County Ground - being famous as Last Lap Lol. What is your fondest memory of your times at the County Ground? There are many. I had some great times, and met some great people. A great memory was on the last lap of the last race of the KO cup semi against Swindon, going into the first turn about 10 metres behind Charlie Gjedde, riding up to the fence, hitting in with a big smack. It fired me up the inside of him going past up the straight to win the match. I wish you could bottle that feeling! The other that made me laugh so much was going back to the baggy gear. Someone complained that me and Seemond were riding really well but were not setting a great example with this untidy, baggy attire so we apologised on the microphone after a home meeting, saying we'd smarten ourselves up for next week. With this we went down to Oxfam and bought some pinstriped suits, and went out on parade and then in heat 1 of the following meeting with them over our Kevlars. To this day I still can't believe we did it!!
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #17 on Jan 13, 2008, 10:58pm »
Interview with British Ice Racer, Mark Uzzell, who will be our representative in the European Championships in Sanok, Poland. Many thanks to him, good luck in Sanok, and best wishes for the season ahead. With thanks entirely to maccattack.
Brief biography for those who are unaware of Mark:
Born: 1959 Married to wife Pam sons Malcolm 23 Andrew 21. Occupation: Engineer. I raced grass track for 21 years doing about 20 meetings a season, but I gave this up when I moved to Sweden to concentrate on ice racing. I was riding in the Swedish league and spent a lot of time here. I grew very fond of the country and the people so bought a house. I got offered a job at Bergströms, an engineering company and decided to move. This company is also my main sponsor. When I moved to Sweden I think I brought the English weather with me as the climate has changed dramatically in the last 3 years. Hopefully this is not dying sport and I hope for better weather in the future.
If anyone is interested in having a go at ice racing (weather permitting), you are welcome to contact me by email:
markuzzell@hotmail.com
1..I guess the question everyone wants to know: Whatever went through your mind to make you get on a motorbike with all those spikes in the tyres and ride around at that angle on ice!? Dickie Davies – World of Sport on TV somewhere in my past. I was playing golf at the time and looking for something more adventurous. It had to be tried. It took me a long time to save up and get there, although I rode grass track for 20 years which gave me some competitive experience.
2..And once you thought it might be a good idea, how does one go about learning to race on ice? It's not like speedway where there are a number of training schools you can sign up and borrow the equipment, I imagine. There are training camps, but not in the UK, obviously. Sweden run a good training camp in Funäsdalen where there is always a warm welcome and good advice, from preparing the bike, to riding it.
3..Run us through your season. How many meetings are you hoping to do and how often will you be out training? Hmm, a difficult one due to the weather. I will train as often as possible in the winter, but the weather plays a big part. The ice on the lakes needs to be at least 10cm thick. This can take a week or more depending on the temperature. I was supposed to train with the Finns in Finland before Christmas, but it was plus temperatures over there. Several races I was due to ride in were cancelled due to the weather. I still hope to have about 9 – 10 meetings this season.
4..How long does it take to prepare a tyre? The front tyre has 180 – 220 spikes depending on the pattern and takes about 8 hours. To prepare a front tyre you need to: Cut off the nobbles from a standard speedway tyre. Mark the holes with a tippex pen. Drill holes in tyre. Insert spikes, washers and nuts.
The back tyre has between 250 – 280 spikes and takes about 16 hours, as it is more technical and difficult to prepare.
A first aid kit is advisable (!)
5..What is your favourite track, and do tracks only vary in shape, or does the weather play a part in how a track rides? My favourite track is Bollnäs. Tracks that are artificial are usually speed-skating circuits and are about the same. Natural tracks can vary but the weather is an important factor for these tracks. The harder the ice, the harder it is to ride.
6..You must have seen a lot of the greats of the sport. Just how good is Nikolai Krasnikov? Nikolai Krasnikov, well he’s Russian, a 3 times World Champion. So the record speaks for itself.
My first ice racing meeting I rode in was in the European Semi-Finals in Saransk 2002. I didn’t know whether to collect autographs or get out and race with them. It did seem a bit surreal.
7..How much media interest is there in Sweden for the sport? Posa is a household name in Sweden, but the overall media interest is a bit low key.
Apart from Posa, the local press has interviewed me a few times, but I think this is more out of curiosity than interest for the sport. (Posa is still riding and is about to turn 60, I believe! - Schumi.)
8..How hard is it for a western European rider to compete with the Russians? In the last three years it’s been nearly impossible due to the climate change. Most Russian riders that ride in Championship meetings in the West are Professional riders racing in 30 – 40 meetings in a season, which is from November to March, riding in league and open competitions. The Western European riders who can compete with them have a lot of race experience. You can’t compensate for track time, which Western riders are sadly lacking. More meetings and colder climates would be helpful. Bike preparation is more important in this sport than speedway. Tyres and suspension settings need to be tested and set, which requires “Ice Time”.
9..How physical is the sport? To control the bike when you hit a rut on ice must take a lot of power? In my opinion, the sport is more physical then grass track and speedway. You need to have a lot of physical strength and confidence. You know if you hit a rut the spikes will bite into the ice, so you need to have the confidence not to shut off the throttle.
The riders seem to be stronger in physique than speedway riders. The bikes are also heavier at 110kg minimum. The main difference in the riding technique is on ice, the rear wheel always drives as opposed to the spin you get on speedway. So you need more strength to steer.
10..Travelling in Russia is quite problematic, I have heard. Have you encountered any problems? There are always problems on the roads in Russia with the traffic police stopping you and fining you large sums of money for imaginary offences. Last year I failed a breath test even though I hadn’t had an alcoholic drink in 2 years. (Tourists always have money.) It is important to say that the people surrounding the sport and the Federation are great. I was alone and given 2 Russian mechanics who worked really hard in the pits (Thanks guys.)
11..What does an ice rider do during the summer? There seems to be less cross-over with speedway these days - Daniil Ivanov and Grigorij Laguta being a couple of the few riders who compete in both disciplines. When I lived in England and returned from ice racing, the grass track season had started ,so straight into grass track doing about 20 meetings a season. Now in the summer I train on local speedway tracks. Most riders do some kind of motor sport to stay race fit, but only at low level. Ice racing is quite an expensive sport so after the season, you need to start getting prepared for the following season.
12..What sort of targets do you set yourself when you start a season? To try to get as much practice as I can, and enter into as many meetings as possible. Track time with others is the only way to improve.
With limited places that the Brits get, it is impossible to compete at higher levels. This year there is one place in the EM and one place in the WM.
13..There are only a very limited number of riders in the west at least. Is it a very close knit group? Are you always helping each other out and travelling together? Despite cultural and languages differences, we can all communicate well and always stick together, especially travelling to Russia when you have no outside contact, and away for long periods of time. Last year I travelled to Russia in a convoy with Posa, Torleif Burman and Peter Koij. I drove for 37 hours, as it is bleak after Moscow with nowhere to stop. Posa loaned me his mechanic for 2 hours around Moscow so I could rest.
Due to the lack of rides for the Brits, it’s “Dog Eat Dog”. I have never learned anything about ice racing from the other British riders.
Other nations are more helpful now that I’ve moved away from the British and give me great advice in all areas from tyre patterns, machine set ups, travel help and riding tips.
The Ice racing world is a family. Our house is open house during the season, with all nations welcome on their way to meetings or training. The favour is always returned when I travel.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #18 on Jan 14, 2008, 5:12pm »
Many thanks to Phil Morris for the following interview, with an honorable mention to RacerX for helping me with a little research.
1..You were quoted on your website as saying SKY has made a big difference to speedway. In what way? Do you think more people recognize what speedway is, or is it more the financial input? Sky has certainly raised the profile of the sport. I understand it gets very good viewing figures, the sport just needs to convert the armchair fans into members of the paying public. But, I don’t think the financial input has made a big difference to league racing if I am honest.
2..Following on from that, you were also quoted as saying better PR is needed to improve the sport. Is that with existing fans, or do you think promotion to a wider audience should be considered, and how? I believe there are too many complex regulations that the fans (and riders) are confused by, the ruling bodies need to keep things as simple as possible. There is simply not enough marketing of the sport at the present time, each club has a hardcore of fans but not enough is done to attract new fans. I still can’t fathom out why the Elite League in particular has failed to attract blue-chips companies into sponsorship, as soon a major backer is attracted then I am sure others would follow.
3..You were at Reading for 16 years. How did you feel about leaving, and do you think you’ll be able to settle in at Birmingham quickly? When you have been with a club for a long time then it does tug on your heart strings a little and I will miss a lot of people that helped me in my career. I do believe that many riders just race for the money and don’t really give a damn about their team. I have always believed in helping out wherever I can as regards promotion of the team I race for. Many times I have travelled to Reading to meet the fans at functions and attending shopping malls etc, I have even jumped on a plane to Newcastle and got a taxi to a supporters club meeting unannounced and at my own expense, days after signing for the diamonds in 2005. It’s very important for riders to make this effort as fans want to see the riders not the officials. I am very much looking forward to doing my job for Birmingham and cannot wait for the season to start, I am confident I will settle in well and the fans seemed to take to me when I raced for the Brummies at the end of last season. I look forward to building a strong relationship with them this year.
