Dennis Sigalos

[cardinalsin]

What a fantastic rider he was and one of the most stylish riders i've ever seen. The first thing that attracted me to him when i was a youngster was those eye catching red and blue leathers with the white stars down the side of the legs. Thats one thing i don't like about todays team suits, riders lose their individuality which is a shame. Dennis was also a pretty unlucky rider too, had all his equiptment stolen on the eve of the 83 world final when he was tipped by many to win and was the anti post favourite to do so. I remember the article in the ipswich evening star all those years ago when he said the bikes were specially prepared for the track and losing them was such a blow that he was never going to recover from. Then of course that horrific ankle injury where he almost lost his foot. Again the picture in the star where his foot was pointing completely the opposite way and was seemingly hanging by a thread was a picture i'll never forget. Dubbed the "maximum man" at foxhall because of his endless maximums during 82 and 83 he was one hell of a rider who unfortunately had his blossoming career cut short just as he was reaching his peak in the sport.

[Deleted]

There was only ever going to be one winner in 1983.

[stuartroad]

cardinalsin said:

What a fantastic rider he was and one of the most stylish riders i've ever seen. The first thing that attracted me to him when i was a youngster was those eye catching red and blue leathers with the white stars down the side of the legs. Thats one thing i don't like about todays team suits, riders lose their individuality which is a shame. Dennis was also a pretty unlucky rider too, had all his equiptment stolen on the eve of the 83 world final when he was tipped by many to win and was the anti post favourite to do so. I remember the article in the ipswich evening star all those years ago when he said the bikes were specially prepared for the track and losing them was such a blow that he was never going to recover from. Then of course that horrific ankle injury where he almost lost his foot. Again the picture in the star where his foot was pointing completely the opposite way and was seemingly hanging by a thread was a picture i'll never forget. Dubbed the "maximum man" at foxhall because of his endless maximums during 82 and 83 he was one hell of a rider who unfortunately had his blossoming career cut short just as he was reaching his peak in the sport.

he was a most outstanding rider i totally agree.
personally i would have to say,the 80's invasion by the americans,was the most exciting period i have witnessed in speedway,and probably the main reason,i consider kenny carter the top british rider since peter craven.

mind you i wasn't around in the 20's,30's and 40's to admire the trials and tribulations of 'the god'

[schumi]

I was flicking through a book about Erik Gundersen earlier and came across a picture of a guy with stars down the side of his leathers. Could have been Shawn Moran? Too many sponsor's logos on leathers these days.

[stuartroad]

schumi said:

I was flicking through a book about Erik Gundersen earlier and came across a picture of a guy with stars down the side of his leathers. Could have been Shawn Moran? Too many sponsor's logos on leathers these days.

shawn was my favourite among the americans,just as stylish as his brother,and without the influence of alcohol.

[admin]

grachan said:

There was only ever going to be one winner in 1983.

Well, after Muller's first heat there was only going to be one winner - but that wasn't so easy to see in the run-up to the final. That first heat showed he had a super-fast machine on a super-fast circuit that was prepared to suit him. He even seemed to direct the watering of the circuit during the interval.

[Deleted]

He is often put down,but Egon certainly had a champions mentality as well as the skill to go with it.I know he had a playboy sort of image.Ivan Mauger joked(or maybe it wasn't a joke)about turning up to meetings with 1 woman and 3 bikes while Egon would have 1 bike and 3 women.But Egon was totally dedicated to winning the title once he knew the final was in Germany.His whole season was focused on that one meeting.And i guess more than most he could put in the time as he wasn't distracted with British League meetings 2 or 3 times a week.He was out on the streets testing his bike,being chased by the police on one or two occassions.And of course he knew that track better than anyone.Just as Gollob does with Bydgoszcz or Sigalos did with Foxhall.
As i have said before,ask Ivan Mauger or Barry Briggs or Ole Olsen about Egons abilities.Not some biased fan who hardly ever saw him ride

Anyway that is sidetracking the thread

[Deleted]

Blimey, it seems a lifetime ago since Siggy was at Foxhall.My first proper idol in the sense of the word.

Given the daunting task of replacing John Louis, he soon won the hearts of us Foxhall Faithful.

I remember a phone in show from 1981 on Radio Orwell where Siggy and JB answered questions, and a few people were up in arms about the end of the Louis, Sanders & Davey trio that served Ipswich so well in the 70's.

