Post by speedyguy on Jan 26, 2016 15:59:34 GMT
IN the mid-1950s, when I was editing at the ‘Speedway Star’, the name of Austrian rider Otto Holoubek frequently came up in reports from Eastern Europe.
It appeared that Otto was something of a big star - in the old Yugoslavia, Hungary and his native Austria. The results showed Holubek to be something of a front-runner in the sport.
Otto also established something of a regular correspondence with me, and pressurised me into trying to get him into British racing. Thus it was that at the start of the 1957 season I passed on the Austrian’s details to Arthur Franklyn, then the promoter at Foxhall Heath. Like me he was impressed with the Austrian’s career details. As a result, Otto was signed to ride for Ipswich.
When he turned up in England it was without a bike - a matter of a few days before he was due to make his first appearance for the Witches in a match at Norwich. At the time, Otto was staying at a boarding house in Clapham, and the nearest British riders living in the area were Maury McDermott and his rider-mechanic pal Al Hollliday.
I contacted them in the search for a bike for Otto to buy and use. And Maury and Al came up with the goods. Otto liked the bike, he bought it and then announced he also needed to buy a van to travel around the country. Again, the south London duo came up trumps. And we sent Otto on his way.
I spent a worrying weekend wondering just how well Otto would do at Norwich. It was a track in shape and size that suited most European riders. Then came the news - Otto had struggled to put it mildly. In fact, he was completely outclassed. And it was much the same when he made his home debut at Foxhall Heath.
To put it kindly - he didn’t have a clue about what was going on. In four rides at Norwich he scored one point, then two days later failed to score in two rides at Ipswich. Subsequently, kind-hearted as he was, Arthur Franklyn suggested to Otto “on yer bike” and the rider went back to his home in Graz.
That, however, was not the last we heard of Otto Holubek. He persevered and the results featuring him again started to come back from Eastern Europe, And his name appeared regularly in various Austrian international teams into the early 1960s and he even managed to get selected for the Combined Europe team that competed in South Africa in their 1960-61 season.
When his speedway career ended, Holoubek worked as a technician on Austrian TV for many years. He was a likeable enough guy, but I learned an important lesson: never recomend a foreign rider to a British club based on results alone. Always try to see them in action before passing their name on to a promoter.
It appeared that Otto was something of a big star - in the old Yugoslavia, Hungary and his native Austria. The results showed Holubek to be something of a front-runner in the sport.
Otto also established something of a regular correspondence with me, and pressurised me into trying to get him into British racing. Thus it was that at the start of the 1957 season I passed on the Austrian’s details to Arthur Franklyn, then the promoter at Foxhall Heath. Like me he was impressed with the Austrian’s career details. As a result, Otto was signed to ride for Ipswich.
When he turned up in England it was without a bike - a matter of a few days before he was due to make his first appearance for the Witches in a match at Norwich. At the time, Otto was staying at a boarding house in Clapham, and the nearest British riders living in the area were Maury McDermott and his rider-mechanic pal Al Hollliday.
I contacted them in the search for a bike for Otto to buy and use. And Maury and Al came up with the goods. Otto liked the bike, he bought it and then announced he also needed to buy a van to travel around the country. Again, the south London duo came up trumps. And we sent Otto on his way.
I spent a worrying weekend wondering just how well Otto would do at Norwich. It was a track in shape and size that suited most European riders. Then came the news - Otto had struggled to put it mildly. In fact, he was completely outclassed. And it was much the same when he made his home debut at Foxhall Heath.
To put it kindly - he didn’t have a clue about what was going on. In four rides at Norwich he scored one point, then two days later failed to score in two rides at Ipswich. Subsequently, kind-hearted as he was, Arthur Franklyn suggested to Otto “on yer bike” and the rider went back to his home in Graz.
That, however, was not the last we heard of Otto Holubek. He persevered and the results featuring him again started to come back from Eastern Europe, And his name appeared regularly in various Austrian international teams into the early 1960s and he even managed to get selected for the Combined Europe team that competed in South Africa in their 1960-61 season.
When his speedway career ended, Holoubek worked as a technician on Austrian TV for many years. He was a likeable enough guy, but I learned an important lesson: never recomend a foreign rider to a British club based on results alone. Always try to see them in action before passing their name on to a promoter.