"I remember the very first meeting at Clay Country Moto Parc. The endless stream of people walking down over the hill toward the track, I don't know how many thousands there were, we were jammed in like sardines. The racing was always fantastic, and always well supported, whatever league. The team had characters as well, Chris 'Bomber' Harris, Mark 'The Undertaker' Phillips (Top Hat Included), Tom 'Tiger ' Brown, Malcolm 'Mad Wellie' Holloway, Matej Zagar, Emiliano Sanchez (Track Record Holder), Simon Phillips, Steve 'Lionel' Masters, Pavel Ondrasik, Richard Wolff, Wayne Barrett, Chris Bennett, Ben Barker, Mirko Wolter, Steffen Mell, Alun Rossitter, Mark Courtney, Will James, Mike Bowden, Seemond Stephens, Brett Woodifield, Darren Matthews, Dean Garton, Gary Lobb, Roger Lobb, Richard Ford, Lee Herne, Chris Johnson, Simon Walker, Jason Prynne & The Late Kenny Olsson are just some who come to mind, what a great bunch of entertainers they were. Thanks lads for all the good times!

Will Speedway ever return to Cornwall, we still have some great riders coming from here 1st & 3rd in the British Championships Chris Harris & Ben Barker, National League stars Mark Simmonds & Seemond Stephens, and recent top line Under 16 competitors Josh Dingle & Lloyd Barrett, we need a team, Britain needs more Cornish speedway talent."

"Does anyone remember a New Zealand rider called Max Brown from about 1971/72? What a man, I would have been about 12 and I was watching him in the pits when he called me over and asked me to sit on his bike and gently rev it to keep it warm for the next race. Well I didn't like to refuse, I was in heaven, somehow I think this request was more for my benefit than his. Wherever you are Max, I wish you well and thank you."

"This must be the most ridiculous and unworkable suggestion I have heard. For one thing GM do not produce fully assembled engines. There is no such thing as an "over the counter" GM. Anyone buying a GM basically recieves a box of bits which has to be sent off to a tuner. Every tuner has his own individual methods and techniques. So if the engines are to be theoretically equal they would all have to be sent to the same tuner and he would have to prepare all of them exactly the same, which is impossible. Any rider will tell you that you can get two engines from the same tuner and they will have slight differences. That is one reason you see riders change bikes during a meeting.

Even assuming you could achieve the impossible and get 32 engines (assuming two per rider) exactly the same you still have to face the fact that tracks are different shapes and sizes and small tracks like Cardiff require different power characterisics to a big track, and different riders require different power characteristics according to their riding styles. Who decides what power characteristics the engine should have? Small riders like Rune Holta and Kenneth Bjerre will obviously need their engines set up differently to bigger men like Andreas Jonsson. Whichever way you do it will favour some riding styles against others so the theoretical level playing field will never exist.

If the GP's are to be as fair as possible the best plce to start would be enforcing the rules to ensure that engines are stripped and measured after every GP. It rarely happens and that is why riders are talking about engines being "Polish fast" (in other words oversize)."

"Bill Gillihams thoughts on improving the GP series are interesting. However, the suggestions largely focus on equipment, and I am not sure how practical it is to define and control this in the way suggested. There has always been disparity between riders equipment, even when JAP, and later Jawa, appeared to effectively monopolise supply. Some riders have always had first class equipment, where others did not. this did not stop the greats from reaching the top, (athough they might have done even better with 1st class kit).

It is probably true that GP is here to stay, at least so long as the money talks, and that is why I have tried to argue that we could have a knock-out event like the old style championship running in parrallel with GP. Indeed, the two might even be complementary, with the old style event being used, at least in part, to select the GP riders for the next year.

Whatever, I think that Bill's early point about a qualifying system for GP is essential if GP world champions are ever really going to be able to say they were the best, rather than best of perhaps 20 or less, admittedly very good, riders."

"I would like to comment on Tomasz Gollob's actions at the G P in Malilla which caused Emil Sayfutdinov to miss the rest of the season. Could not the F I M use the system used in F1 and deduct points for any indecent of dangerous conduct it could range from 1 to 10. If it had been Emil's fault it would have been down to inexperience but Tomasz can't use that excuse. Thanks for a great web site, I have followed Speedway from 1949 at Harringay. "

"Sorry to learn of the passing of Toby Harryson. saw him at Glasgow White City when he managed the rare achievement of beating Charlie Monk round the old track. His lack of height seemed to make him all the more exciting to watch, as he seemed to be at odds with the law of gravity and I'll always remember him for that."

"I remember many good Saturday nights at Love Street watching Sid, Mick & co riding their hearts out for little results."

"Excellent, well written and very informative! Well done Barry!"

"Quote- All of a sudden we will find out who can ride any Speedway bike and really be the Champion of the World - Unquote.......How can you say that, I garantee you that all of the SGP competitors will have tried every available frame and engine on the current market and settled on the setup that best suits their style. World Champions work harder and are focused on the ultimate goal. There will always be those who qualify for the SGP but never even come close to winning a round let alone the holy grail. That's how it was in the One Off Final and every Motorsport on the Planet today. There will be winners and there will be losers. Trying to create a standard system would make a joke of the Pinnacle of our great sport. Imagine making F1 a car lottery. Sorry I do not agree with any system that tries to make winners out of losers........"

"While I agree with Bill Gillihams ideas. I would go one further & suggest that all speedway bikes be bog standard. In that I mean as bought over the counter no goodies added, then it will be down to the skill of the riders as they will all be on identical machines. It will also cut down the cost of maintaining the machine & even a novice can go out & buy the same bike as the world champion rides over the counter be it JAWA OR G.M."