4..I’ve been told you have an excellent understanding of the rule book. Would you consider promoting/managing in the future? I would most certainly consider the promoting and team manager options; I’d also like to get involved in helping to develop younger British riders, in a role like British under 21 Manager. As I have raced in leagues overseas and also competed in most European countries, I am sure I could help the youngsters concentrate on the racing and take the hassle out of logistics (getting bikes through control, getting signed in and collecting the money can be very stressful I can promise). I have also enjoyed 5 years of running training schools and helping out youngsters as much as possible. I believe it’s in my own interest to know the rule book inside out and I think I have a very good grasp of the rules. I’m always aware of what the score is on the night and I like to be involved in tactical talking with the manager. I did consider getting involved with some unnamed people in taking over Reading Speedway when BSI were selling it but unfortunately the figures did not come close to adding up!
5..And as if that’s not enough you’ve appeared on various quiz shows, and turned your hand to modelling. Are they things you’d consider doing more of, or was it just a bit of fun? I’m always looking at things to do outside speedway and all of the things I have done have helped me get exposure for myself and the sport. I am happy to have a crack at most things and if Speedway was a household name sport I would love to do something like Strictly Come Dancing or Celebrity Big Brother. I’d also like to run the London Marathon to raise money for seriously injured riders, I have unsuccessfully applied in the past for the event, but hopefully one day I will be able to get in and raise money for riders like Lawrence Hare and Garry Stead etc.
6..You’re taller than the average rider. Do you have to adjust your riding style because of your height, and is it a help or a hindrance? Yes, I am just over 6ft tall and I guess that is quite tall for a speedway rider. As I played lots of Rugby when I was young I became quite big in my upper body and torso which sometimes does not help as I would find it impossible to get my weight down to under 10 stone for example. I think the lighter you are the more it helps in speedway but we have to deal with what we are given and for everyday life I enjoy being the height I am.
7..Much has been made of your crash with David McAllen, for good or for bad. In your own words, can you tell us what happened? So much has been written about the accident, but it was just a pure racing incident. Some guy that was on the centre green even wrote that I looked David in the eye and then t-boned him, which is so untrue and the video clearly proves that. I was riding a tight line, but the shape of the track at Glasgow is quite square (as are many around football or rugby pitch’s) and makes you drift slightly as you come off the final bend, that’s what happened in this case, I had no idea David was even there until I felt contact and to say that I deliberately went out to hurt him is complete rubbish. I think the fact that the Referee banned me from the meeting made things a lot worse. The SCB cleared me of any wrong doing within days of the accident and rescinded my fine and neutral observers of the video are saying it was an unfortunate racing accident.
I have never wished injury on any rider and I hope that he makes a full recovery from his injuries. I have seen the devastating effect that injury can have on a rider in Per Jonsson, whom I believe was the best rider I have ever seen on a speedway bike and is a very good friend of mine. He raced for many seasons and didn’t even have a slide of let alone a crash, then one fateful day in Poland he has an accident (again just a racing incident) and he is paralysed in his prime. All riders know it can happen but we just hope and pray it never happens to us to a rider involved an accident with you.
8..What about the impact of all the knocks and bruises you’ve had whilst riding? Do they still affect you? Not at the moment, as I work hard on my fitness. Apart from numerous cuts and bruises my most serious speedway injuries have been cruciate ligament damage in my knee (a simple fall in Sweden), a couple of dislocated shoulders and a broken rib. I have broken my leg and elbow whilst grass-tracking. None of the above affect me at the moment, though I am sure they will catch up with me in old age.
9..What would you say to those people who claim you always ride the inside line? I would say correct go to the top of the class! In many situations the inside line is the fastest because it’s the shortest and I have passed many opponents by cutting back and hugging a tight line, my Commercial Manager Big H calls it the Maurizio Shuffle, but when it’s obvious that the outside is quicker then I will go there.
10..Are you going to any GPs this year, and who are you backing? I will go to Cardiff as it’s on my doorstep and I usually do some media work for the BBC. I might get along to a few more this year, now that home meetings for me are on Wednesday’s, which will give me time to go along and be part of the pit crew of my good friend Jason Crump. I’d love to see Jason win the world title back, but of course I want to see the British boys do the business as well.
11..What, in your opinion, makes a good referee, and do you have any memorable moments of decisions that have gone for or against you? I have always tried to have a good relationship with referees as they have a difficult job to do. We sometimes don’t agree on things but I have never once (whatever the circumstances) ever raised my voice or used any bad language while speaking to a ref even if I disagree (hence never had a fine in my life.) As I have said they have a hard job and do it to their best ability so I will not go down the road of naming and shaming. One incident which stands out for me as a good refereeing decision was at Stoke many years ago, 3 riders entered turn 3 of the first lap totally side by side (myself, Paul Pickering and Jan Stæchmann I think) and all 3 bikes got caught up as we entered the bend with all 3 coming of in a heap and I’m not sure if it was Paul or Craig Ackroyd but the decision was to put all 4 back in the rerun, which both riders and teams seemed happy with (common sense prevailed) as the ref could see no fault with anyone of the 3. One amusing incident was at Reading, when I was excluded for bringing down Shane Parker on the pits bend, everyone in the pits felt I was very unlucky. Anyway the Ref’s wife was on the pits bend and she had a right go at him after the meeting for making the wrong decision. I wasn’t very happy at the time, but I can laugh about now though.
12..And finally, there’s a distinct lack of Welsh riders around. What do you think the reasons for this are? As we only have one track it’s not something many kids will want to get into unfortunately. Its so easy and much more profitable in this day and age to get your kid a snooker cue, a set of darts, football boots etc than to fork out for the bikes and all the equipment. British Speedway needs a structured development academy; until we do we will always be light years behind the Poles, Danes, Swedes and Aussies.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #19 on Jan 15, 2008, 7:13am »
Many thanks to Chris Louis for taking the time to answer the following:
1..You've re-signed for the Ipswich Witches. Are you looking forward to having Jarek back, and how do you think the team is looking so far? It’s great to be doing another season and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s fantastic to be riding with Jarek again and I know he’s really looking forward to this season as well. We first met in 2001 when I was riding for Pila in Poland and I was responsible for bringing him over to England so its going to great to ride with him again and see first hand how has progressed as a rider. It’s one thing to watch a GP and sit in the studio and talk about the guys but you cant beat being in the same team to really understand how they are getting on. I expect him to hit the ground running and be a real true number one from the off. Yes I think in the context of the league we are looking quite competitive.
2..Are you still enjoying your racing, or have you considered retiring in the near future? I am definitely still enjoying my racing and to be honest I don’t think I could turn up every week if I wasn’t. I think once it becomes just a job or even a chore then its time to quit. I said when I came back to racing in 2004 that I would take each year as it comes so ask me in October and I’ll let you know about 2009.
3..What do you think is in store for you after racing? Would you like to remain involved in the sport, and maybe continue with Sky? I am pretty sure I’ll continue to be involved in the sport one way or another. Initially it is my intention to continue to run Ipswich once dad decides to call it a day, although I don’t expect he’ll ever be far away! Things have changed quite dramatically over the past five or six years as far as running Elite League Speedway so I’ll be keeping a close eye on things through this season. Sky is something that I do enjoy doing especially at the big events like this years World Cup running around the pits and grabbing interviews wherever I could. I guess it keeps me in the thick of things and close enough to feel the buzz that the guys are getting.
4..What, in your opinion, is the best way to prepare a track for good racing? For me the only way to prepare a track is start off with an even amount of dirt all over the track from inside to outside. I’m not a fan of ripping the outside of the track as part of the pre meeting preparation. It’s ok if you do that just to even the surface up as we do at Ipswich but in my opinion its no good if you start the meeting with more grip on the outside than the inside as is the case at a lot of tracks. All that achieves is giving the track one fast line and encouraging everyone to ride as close to the fence as they dare! I know only too well how hard it is to prepare a good consistent track every time from the odd occasion I have helped our track man Bob. I have to say though at Ipswich we are very lucky to have one of the best track men in the business. Bob will never shy away from a challenge when it comes to getting the show on the road!
5..I believe you worked on the promotion/relegation committee. Is there any way a PL team can apply to join the EL, other than promotion, during the next 3 years, or is the EL having a final total of 9 teams now? The plan is to make promotion the only way to move up in to the Elite League, although if new tracks join the Premier League then it may be necessary one season to have the winning Premier team automatically promoted with the second spot raced in the play offs.
6..What's your opinion on the new points limit? Having seen how team building is coming along I'm convinced the league will be much more even. Would you agree? To be honest even though Ipswich were cited as one of the clubs in favour of the very low points limit we were not. We thought that it would be set at around the 40 point mark but in all honesty that would not have achieved anything. The low points limit has certainly evened the league up and I think that was absolutely necessary after last year. The low points limit should only be viewed as a bandage to stop the bleeding the BSPA needs to set about putting many things in place to heal the wound completely.
7..My only reservation is that the world champion looks to have been forced out by the points limit. Do you think that will make a difference to how outsiders view the sport? Whilst the points limit certainly would not have made it easy to fit Nicki in I believe he had already made his own mind up not to race in the UK. He had allegedly made very large wage demands and who can blame him - he is the best in the world and can realistically expect to earn big money in Poland, Sweden and Russia. It is and will continue to be a trend amongst some of the best continental riders to miss the UK and concentrate on the other three big leagues. Having said that you will still see most of the top guys here because the variation of tracks helps to keep them sharp. I am sure that it won’t make any difference to how outsiders view the sport, it’s not the first time the World Champ has not been racing in the UK and it will make him an even more valuable commodity as the UK fans will only be able to watch him in the GP’s.