It was a shrewd piece of business by JB, as well as bringing in John Cook, it revitalized the Witches and provided more success at Foxhall.

Always happy to give an autograph or pose for a photo, I reckon he was a promoters dream.

Quick and stylish, it is a shame his career was blighted by injury, but I agree, if the World Championship Final had been elsewhere, the title would have been his.

I remember the comeback at the tail end of 1985, and the chance of a return in 1986, but it wasn't to be.

One of my many treasured speedway possessions is an autographed Justice Brothers cap which Dennis gave to my Cousin, which has since been passed down to me.

It's nice to take a walk down Memory Lane again!

[admin]

bumholio said:

Quick and stylish, it is a shame his career was blighted by injury, but I agree, if the World Championship Final had been elsewhere, the title would have been his.

I disagree.
Okay, anywhere else other than Norden and Muller probably wouldn't have won, but it doesn't follow that Sigalos would've won. There were a fair few other candidates, not least Ipswich team mate Billy Sanders, who finished second at Norden.
And Michael Lee was having a stellar season in 1983 and finished third in Norden - many pundits were tipping Lee as the man to win.
But, as it happens, the final was in Norden, Muller did win and we'll never know who'd have won in different circumstances.

[RegalRobin]

Sigalos topped the averages in 83 with a mighty fine 10.99. Sanders too was a good rider, but always played second fiddle to Sigalos and got nowhere near him average wise during Sigalos' Foxhall years. One awesome speedway rider who imo would have gone on to become world champion at some stage if not for that injury which effectively ended his career.

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MrVxyfEgKo4

[admin]

And Kenny Carter topped the averages in 1982 - doesn't mean a thing. All that counted was a given night in a given season.
Sanders may have played second fiddle to Sigalos at Ipswich, but on a given afternoon in Norden, he finished second and Sigalos didn't.
Did Erik Gundersen ever top the averages? I can't remember him having done so, but he's thrice a champion.

[Genghis]

admin said:

bumholio said:

Quick and stylish, it is a shame his career was blighted by injury, but I agree, if the World Championship Final had been elsewhere, the title would have been his.

I disagree.
Okay, anywhere else other than Norden and Muller probably wouldn't have won, but it doesn't follow that Sigalos would've won. There were a fair few other candidates, not least Ipswich team mate Billy Sanders, who finished second at Norden.
And Michael Lee was having a stellar season in 1983 and finished third in Norden - many pundits were tipping Lee as the man to win.
But, as it happens, the final was in Norden, Muller did win and we'll never know who'd have won in different circumstances.

Hans Nielsen was also one of the favourites for the 1983 crown, having won every round leading up to the final, including a super-tough Inter-Continental Final at White City.

But for a very engine failure while leading Muller in his final ride, Nielsen would have faced Sanders in a run-off for second place.

I do agree with the Great Cornholio that Sigalos woould have won a World Championship at some point, had it not been for that very nasty injury sustained in the 1984 American Final.

[admin]

genghis said:

I do agree with the Great Cornholio that Sigalos would have won a World Championship at some point, had it not been for that very nasty injury sustained in the 1984 American Final.

Nonsense.
Sigalos was a great rider at domestic level, but I've seen no evidence that he had what it takes to win on the biggest stage. How many Overseas Finals did he win? How many Intercontinental Finals did he win? Wasn't he one of the riders who relied on Penhall letting him beat him in the 1982 Overseas Final to make it to the Intercontinental Final?

[Genghis]

admin said:

Nonsense.
Sigalos was a great rider at domestic level, but I've seen no evidence that he had what it takes to win on the biggest stage. How many Overseas Finals did he win? How many Intercontinental Finals did he win? Wasn't he one of the riders who relied on Penhall letting him beat him in the 1982 Overseas Final to make it to the Intercontinental Final?

Yes, he was, but later in the same season, he beat the best in the world to win the Embassy Open at White City (just a few days after finishing third in the LA final).

And how about the immaculate 18-point maximum in the World Pairs in Australia in December 1982. When Sigalos was at his best, he was very hard to beat.

Sigalos was in prime form during early 1984 - and was outstanding in the England vs USA test series. It could have been his year.

[admin]

genghis said:

Sigalos was in prime form during early 1984 - and was outstanding in the England vs USA test series. It could have been his year.

Nonsense - like everyone else, he'd have been out-gunned by Gundersen's super-fast GM.
And all that stuff about Embassy Opens, World Pairs and test meetings is just so much fluff and doesn't mean a thing.