8..Would you like to see a single race night in the UK, or do you think that's unworkable? Yes I would like to see fixtures condensed to one or two nights but I can’t see that happening too soon. Each club has a different agreement with their stadium landlords and many of them have a minimum number of events they must run. I would not go as far as saying it’s unworkable and I do know that the idea is gaining support all the time.
9..You didn't take part in the world team cup last year, opting to give the youngsters a go. With the benefit of hindsight, do you think that was the right decision? I was always available for the World Cup and Neil knew that, he chose not to use me. It will be the same situation this year but to be honest I don’t blame him for going with the younger guys. If I’m asked I will be there no question.
10..It's been said that we (Team GB) simply don't have the young riders coming through to compete in this tournament. Would you say that's unfair? No I don’t think that’s unfair at all, in-fact it’s quite true and has a lot to do with the problems that we have in the UK. I think I’ve been talking about the lack of Brits coming through and the lack of structure to help them for about 15 years now! The sport is so expensive to run at the moment and a big part of the problem is a lack of British based riders whether they be British, American, Australian or New Zealanders. Over the past few seasons we have proven that we are still capable of making it to final four but we just can’t compete with those guys.
11..What help do you think we should be giving our youngsters to help them make that step up that the Danes seem to be so good at? I think that a four league structure starting with an amateur league at the bottom would be a good start. The leagues would have slightly smaller gaps between them than we currently have now between the Premier and Elite leagues. We must have at least four area academies set up around the country to help the youngsters get started and get regular tuition. Obviously this would take some serious funding but absolutely needs to be achieved. These same academies could also be used to help the guys getting near the top like Eddy Kennett, Lewis Bridger etc to make that final step.
12..This must have been the worst year for people predicting the "end of speedway." How do you think we should be progressing, and what would you like to see happen with the sport over the next few years? I guess I have answered this one a bit in question 11. There are many more areas that need investigating but I don’t want to discuss them right now.
13..Are there any rules you don't agree with, and, conversely, are there any you think add something to speedway? My only bug-bear with the rule book is it is far to complicated and yet at the same time open to conjecture. I would like to see a card system at the referee’s disposal. I will be meeting up with a recently retired referee this week socially but I will be running the possibility by him. It would run much along the lines of football for instance if you receive more than three yellows in a 12 meeting period then it’s an automatic red and you have to miss the next two official fixtures. My aim would not be to make the sport too clinical just an attempt to stop the outright dangerous stuff.
14..And finally, would you like to see a governing body come in to shake up the sport? Oh, the best question till last. I would love to see a board set up consisting of a promoter from each league and perhaps two more suitable people who have no vested interest in any clubs, the chairman and casting vote holder being one of those. It would be a dream but alas a long way off I feel.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #20 on Feb 3, 2008, 10:14am »
Interview with Rory Schlein, with our thanks to him, and to Sandie for passing on the questions.
1..You won a couple of individuals last year, including the Garry Stead benefit meeting at Stoke with a maximum. But what happened in heat 6 where it looked like you thought there were only three laps, and, more importantly, were you pleased with the attendance and the money raised for Garry? Well as the track was so wet the racing was really slow I guess I felt it took that long it had to have been 4 laps but when i slowed I saw other riders still racing so I just kept going. And yes, of course I was pleased with the turnout for Garry, I wish him well and will always do what I can to support him.
2..What were your reasons for not entering the Australian Championships this year? I’d been planning on buying a house with my partner Natalie, and just before Xmas we did, and I have been putting all my time and money into that over the winter. And I'm still working flat out at the moment on getting the house finished, plus my new workshop before the season starts. I would love to have gone back to Oz and ridden in the titles but I had to think of my future with my partner and setting myself up for the years to come.
3..To follow on from that, during the final round of those meetings it was mentioned about having a GP in Australia, possibly Sydney. Do you think there’s a market for that, and would you like to see a “home GP”? I think so, but it needs to be run at an already built track and not a one off, because the racing would be a lot better plus I think you would get more people. If I had to choose what track, I’d say Mount Gambier in South Australia. Not many meetings are run there any more but when there is it’s the best racing in the world.
4..If speculation about Leigh Adams possibly retiring in the near future is to be believed that would leave Australia with a sole representative in the form of Jason Crump. Would you like to fill that gap, or do you think all eyes will be on the likes of Chris Holder? Not sure on how long Leigh is planning on riding in the GPs but that's up to him. My dream is to be in the GPs and it would be great if I got a wild card as I have set myself a goal this year: I want to earn my way into the GPs and I'm planning on doing that this year. It might sound cocky but I want this more than anything, and my whole year is being built around that goal.
5..Without a domestic league, what is it, in your opinion, that makes Australia so successful in terms of bringing on talented riders? We have great under 16 riders on 125cc bikes cut down to size and small built tracks, and they race as I did to win races, trophies, and titles. They have a season just like us but they ride for themselves, but to help them get ready for England they put a team meeting on to teach them how to be a team rider, which I find great.
6..What, in your opinion, is the best way to prepare a track to give good racing, and which are your favourite tracks, both domestically and abroad? Well every rider likes tracks done differently. Myself, I like a bit of dirt not just on the outside but on the inside too, because that is how you get different racing lines and you prepare the track the same each week. If it’s been raining you just do the best you can do but if it hasn’t and you think its gonna rain don’t be a woos and say a hard slick track takes water better, you're silly if you say that. You can make better racing with more dirt than without as long as it's not too deep where you can't turn the bike. Only if you HAVE RIDDEN a bike you would know if the track is safe to ride or not.
7..Would you like to see a single race day in Britain? I'm not sure about that. I'm happy with how it is now but I guess everybody has their own opinion.
8..You’ve won three league titles with two different teams – Coventry in 2007 and 2005, and Edinburgh in 2003. Which was the most special and why? Well I’ve won 4 leagues: 2 with Coventry, 1 with the Monarchs and 1 with Sheffield Tigers in the CL. They all have their great moments but winning the elite league last year with over 7000 fans watching and sky there, plus scoring paid 17 and beating Adams twice was very special to me. (My apologies for being a snob and forgetting the CL - schumi.)
9..With the points limit being reduced were you worried you’d be out of the team at Coventry, and did any other teams approach you over the winter? I was really worried, as most riders would have been, as you don’t know if you have a job or not. But thankfully I'm still with Coventry which is great as I have some of my sponsors there and the team is the best in England.
10..How do you feel about the successful Coventry team being broken up because of the points limit, how much of an influence was Scott Nicholls to you personally, and do you think his input will be missed? I could go on for ever talking about this. My opinion is that some clubs want to bring the standard of racing down to suit them instead of trying to become better and more successful. They want clubs like Coventry to come down to their standard and run like them. Maybe its time for an outside person or a group who don’t have any involvement in any clubs to come in, so they don’t change things to suit their own club. Maybe if they thought of the sport and not themselves, speedway would be better off. Riding with Scott has been great. I got a lot out of Scott by watching more than talking because of the way he rides. I think he has one of the hardest styles and one of the more ruthless ones in the sport. And that is what I need to work on, to be a bit harder.
11..What would you say to those who think you’re a “gating tart”? Just ask them who won the last meeting at Coventry, I think you had to start on handicaps didn't you? But not sure, so best buy them the DVD!! And if they want to call me that, so what. Remember, there was a rider who was known more for his gating - these people might of heard of him - Ivan Mauger!! He won 6 world titles - not bad for a gating tart...
12..You’ll become the second heat leader this year with Coventry. Are you confident you can increase your average, or do you think there will be more pressure on you to perform? Not at all. I feel I'm a strong heat leader now and I can put some points on my average. I’ve got plenty of meetings and I'm looking forward to it.
13..How are you preparing for the new season? Do you have any new sponsors or machinery lined up, and how are you feeling physically? I'm being trained by an ultimate fighting coach. He has been working on my upper body as he said I'm like a TWIG. I have already put on 7kg of muscle and he is planning on putting 2 more on me. He has changed a lot about how I eat including only one takeaway a week!! Its hard, but I wanna be the best and this is what it takes. Plus I’ve been seeing a sport psych in helping me be a lot harder in my racing. Not changing a lot on bikes and setup. I feel I have the bikes to get me where I want to go. Yes I do have some new sponsors - ‘Drains Are Us’ a local company who have come on board - need your drains doing they’re the people to call. And SPIKED CLOTHING is a new clothing brand that has just hit the scene -(extreme sports) and they want to get into speedway. With great people behind it the signs look good for the brand in the future Check out www.getspiked.co.uk to see their clothing and other great stuff on the web page.
14..And finally, who’s your tip for the Elite League Champions this year? Its going to be a hard year this year as all the rule changes. But Coventry to win - WHO ELSE? But the Hammers look strong I think, so we will have to wait and see but ‘go the bees’!!!
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #21 on Feb 12, 2008, 7:05pm »
Interview with Freddie Eriksson with thanks him, and to Linda for helping facilitate this. Freddie's Swedish interview can be found at www.aktuellspeedway.se Please pop in and have a look.
1..You started your British career at Kings Lynn. Do you have fond memories of riding for them, and would you ever consider going back there? Yes I thought I had two really good years in the club and I got treated really well too. About going back there, I can’t answer that at the time.
2..You rode for Ipswich for a spell in 2003, yet didn’t have enough meetings to get a new average, despite there being meetings available. Why was that? I don’t know. I just got the message that day that I was no longer included in the team so it was nothing more to do than to pack my bags and leave, but I wanted to race so it was a bit sad what happened.
3..You helped Oxford win the Craven Shield in 2005. Was that a career highlight for you, and do you have any others? Yes and it was fun to race and fun to be a part of that moment and it wasn't that much pressure. We were a team in the bottom and no-one believed that we would win, but we did. So it was really fun. Another good memory was also the time when I raced in Rospiggarna ( Swedish EL) and we won the SM- title.
4..In 2006 your average was reduced to enable yourself and Todd Wiltshire to replace Tony Rickardsson and Adam Pietrasko at Oxford. What was the official reason given for this unorthodox reduction in your average, and do you think the points limit works, or would you like to see a different system used in the UK? A part of the reason I think was that I had raced too few meetings to get a new average. There are some rules that say that you have to have raced in England for a number of years and/or also you have to race a certain number of meetings to get a new average, and I hadn’t done that, so that was part of it. I don’t think the system is good but we got to have something and I don’t know how we are going to solve it in another way so that the teams will be equal, and so that not only the clubs with better economics will have benefits. So I think the system is both good and not.
5..To follow on from that, you seemed to struggle for form that year, starting in the main body of the team, but then dropping to reserve. What do you think the reasons for that were? I dont really know. I came into the English league with a low average and I hadn't raced that much so I took some chances with the material and it didn't work out. Things didn't flow or happened at the times that I had wanted them to.
6..I believe you helped with the track preparation at Oxford. How do youlike to see the track prepared, and what gives the best racing, in your opinion? I like technical tracks more than fast ones.
7..How much of a shock was Oxford's withdrawal from the Elite League to you? I had heard it been talked about a while before it happened, but anyway it was a little shocking that it happened so suddenly.
8..There were rumours you didn't get paid for your time at Oxford. How true is this? It’s very true. I still haven’t got paid for one month and they don’t answer the phone.
9..It has also been said that you didn’t want to return to the UK this season due to what happened at Oxford. Is this true, and what persuaded you to ride for Poole this year? Yes I felt that I didn’t want to race in England after what happened in Oxford but I heard that Poole is a good team, have good fans and good order. It’s also a club that stands up for what they say and they are looking into that everybody is well and taken care of.
10..What are your targets to achieve this year? Do you think you can improve your average, and are you looking forward to the season ahead? Yes I definitely do. I have a low average in England so that is something I’m going to change, and I feel that I am well prepared with engines and cycles.
11..Do you have any ambitions to ride in the GPs, or are you happy doing league racing? Of course I have wanted to race in the GP :s but I’m pretty happy about racing in the leagues and at the moment I don’t really have the resources that’s necessary for riding in the GP series.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #22 on Feb 18, 2008, 11:03am »
Interview with Ove Fundin, with thanks to all the people who put questions to him, and to Jim for passing it all on.
Robert: 1..Which opponent did you fear most? Ove: I guess you will be surprised, it was Peter Moore because he could always out gate me and was so very hard to pass.
Robert: 2..Who in your opinion is the best speedway rider of all time? Ove: No one can name a "best rider of all time", it's wrong to compare riders of different eras.
Sonic: 3..Do you think it was harder to become World Champion under the single meeting format, or is it more difficult as it is now with the GP series? Ove: One thing is for sure, you couldn't have a bad meeting trying to qualify for the World Championship as every round was a "knock out" (it was never a "single final") The way the GP is run you can have a very poor meeting and still become "Champ"
KevH: 4..Which of your five World Championship victories gave you the most pleasure, and why? Ove: Of course the first one, but I was as happy every time.
KevH: 5..At the time of your fifth Gold Medal, did you imagine that record would ever be beaten? Ove: Remember, I was the first rider to win 3 finals, first to win 4 and 5 times, if I could go on beating that record, surly others could and would.
KevH: 6..You won your third crown at Malmo in 1961, which was the first time the final was held away from Wembley. Did you use your position as reigning Champion to influence the decision to hold it there? Ove: If I could have in any way influenced the decision of where to hold the final it would have been for Wembley.
KevH: 7..You rode in an era of legends, included amongst them Peter Craven, Barry Briggs, and Ronnie Moore. Which rider of that era did you consider to be your biggest rival? Ove: You named them, they were my rivals.
KevH: 8..You represented Norwich, Belle Vue, Long Eaton and Wembley in the UK. Can you recall the high and low point at each club? Ove: If Norwich had not closed down, I would have stayed as long as I was in speedway. I rode my few meetings with Long Eaton, Wembley and Belle Vue after I had retired from the sport
KevH: 9..Can you give us a little background on your well documented use of the Norwich track spare? Ove: The bike I brought with me to Norwich when I first arrived was so bad that Mr Parkins (the manager of Norwich) asked Les Mullins (the track mechanic) to build a bike for me from one of the track spares, that was the "No 2 Track Spare" I rode it all my years with Norwich. True, the engine and frame was not the same all the time, but it was always "No 2 Track Spare" and it belonged to the promoters, I was hoping I would be presented with it when they closed the track, but no, a friend of mine bought it at an auction for me.
Trees: 10..Does Ove think that the speedway authorities should have given the "Winged Wheel" to Ivan Mauger? Ove: No, for the same reason as I don't think Barry Briggs should have kept the trophy (as he has) from before the "Winged Wheel"
Sube: 11..Well, I thought the SWC Final at Leszno was one of the best meetings I've ever seen and would be interested to know what Mr Fundin, who was there of course, thought of the racing. Ove: For sure it was the best SWC final I've seen
Genghis: 12..Has speedway become too professional? Should juniors be spending thousands of pounds on bikes, or should more emphasis be placed on the skills of actually riding the bike? Ove: Earlier speedway was the one motor sport anyone could get into, without lots of money, I do think it's wrong with the very expensive bikes today and" the teams "around the riders. I think it was much better in my days, we all rode "JAP's" and if we had a helper with us in the pits we were happy. Of course any old man, like me, would say, "it was better in the old days"
Genghis: 13..You have a reputation for not being a team rider. Is that justified or were there occasions where you would team ride with a lesser partner? Ove: I know about my reputation, but I did win the first" World best pair" together with Toby Harrysson.....
Genghis: 14..You won the World Team Cup six times with Sweden. Which one was the most special? Ove: Again, the first win was the best....
Genghis: 15..How many times do you think you would have won the World Championship under a Grand Prix system? Ove: Who knows.....but I think the system would have suited me.
Genghis: 16.. Do you consider yourself to be a better rider than Tony Rickardsson? Ove: No, but just as good
KevH: 17..You lost the 1957 World Final in a run-off with Barry Briggs when you fell. What can you recall about that race, and do you consider it to be 'the one that got away'? Ove: Yes there has been moments when I thought of 1957 "as the one I should have won" But Barry won and "that's it"
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #23 on Feb 26, 2008, 12:10pm »
Interview with Jonas Davidsson, with thanks and best wishes to him, and thanks to KevH for a few of the questions.
1..Your first team in the UK was Reading in 2003, so can you tell us what it was about the Racers that initially tempted you over to ride in Britain? I wanted to come over and try it out, and at that time I had Per Jonsson as a trainer back in Sweden, and everyone know he had had a good time at Reading, so he helped me out a bit and took the first contact. And that’s where it all began.
2..When you were based at Poole in 2006, your brother Daniel was also in the team for a while. I guess riding alongside your brother adds extra pressure, so do you prefer to ride for the same team as him, or would you rather you both represented different clubs? Yeah I don’t know, but I don’t think its adds extra pressure. I think its good though, I mean, we can help each other out and stuff. But as it is now we ride for different clubs and it works out good too.
3..You’ve ridden in three Grand Prix as a wildcard. Has this given you an incentive to qualify for the series in the future, and if so, when do you think you could realistically achieve that? Yes it’s been good to have a go at it and try it out, and its a lot different to a normal league meeting but it’s been good fun. My goal is to qualify this year or next year, and hopefully we can do that.
4..And as a follow up, now that Freddie Lindgren is in the GP series, are you hoping to get the wildcard for this year’s Swedish GP? Yes of course I would like to get the wildcards, but I have to keep working hard as we did last year, and if we do that I should be the wildcard, but you never now what’s happening when other people decide it.
5..In some countries the winner of the National Championships automatically goes through to the GP qualifiers. Is it the same in Sweden? Yes I think it’s top 4 or 5 in the Swedish championship who goes through to the qualifiers.
6..Stuart Douglas has stated that your enthusiasm to ride for Lakeside was a major factor in signing you. What was it about the club which attracted you, and did the fact that Andreas Jonsson and Ricky Kling are in the team have any bearing on it? Yeah, I mean we are almost 4 Swedes in there now so I hope we can help each other out good and that we will have good fun. Also that I wanted to try Arena out – it’s one of my worst tracks, so if I can learn that it will help me out a lot for my riding in UK.
7..You’ve often been described as an Enigma (now your official nickname!), as your scoring in Sweden has been far better than your results in the UK. Why do you think this is the case, and do you feel confident that you can find your Swedish form for Lakeside this year? That’s been the case so far, and the problem has been I have been good enough for one season but never got another chance the year after, so I have had to move around and that hasn’t been too good, I think. That’s how it is. I’m not the only one - they change rules and they can’t fit you in – it’s either too high or too low. But I look forward for this year and I think we have a good chance of winning the league with lakeside.
8..Also, Stuart Douglas said in an interview with us that Peter Karlsson had a number of suggestions which he felt would help you settle here. Can you tell us what they were? That must be a few practice days at Lakeside before the season starts, I guess. That’s a hard thing as well - in England you can never have a practice spin and try things out like you can in Sweden or Poland.
9..Having said that, you were the surprise package during the WTC round at Coventry and described by us as “splendid” on a couple of occasions. What happened (!) and how did it feel to top score for your country? Nothing happened really - that’s how my season was really in Sweden and Poland so was no surprise for me. I know I could do it and I did, which was great.
10..Which riders inspire you, and who has been the biggest influence on your career so far? In the beginning of course Tony Rickardsson was the idol. But in the later days its been Greg Hancock who I’ve been riding with for five years now, and he is a really good friend of mine. He always has something good to say.
11..You were the Swedish Under 21 Champion in 2006; was that a career highlight for you, and do you have any others? That was of course nice. And my silver in the nationals last year and WTC was good too. And last year in the league as well, I was the best Swedish scorer in the league.
12..Like a lot of riders, you’ve had your fair share of injuries. How are you feeling now, physically? I’m good – I’m ready to race.
13..Along with Andreas Jonsson, you decided to stay with Bydgoszcz, despite them being relegated, and despite having offers from other teams. What influenced that decision? I like Bydgoszcz - it’s a good club and good people, and it’s worked out good for me there. And I wanted to stay, and the only goal now is to go back straight up to extra league.
14..Finally, you’ve changed teams back home, from Rospiggarna to Smederna. Do you think you’ll settle quickly, and do you think you made the right choice in moving? I really hope so. Everything is feeling great so I hope it stays like that when the tapes are ready to go up as well.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #24 on May 2, 2008, 9:00pm »
Interview with Mike Spink, with thanks largely to mr3awards, bryn and kevh - and of course, to Mike.
1..First of all, how did you get into speedway? Went to the East of England show when they used to have Speedway on during the show and got hooked.
2..You started your career with Mildenhall, but then moved to Middlesbrough, which was considered a long way in those days. What was the reasoning behind that decision? They came up with the best deal!
3..During the winter of 1984-85 it was said that you wanted to leave Middlesbrough, and eventually came to Canterbury. Was it a problem with the club that made you want to leave, or the location? It was more that the track was not very well prepared and I did not enjoy racing on it.
4..You were born in Peterborough, yet never rode for them. Didn't you consider it, or did the opportunity never arise? The opportunity never arose and I was happy where I was.
5..You rode at Canterbury for three seasons, and seemed to have a good relationship with the then manager, Dick Searle. Do you still keep in contact with him, or any of your old team mates? Yes we had a good relationship but the most contact we have now is the usual Christmas card exchange with Dick Searle and Ted Hubbard.
6..What are your fondest memories of your time with the Crusaders? Having a good laugh with the other riders and the supporters especially people like Mrs Moon!
7..How did you feel about the closure of Canterbury, and how did you hear the news? Sad to hear of the closure and probably heard of it from Dick Searle.
8..To follow on from that, you only rode in one more season after the closure at Kingsmead, for Long Eaton. Why was that? Did you achieve everything you wanted to? I had come to the stage where I was not prepared to risk it any more so it was time to stop, and no, of course not, as everyone wants to be world champion, but I realized that it was not to be.
9..You also made a few appearances for various Division One clubs. Which were your favourite and least favourite tracks, and why? Favorite first division tracks were Coventry and Kings Lynn but I didn’t ride at many so I didn’t have any tracks that I didn’t like. In the second division my favorite tracks were Berwick, Rye House, Ellesmere Port and Stoke.
10..Back in those days, teams went on Northern Tours for a few days at a time, meaning you'd spend a lot of time bonding with team-mates. You must have some funny moments you can recall. Can you share any with us? The funniest moment was at Bagwell Farm Campsite in Weymouth when Tony Coupland set fire to Martin Dixon’s tent and his own tent by accident whilst cooking breakfast on the fire and it made the local newspaper - we could not stop laughing for ages.
11..Did you ever get fed up with being confused with Mike Spinks? No it was never a problem.
12..To put Subedei's mind at rest, did you hold the first track record at Berrington Lough when it opened in 1982? Yes, I had a great race with Bruce Cribb - we were almost side by side for four laps - it was a hard but fair race.
13..Do you still have an interest in speedway now, and if so, in what capacity? I have not had much to do with Speedway for 5 years since I finished helping Sam Tesar as a mechanic, but we go over to Czech Republic regularly to see him and his family.
14..If you had your time over again, would you still ride speedway, and if so, what would you do differently? I believe that if you want to do something then you should do it because if you don’t you will always regret it, so yes I would do it again but I think that I would try to be more professional.
15..Finally, change is inevitable, but do you think the sport has got better or worse, and why? I think that British Speedway needs to get its act together and not allow as many foreign riders in both leagues as it does at the moment because we will never have another British World Champion if it continues like it is. Also there are too many prima donas in the sport.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #25 on Aug 26, 2008, 3:15pm »
Interview with Ricky Kling, with thanks to munners for her help in setting this up, to kevh for being interviewer for the day, and, of course, to Ricky himself for giving up his time amid a very busy schedule.
How did you first get involved in speedway, and what influenced you to have a go? My Dad rode speedway so I was always aware of the sport and he actually ‘forced’ me into riding. He came to pick me up in the van one day with the bikes in the back and took me to the track and let me have a go...I loved it straight away and didn’t want to do anything else.
You first rode in the UK for Oxford last year – who and what tempted you to come over? I’d always been told that Britain was the place to ride as there are so many meetings and the tracks are all so different, so when I got the opportunity to ride for Oxford I jumped at the chance.
Everyone knows what happened at Oxford – did that put you off riding in England, or were you pleased to get the call from Lakeside? I look at it like this, if I’d not ridden for Oxford then I may not have got the chance to ride here (Lakeside), so it’s all worked out well in the end.
The team spirit at Lakeside seems to be very good – what do you think the reasons for that are? We’ve kept more or less the same team from last year, we’ve been winning and we all get on well. We’ve all got the same aim and all do our best in every race we ride...that’s where the team spirit comes from.
Clearly it’s going to be difficult for the team with the recent injuries to Joonas, Jonas and Adam. Firstly, do you know how they are, and do you think the rest of the team can find ‘that bit extra’ to cover for them? I’m not sure how their injuries are other than knowing Jonas Davidsson is still in hospital, but I’m sure, as I said before, we’ll do our best, it’s not going to be easy, but I believe we can still do it. Kauko Nieminen has come into the team and he’s been riding really well and I’m confident.
The Lakeside promotion showed their faith in you by making you their first signing for 2008...are you hoping a similar agreement can be reached for next year? Definitely, I would sign right now assuming they still want me, I’m very happy at Lakeside. We’ll probably have to wait until after the promoters’ conference in November before anything can really be sorted out but I certainly want to continue here.
Do you consider riding in Britain as an important part of your career? Yes I do. As I said earlier the huge variety in the tracks and the number of meetings suits me. I like to keep busy and just enjoy riding, so Britain is very important to me
You’ve put in some great performances at away tracks, notably at Peterborough, Wolverhampton, Ipswich and Eastbourne; do those tracks ride similarly to Swedish tracks? Not at all. Peterborough is very large and the others are quite small. Really only Peterborough and Poole are big tracks over here but each track needs a different set-up. When I first rode at Ipswich I only got a couple of points but when I went back a few weeks ago I was set-up right and felt confident, so I did much better, but I always give my best wherever I’m riding.
What are your thoughts about the points limit for team building in Britain – do you think it’s a fair system, and how would you improve it? Yes I think it’s fair, but I really hope the promoters raise the limit to about 42. With the low limit it freezes out some of the better riders and really affects the middle order riders and that is not good for the league.
Do you think British Speedway needs to make any changes, and if so what? They need to get more people to come to the tracks. A lot of people watch speedway on Sky so that proves the interest is there, and we need to get some of them to come along. If you get bigger crowds it’s easier to get more sponsorship, and with more sponsorship comes more attraction for the fans and riders so it’s better all round. We need to promote the sport better.
In Sweden you ride for Lejonen alongside World Champion Nicki Pedersen – does Nicki share his experience and help out in the pits? Yes he does. I thought he might just come along and ride but he’s great and will spend time with you if you ask him and is a great help - he’s a really nice guy.
Which other riders have helped or influenced you during your career? I’ve had a lot of help from AJ and PK, but the biggest help has always been my Dad.
What are the main differences between riding in the Swedish, Polish and British Leagues – for example, how do the tracks compare, and are the opportunities for youngsters getting into the sport similar? In Britain there are so many different tracks but it’s very similar to Sweden in the way the riders and the fans talk to each other and it’s very much a club thing. In Poland it’s very different as the riders and the fans are kept apart and you just go along to do a job.
How do you cope with the constant travelling...do you enjoy it, or do you see it as a necessary evil? Definitely a necessary evil but you just have to do it. Airports are no fun, and doing around 100 meetings a season means you have to be organised and arrange to be picked up all over the place. I enjoy my racing so have to accept that the travelling is part of it, but I really don’t enjoy it.
You were part of the Under 21 Swedish team who have qualified for the World Final at Holsted later in the year – do you think you can beat the Danes on their own soil? Yes definitely...in our qualifier at Pardubice we were eleven points down at one stage but we managed to come back and beat the Czechs so I’m confident we can do it in Denmark too. In Thomas H Jonasson and Billy Forsberg we have two riders who can beat anyone and I will be giving my best as always, so we can definitely do it.
Sweden recently finished third in the senior Speedway World Cup – were you disappointed not to be part of the team? Not really...I think Sweden have better riders than me who were not in the team so I wasn’t disappointed. I just have to keep improving and then in a couple of years time I may be ready for the team, but at the moment I have no complaints about not being included.
In Poland you ride for Zielona Gora whose fans are notoriously passionate – does that pressure help or hinder you as a rider? It’s very intimidating...I remember the first time I walked onto the track with around 15,000 people chanting my jaw just dropped; I’d never seen anything like it before. In Poland you are judged on your last race...you can have a good meeting and score some points but if you come last in one race the whistling starts and it’s very intimidating, but they do get behind you when you’re winning so it works both ways.
How do you see the future – do you hope to continue riding in the three major leagues and do you intend to get into the GPs? I love racing speedway and just want to ride as much as possible so riding in all the leagues is something I want to continue with. Racing in the GP is every kid's dream, certainly mine, so I am aiming for that and just need to keep improving and hope that in a few years time I’m good enough...that would be a dream come true.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #26 on Oct 31, 2008, 10:12am »
We heard what he had to say at the start of the season, but here are Adam Shields' thoughts at the end of it. With huge thanks to MD and, of course, Adam.
1..First off, how's the recovery going? Pretty good. I’m 80% of the way through the recovery process. I am seeing a physio and he is giving me some exercises to do to get some flexibility into my back so that in a few more weeks I will be able to start some light gym work. I am pushing it as hard as I can so I can reach the highest level of fitness before next season starts.
2..By all accounts, it was a very nasty looking crash. Do you remember what happened, and what went through your mind at the time? Yes, I remember the whole thing. I passed Kenneth Bjerre down the back straight quite quickly and he went for the inside and I ended up mid-track, I then decided to head for the outside which is not a good idea to do mid-corner. You need to set up for the corner on the entry. I hit the deep berm of dirt and it pulled me to the fence just after where the air fence finished. It was my fault, just a mistake that proved costly.
3..It’s well known that your friends and family keep an eye on the live updates, and were aware of the accident soon after it happened. I know the updates team ask that no announcements about injuries are posted until it’s confirmed, so it must have been an anxious wait for them to find out if you were okay. How do the family cope with that side of things? My wife, Karen, was online the night my crash happened and normally the updates team private message her and my mum before anything is announced. But on that night they put it on the website before telling them which is not the normal thing. It is extremely worrying for them as people try to put their thoughts and comments on before anything is really known, which sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't. My family just wants to know exactly what has happened and as quickly as possible, they just hate the waiting around for information.
4..Team spirit around the Lakeside pits always seems to be high. What do you think are the main reasons for that, and what is it that makes the team work so well together? Team spirit can be attributed to the fact that we had a good team and from that you get good results which makes the spirit reasonably good.
5..All three of your teams (Lakeside, Leszno and Rospiggarna) made the play-offs in their respective countries. Was it frustrating for you having to watch from the sidelines, and do you think you could have made a difference to the outcome for any of the teams had you been fit enough to ride? Obviously it was frustrating but whether I could have made a difference to any of the sides, no-one will ever know what would have happened had I been fit. What happened, happened and I am trying to think about what I can do in the future, not what could have happened in the past.
6..Mikael Messing has said he will come over to England to have talks with you, with a view to retaining you next year. Are you happy with Rospiggarna, and can you see yourself back there in 2009? I enjoyed my season with Rospiggarna and they are a very good club and seem to be one of the more sensible ones in Sweden as far as money goes. I haven't ruled out the possibility of going back there next year and I am sure if I go back, we could have another good season.
7..What do you think of Swedish proposals to have a closed league? Does the fight against relegation spur you on, or will it not make a difference? I don't agree with teams being relegated especially if they are a club that is strong enough financially to remain in the top division.
8..Mikael is also quoted in the papers as saying he's looking into helping you out with "mechanical back-up" in the pits. Is that in terms of pit crew or machinery? And do you really need it? Your scores seem to suggest otherwise. Pit crew was a major problem this year whilst at Rospiggarna. I had 3 different mechanics but never at the same time. The guys who helped did a great job but it was very difficult using 3 different people because it was hard to get a routine. I really just needed one person who could have helped me at the meetings and in the workshop.
9..Last year in Poland you rode for Leszno, who were just pipped to the Ekstraliga title by Torun. Despite that achievement, media reports are that you’ve signed this year for Wroclaw? I was speaking with Wroclaw but that is all it was. I have re-done my contract for another season with Leszno.
10..Will you be entering the Australian Championships this time around? No, I will concentrate on getting fit and practising but I will not do any racing.
11..The AGM is almost upon us once again. If you were in charge, what points limit would you bring in, and what other changes to the league/rules would you implement? I don't know. Speedway is going through a tough time in England at the moment which I put down to grand prix racing which distracts the top riders from British league racing, which is the most time consuming league. I have thought for a few years that there needs to be set up that all of the top riders can do British speedway but they only do half of the meeting (i.e "a" fixtures) and that team can be built up to 45 points. Then the "b" fixtures teams will be built to a 38 or something point limit. That way the top riders can still be involved in British league but wouldn't have to commit to so much time, but what do I know.
12..You’ve improved your average this season and put in some good performances for your teams along the way. Injuries aside, can you sum up how you think the season has gone for you? It had been going quite well. The best thing for me this year was that i started to do the polish league. I didn't really see myself getting involved with that until the Leszno club contacted me and got me involved.
13..Will you be working on anything over the winter, or are you just going to enjoy spending time with the family? Building bikes and getting into shape after an injury is going to be a full time job. If I am fit with competitive bikes by the start of 2009, i will have had a good winter. I am going to Australia at the end of January to see my family back home, and will stay there for just under a month. Karen will be staying at home here so I will have a cold Christmas before I leave.
14..And finally, will we be seeing you riding in Britain next year? I would be very disappointed if I am not. It's not the main league for many of the riders now, but it is for me.
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #27 on Nov 18, 2008, 8:54pm »
The following interview with ex Belle Vue rider Peter Williams is with grateful thanks to Braveheart for setting the whole thing up, KevH for the questions and especially to Peter for taking the time to share his memories.
You made your debut for Belle Vue in 1954 in what were troubled times for speedway with stock-car racing being introduced to many tracks. What got you interested in the sport and made you have a go? I learned to ride a speedway bike at Ernie Appleby’s track at Newton Heath, which was on an old tip a couple of miles from Manchester City Centre, on the Oldham Road. I would go there on a Wednesday afternoon (half-day at the shop), and I did ride in the Scottish Junior Championship in, I think, 1953, and I would have won it if I hadn’t fallen in the last race.
Ken Sharples came to see me ride at Newton Heath and said Alice Hart wanted to talk to me on a Monday afternoon……..I signed for Belle Vue on the next Monday afternoon! I broke the tapes in my first race at Hyde Road in a second-half race. I was riding very well and I was soon sent with Louis Lawson and Dent Oliver to ride for Belle Vue at Bristol. I fell off twice, but Jack Young, who was riding in the second half, also fell off twice, so I didn’t feel so bad about it. Jack Young went on to be the best rider I ever saw, Peter Craven included.
At this time there would be at least eight riders at Belle Vue trying to break into speedway, and when Bob Fletcher, Willie Wilson and George Smith committed suicide, there were always chances to show what you could do. Charles Cullam and Henry Long retired, so that was how I got a chance. Within a few weeks I had fractured my skull and it took me more than a year to get over it. Louis Lawson fractured his skull in, I think 1953, and he could recover his form afterwards. Louis Lawson was incidentally one of the most exciting riders ever to watch. Just brilliant!!!
I always went to Belle Vue on Wednesday afternoons to clean my bike, and one day there was to be a meeting in the Kings Hall, Belle Vue. The Kings Hall had wrestling twice a week, bug name stars like Frankie Laine and Nat King Cole came to sell out concerts, and of course there was the Belle Vue Circus every Christmas. So, this particular afternoon a little Aussie in tropical top and shorts, and a big hat with corks hanging from it, came and explained what Stock Car Racing was all about. Stock Car Racing opened to huge crowds, Johnnie Hoskins would have been in charge by then. Johnnie loved it because the stadium was full, and it had a tremendous atmosphere. When Stock Car Racing first came, we, the riders, didn’t mind, but then they had to put deep holes near the fence for the metal posts that protected the speedway fence. In time it did make the line along the fence on the straights much more uneven.
How I got into speedway………… I had been with my youngest brother a few times in 1947 before I did my National Service. In 1949 at Blandford Forum Camp, in I think Dorset, I had seen car racing 500cc engined Coopers. I fancied having a go and thought I could make some money at speedway and then have a go at racing cars. Once I joined Belle Vue, I never thought of cars again!!!
Don Cuppleditch’s retirement in 1955 saw you become a regular in the Belle Vue team and you finished the season scoring 25 points from your last two matches. Amongst your team mates were World Champion, Peter Craven, Ken Sharples and Ron Johnston……how did they accept the newcomer? Ken Sharples was a great help to me, always explaining how to be a better rider. He taught me to two wheel into the turn, and how to turn back underneath another rider.
Peter Craven I had known for a couple of years. Peter was doing his National Service at a REME depot one mile from our shop, and he always came for a chat when he had his hair cut opposite our shop. I have always maintained that Craven came to Belle Vue when I fractured my skull. I had been going to Liverpool with Buck Whilley on a Monday evening………Buck rode for ‘The Chads’, and I had seen Peter and his brother Brian riding in the second half there. Peter was very prone to falling at this time.
Ron Johnston was very much an individual rider……he wasn’t living locally, so he really didn’t hang around the Belle Vue workshops like the rest of us did. We really did feel quite special being in the Belle Vue team.
You rode for the legendary Johnnie Hoskins at Belle Vue, and I think it’s fair to say he pulled a few ‘strokes’ in his time, and was considered quite a character. Do you have any memories about Johnnie which you can share with us? Johnnie Hoskins……….He wrote a good programme, full of little ‘snippets’ which made it worth reading. The fans loved him, he always had time for them. He was one of ‘the old school’, and liked to see the track staff march out properly. He was very keen to think that the fans who’d paid to get in, had at least one or two very exciting races that they could talk about until they came again next week.
You were part of a British touring side organised by Buddy Fuller which visited South Africa in the winter of 1956/7 and ended up getting banned and fined for your troubles. What were the circumstances surrounding that, and do you think you were fairly treated on your return? Buddy Fuller had ridden in England along with the Serrurier brothers, and so he took teams back to South Africa to ride there in the winter. One year Trevor Redmond was taken out there and I think he thought he could take a team out there and steal Buddy Fullers’ job. So Redmond took a team out there and he got the RAC to say that Buddy Fullers’ track were unlicensed. So, the team I was with, Alan Hunt, Eric Boothroyd, Jim Lightfoot, Jimmy Gooch, Nick Nicholls and Ron Mountford were banned and fined when we came home. All I thought afterwards was that was typical of New Zealander, Trevor Redmond. I never spoke to him again.
The 1959 season appears to have been your last at Belle Vue, was this by choice and what did you do after that? In 1958 my brother and I had borrowed money from the bank to buy the business off our Dad. Although I worked very hard in the shop and didn’t have any holidays, the days I was away from the shop meant the others had to work harder. I had been married two years and we had a son and we had bought a house and I was also converting it into flats, so by 1959 there were lots of other things in my life, so I said I would give up at the end of that season. We worked together in the shop for nearly 40 years, but by 1961 I had three houses so I was very busy. I didn’t go to speedway again until the end of 1985. I never regretted leaving school to start work, and I never regretted giving up speedway, but I do sometimes think I could have done better if I had not so many other things in my life.
Many modern day riders ply their trade across Europe riding in the British, Swedish and Polish leagues as well as the GP Series…….how common was it for riders to travel abroad to race in your day? In 1955 we were invited to go behind the iron curtain and ride in Poland by a Professor Lubinski who had been to Manchester University before the First World War No nobody went into Europe before this. They said there were 100,000 people in the stadium in Warsaw on a warm sunny afternoon in either late October or early November 1955. I have since heard the crowd was 102,000. I have quite a lot of cinefilm from this, and I am proud to know that we were the first there.
Peter Craven’s death in September 1963 was a huge shock to speedway in general, and naturally, being a former team mate of his it must have affected you more than most. Can you recall how you heard the news and your thoughts at the time? Wilf Lucy, who was the engine man at Belle Vue after Bob Harrison went to Australia, and he lived just a few hundred yards away from us at Charlton-Cum-Hardy. He came knocking on the day to tell us that Derek Maynard had been killed, and then again when Peter died. Very difficult to believe it, but when someone falls in front of you, you have so little time to lay the bike down and if you can’t, your life is in the hands of the gods.
Peter Craven was such a lovely lad, without any malice or a selfish thought in his head. You can only think that “only the good die young”………it seems so unfair. I think how it would be now if we were all still alive, as old men and how pleased we would be to meet up.
Travelling up and down the country can be a nightmare nowadays, but before the advent of motorways it must have been far more difficult……… is there a trip which stands out as being a ‘nightmare’ and conversely you must have some amusing memories of the ‘lighter moments’. I thought I was a good driver, but I learnt so much more from travelling with three or four cars or vans, travelling in a sort of convoy. I have known one get a puncture and all would stop to help. I enjoyed travelling together. Ken Sharples would say we will stop for lunch at a certain hotel or café….it built up team spirit. Coming back one Sunday from Norwich, Ken said we would stop for lunch….there he would say who got bonus points….I got two, so I had to pay for the wine……all part of travelling as a team. The only other thing I remember is when I would get into bed after an away meeting at about 3:30 in the morning; I couldn’t go to sleep because all I could see were headlights coming towards me. I never drive on motorways as they are now!!
Of all the tracks you visited with Belle Vue, which one stands out most in your memory, and why? I liked West Ham, Liverpool, Norwich and of course Hyde Road. One night at Leicester I was unbeatable on a very wet track and I was the top scorer, but in the end the meeting was abandoned. There was also a meeting when I seem to think Belle Vue beat Coventry, at Coventry. From reserve I won two or three of the last few races, one with Sharples I think, and the other with Johnno.
We’ve heard the stories about Saturday nights in Manchester being all about a visit to the speedway, and then spending the rest of the night next door in the Fun Park……… were those days really that much fun, or has time clouded the memories? Belle Vue Speedway was only a small part of the Belle Vue Showground of the North. Thousands would arrive at Longsight Station on special trains from all over the country. A very big Zoo, a Boating Lake, a Firework Island…… it was a magical place and I was always so proud to be a small part of it. It really is true to say that the riders from other teams really looked forward to getting into the funfair after the racing was over. I can remember Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore and the other Wimbledon riders shouting to each other in the showers, “hurry up, you’re going to miss all the fun in the fairground”.
We’re spoilt nowadays with the advent of video recorders, and most if not all races are recorded and available on DVD. Is there one race of yours that you wish you could relive over and over again on DVD? I remember beating Peter Craven in the first race of the night, in what turned out to be the fastest time of the night. Roy Nicol who did the videoing at Belle Vue, once came to our house and showed me a very grainy bit of 8mm film of a meeting at Belle Vue against Coventry, and I said I could recognise Craven but could not see myself. He said I beat Craven twice that night, but I don’t remember.
There has been much debate about the virtues of the GP Series against the traditional World Final. What are your views as a rider, and also as a fan? There can be no comparison between the old style World Championship and the modern Grand Prix. Nowadays it’s like a circus, but having said that, I have really enjoyed watching meetings in Poland, Germany, Denmark and Norway………times are different now.
Your career in speedway was during some troubled times for the sport, and today it looks like we’re having to endure more of the same. If you had the power to change modern day speedway in this country, what would you do? The huge crowds after the War were because people had been thinking only of the War and they needed some entertainment, but by the mid ‘50’s another generation was coming along, and times were changing. There were always riders who would have better engines or a better fuel than the majority, and there still is. If engines could be identical and sealed it might help. I would like to see concrete starting gates again. More time is now spent messing about at the gate than it takes to run the race. My brother David is the only person I know who would go and see Jason Crump riding around Belle Vue by himself…………every winner needs three other riders to make him look good.
Have you followed the sport since your retirement and if so, what period do you consider has been the best, and why? No, for 25 years I had no time to think about speedway. But I’m glad to have got back into it again to see the very talented Moran Brothers, and to have been lucky enough to have known and ridden with the likes of Jack Parker, Louis Lawson, Peter Craven and Jack Young……….also to have been part of what really is the most famous Speedway team in the World.
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Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #28 on Feb 22, 2009, 3:28am »
And with thanks to Adrian Summers (the young fellow's father) and the young fellow himself, here's an interview with Edinburgh's Aaron Summers:
1..Rumour has it that your debut for Edinburgh came on the first day of your holiday to Britain, literally hours after getting off the plane; is that true and can you tell us a little more about how it came about? When I came over in 2007, the day I arrived it was organised for me to have a second half ride. I had sent one of my engines from Australia over and it was put into a frame etc by Kenny McKinna. For this I was greatly appreciative of those who made it all happen.
2..On a related theme, someone told me that you delayed coming over to Britain until after you'd learned a trade in Australia; is this true and what is the trade? Yes that is true, I wanted to finish my Apprenticeship so if it didn't work out I had something to fall back on, especially once my speedway career is over. My trade is in Furnishing as a Cabinet Maker.
3..In your first full year of Premier League racing you've helped Edinburgh lift the Championship; that must be a dream come true, what was the highlight? You can't ask for much more in your first season and my highlight was my first paid maximum at Glasgow.
4..You've now had a full season of racing in the Premier League and I don't recall you missing too many fixtures during that time, so you should've visited most tracks; which tracks did you enjoy and which weren't so good? I don't think I missed a fixture at all which was good. The tracks I enjoyed were Edinburgh, Redcar, Kings Lynn, Mildenhall and Newport. Basically every other track was ok, just didn't like them for some reason.
5..On a related subject, successful teams always get accused of having a "massive home track advantage", and the same has been said of the Monarchs in 2008; from a rider's perspective how do you find riding Armadale, compared to percieved "fairer" tracks such as Redcar and Stoke? I think Armadale is a good track once you get the hang of it. We have a slight home advantage mainly because of the size and how tight the turns are which makes other teams struggle.
6..Over the course of the season you were a constant in the No 7 berth for the Monarchs, but had various partners in Ht 2 and must've partnered just about every Monarch during at least a few races; who was your favourite partner and why? I would have to say probably Andy Tully because he team rides really well and was always in control of his bike. I did still enjoy every partner that I had during the season.
7..You've now been confirmed as an Edinburgh Monarch for 2009, good news, I guess? Yes, it was good news that I was waiting so long to hear, as I really enjoyed riding for Edinburgh. I was starting to get a bit worried as it came down to Derek or myself as a lot of the teams were getting filled up.
8..Who would you say has been most influential in your career so far and who of the current riders do you admire most and why? I would have to say Shane Parker as he is an Adelaide boy so even when I was riding juniors he would always have time to pass on his knowledge and skills. Also Leigh Adams with the training schools he runs and he is always approachable. Current rider I admire the most would be Leigh Adams because of how professional he is about speedway.
9..Australia haven't won the SWC since 2002 and I think it's fair to suggest that within the next few years the majority of riders who won that competition (Wiltshire, Lyons, Sullivan, Crump and Adams) will have left the scene; who would you expect to see representing Australia in 2015 and do you believe you'll be among them? I would expect to see the likes of Chris Holder, Troy Batchelor, Rory Schlein & Cam Woodward representing Australia and I hope I could be representing Australia in the SWC in the not to distance future.
10..On a related subject, there is also a Junior SWC (which Poland always win) and with Chris Holder and Troy Batchelor losing their "junior" status next season do you have hopes of being in Australia's team? Yes I do have hopes of Representing Australia in the Junior SWC this year. I did compete in the round in Germany in 2008 but got taken out by a crazy Polish rider sustaining some broken ribs etc in the process.
11..Staying in the international arena, you qualified for the Australian championships in 2009 and I was wondering about your ambitions; do you fancy a crack at the Elite League, Polish and Swedish leagues, not to mention the GP circus? Yes of course I can't wait to reach the elite league scene and the European scene. To make it to the GP's is one of my ambitions in speedway as it's the only way to become world champion. I learnt a lot more about bike setups toward the end of last season due to the help from Chris Anderson, which I have been doing on my bike over here in Aussie and I think it is making me faster since I left. So hopefully I have a really good season and hope to get some more sponsors on board to help me reach these goals.
12..When Berwick visited Armadale back in August you were involved in a controversial Heat 15 episode with Michal Makovsky, which resulted in an exclusion for Makovsky and the referee visiting the pits to 'deal with an incident'; please give us your side of both the on and off track events. I will answer by just saying it was all resolved and I just get on with my racing as you can see by me going back out in the re-run of heat 15. Just to finish off I would lik to thank all my sponsors and supporters it certainly makes it easier. Again thank you all.
And thank you, young fellow, for answering our questions which came from a variety of sources, including midnightlady, kevh and some fellow on the Monarchs Chatzone whose name I've ignorantly forgotten (sorry about that).
Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of 'the rat race' is not yet final - The Great Shark Hunt, 1979
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Joined: Apr 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 11,309
Re: Rider Interviews « Reply #29 on Mar 23, 2009, 3:40pm »
With thanks to our bwitcher and our friends at Fantasy Sports Factory ( http://www.fantasysportsfactory.co.uk/ ), as well as the young fellow himself, here's an interview with Polish champion Adam Skornicki:
1..If I could just start off with a couple of questions unconnected with speedway, but of interest to me; you were around 12-13-years-old in 1989 when the communist regime of General Jaruzelski collapsed, so what was it like growing up in the People's Republic of Poland? I didn't think for me at the time there was any difference but now when I look at kids that age I see how things have changed. It must have been really difficult for my parents at the time.
2..As a follow up, do you have any memories of the "miracle year" 1989 when Solidarity and Lech Walesa swept Jaruzelski from power? I remember that I had a badge of Solidarity on my jacket and the thought of being rebellious but also the fear of not knowing what was going to happen, we wanted to be like UK or USA.
3..Okay, onto speedway, when did you first become interested in the sport and who were your early heroes; I've heard you based your style on the supremely gifted Shawn Moran? I first became interested in Speedway about 2-3 years old, my parents lived in Leszno and my Granddad used to take me to the Speedway, I have only ever had one Polish hero, Roman Jankowski. I based my syle on both the Morans and all the Yanks really.
4..On a related subject, which is your favourite track and why? I am not just saying this but Wolverhampton, it has lots of lines for racing and is the perfect size for Speedway.
5..You've a reputation for being flamboyant on track with tassles on your kevlars and your "doughnut" celebrations, yet in interviews you seem shy and reserved, so which is the "real" Adam Skornicki? I am a Polish Speedway rider and my job is to race, I sometimes find it hard to say the right words in interviews in English, the real Adam is the one on track.
6..We heard earlier of the "miracle year" 1989 and you had your own "miracle year" in 2008, winning the Elite League with Poole, scoring well for Poznan in Poland and becoming Polish champion; but after a disappointing 2007 what changed? My Luck .
7..From a purely personal point of view, the highlight of 2008 for you must've been that 15 point maximum in Leszno that crowned you Polish champion; did you go into the meeting hoping to win or were you surprised by the win? Of course I was surprised by the win, in this final there were lots of great riders, I went to the meeting and wanted to get on the rostrum, I could not dream to be on top. After three races I thought "I can do this" so pushed hard and that's what I did.
8..As a follow up, the win in Leszno saw Marek Cieslak, coach of the Polish national side, name you in his sixteen-man squad for 2009; does the prospect of perhaps lining up for your country in the SWC give you a goal to aim for and might we see "doughnuts" at Peterborough on July 13th? I have never represented my Country at senior level and would love to ride at Peterborough and score points for my nation, and hope that we get to final and ride the Leszno track where I win the Polish Individual Final and try to get another GOLD medal.
9..Moving to the forthcoming season, you've changed clubs in both Britain and Poland, moving to Gdansk and Wolverhampton respectively; what are your hopes for the new season? To finish the season with a big smile .
10..Turning to the Wolves, what does it feel like to be returning to the Monmore Green club and what do you think of the team they have assembled? I have always thought Wolverhampton Speedway is my home, I enjoyed my time with Arena, Oxford, Belle Vue and especially Poole but I am very happy to be coming back to Wolverhampton.
11..On the more broader subject of British speedway, this close season has seen an exodus of riders from the British scene, yet Adam Skornicki is as reliable as a Swiss watch; what is it about the British scene that makes you loyal to it and return year after year when the more celebrated riders are turning their backs on it? I think British Speedway is the place to be, if I had not come to UK in 2000 I don't think I would be racing anywhere now and for that I am very thankful.
12..I've only see you ride once, when at short notice you rode in the 2005 Bordernapolis at Berwick after Billy Janniro and Billy Hamill dropped out; do you have any memories of that meeting? It was fucking cold, dark and long drive home (was this 2004?).
13..Recent years have seen the tragic suicides of several young Polish riders (Dados, Kurmanski and Romanek) and you were critical of the pressure placed on young riders by clubs and fans in Poland; is the culture of Polish speedway changing and if it is, in what way? Things have not changed much. Managers and coaches in Poland, they have no time for excuses and still put pressure on riders. If they score 12 one week, 12 the next then they are happy, if then they score 2 then the rider is rubbish! Polish teams are not interested in creating the next World Champion they want to win matches.
14..In 2004 and 2005 you rode for Leszno alongside the Weird World's First Lady's favourite rider Damian Balinki (she describes him as "fabulously insane in the nicest possible way"); what's Damian Balinski like and is it better to be riding with him than against him, or doesn't he discriminate? Damian is big friend and we grew together in Speedway and crashed a lot together and there has always been big competition between us, if you race with or against him it is always good fun. It doesn't matter if we doing speedway, cycling, running or playing cards we are always competitive. It is a shame that he never come to England to race but safety first, at least the Elite league riders are safer .
15..Over the winter you've taken part in a couple of speedway meetings on ice in places such as Czestochowa and Torun; are they a useful aid in keeping yourself "sharp" in the close season or just a bit of fun for riders and fans? These meetings are just a bit of fun and are always run for charity which is important to me but it also blows cobwebs away.
16..You also rode in the New Year Classic at Poole where you scored a maximum in the heats only to lose out to Ben Barker in the final which begs the question do you think it's unfair to tag finals onto the end of these meetings? I think it's unfair, the best rider after 5 rides each should win the meeting but we know the rules before the meeting and we know that there is a potential for 6 races. I have no hard feelings about losing in a final.
17..Turning to the Grands Prix, the old debate of the Grands Prix versus the World Final to determine the world champion is being raised again; which would you prefer; the current closed Grands Prix system or the World Final where everyone had a chance to qualify? I think the GP is super for the sport and has raised the profile of speedway, it is very good for the riders taking part but I think this should be the GP Championship but I also think they should run a one off World final where it's open to everyone, then top riders can choose to take part in both also.
18..And finally, Polish legend Tomasz Gollob was back on the world championship podium in 2008, can he claim the world championship in 2009, or, in other words, who do you think will be world champion? I think Tomasz is the most talented and experienced rider in the Grand Prix series, he wasted his best chance a couple of years ago and now I think he is inconsistent on a few tracks. I think will be between Jason and and Nicki as two leaders and maybe Hans Andersen has outside chance. Thanks
And thanks to Adam Skornicki for taking the time and trouble to answer questions, which were posed by myself and our First Lady. Adam Skornicki has his own website and we'd encourage everyone to take a little look. The address is:
Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of 'the rat race' is not yet final - The Great Shark Hunt, 1979
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