"I like the idea, it would stop 'cheque book racing', however I very much doubt it would even be considered as an idea. Everyone knows that Jason Crump is probably able to spend 2 or 3 times more than most other GP riders due to his massive sponsorships etc, this would certainly even the playing field. It could also work for the League as well, it would remove the cost of engine tuning, potentially lower the riders wages as they wouldn't have the tuning bills, and therefore make it cheaper for the fans. I seriously doubt it will ever happen though."

"Sat here in Baku Azerbaijan and decided to look at some speedway stuff on the web, to be honest I never thought I would have been reading about Tom Black, I remember him well at Cleveland Park one of many from down under who represented the Tigers in the 70s. There are still plenty of speedway fans at the current Redcar Bears meetings that remember Tom also, a 100% trier. Good luck Tom."

"Excellent, very good. I remember the spring and autumn longtracks at the Solvalla during the mid of the 50's. He was number one. "

"Gary's spat with Mick Gardener was at Dudley Wood, not Hackney. Must be the funniest thing I've seen following the Heathens Cradley Heath or Dudley."

"Very sad indeed... I was Mike Wilsons 'spannerman', I worked next to where he worked and got on very well indeed. I used to love the speedway nights and the away legs... some very funny times. I remember dropping into Mike in NZ during a trip and having some giggles about what we used to get up to. Happy times."

"Don't sit thinking about buying Mike Lee's book, go out and buy it now, you will not be disappointed. This is the best read since Kenny Carter's story. I finished it in four days and could not put it down. I now feel like I know Michael, and really like the guy now, he seems so genuine."

"Who do you admire the most- what a great sentiment to your Mum & Dad. My Mum died when I was nine months old and I was put in an orphanage. Boy did I have to struggle to get enough money to buy a speedway bike and van. Good onyer to remember what they done for you. Too many youngsters take their parents for granted these days."

"Good to see old Paisley photos, I worked on the trackstaff for the 2 seasons and vividly remember the televised Champion of Strathclyde and Ivan Maugers' gold plated bike. The stadium has only recently been demolished to make way for a Tesco."

"I went to New Cross speedway every week, I was eleven years old but I used to meet my sister who worked in the Gas Company Old Kent Road. We would stand over looking the Pits and I used to get the Riders Goggles with the shale still on them and hang them on my bedpost. We used to sing a song about Ron Johnson. It goes like this:

It was sung to the tune Champagne Charlie is his name.

When New Cross Finished I then supported Wimbledon (The Dons) until 1956 when I got married. Barry Briggs and Ronnie Moore became my Hero's I also went to the 1949 Speedway World Championship at Wembley and watched Tommy Price win."

"Michael Lee was one of my favourite riders and I just had to buy this book. I did so with some trepidation given that Michael's past problems are well known and I didn't want to read "too much information" in case it detracted from the fond memories I have of his on-track performances. I needn't have worried, the book is extremely well written and I got through it very quickly.

Two things stand out for me. Firstly, talented young sportsmen (and sportswomen) need a committed mentor, particularly in a sport such as speedway where the emphasis is focused on individual achievements. Secondly, Michael asserts that all young people will be faced by the choice of whether or not to take drugs and I would have liked him to take the opportunity to offer some advice on what actions we can all take to influence youngsters faced with those choices. Despite the heavyweight issues involved, my abiding memory is of hurtling down the back straight at Blackbird Road (Leicester Stadium) before sliding full throttle round the City bend and into the home straight. In summary then, this is a book well written by Tony McDonald and well worth reading."

"Very interesting to read your comments on the 'Elite' League. It seemed to me that the 'powers that be' who coined that name were trying to come up with something grander than football's primadonnaship, sorry 'Premiership'. You don't have to be a football fan to realise that's just not going to happen in this country. What was wrong with the 'British League' anyway? "

"I'm completely in agreement with Roscoe - whether you like him or not there's no doubting his passion for the sport and he's seen it all as a rider and a promoter. I don't think the Skysports deal will run for ever and I remember only too well the disastrous effect on football on both sides of the border when major tv deals collapsed. The clubs are still recovering years later. It's all very well to say that the tv money helps compensate clubs for missing spectators but does that then mean the ultimate scenario will be televised speedway with no spectators? I don't think so.

I think that already the coverage of speedway is getting distinctly "samey" in which event there is a definitive sell by date for televised coverage. There may be the occasional visit to PL tracks, for example, but the basic diet is one of visiting a maximum of 9 venues (some more often that others), a Grand Prix event every couple of weeks featuring basically the same riders, and that's about it. When punters start to get fed up with that formula (I already have), they switch off, and if promoters don't start working on getting their missing crowds back now, they will be dead in the water when the tv cameras are eventually switched off. Ironically, the much vaunted tv coverage might well be a major contributory factor in the demise of many clubs somewhere in the future."

"Sandor Levai first rode in England in the late 50's at Belle Vue and Birmingham. He failed to make the grade due to poor equipment apparently. He re-emerged at Stoke in 1963, the local press referred to him as 39 years old and a Hungarian Champion, which he was. He went straight into Stoke's team against New Cross, no second half races at all. We thought this guy must be pretty good for that to happen. His first race he flew out of gate, failed to turn and spent the race trying to free his bike from the safety fence. He was dropped but due to injuries he rode in ten matches scoring 19 points and showed great improvement.

Stoke closed sadly at the end of 63 but I always followed Sandor's career after that. It was great when he finally reached heat leader standard at Newport. I saw him ride for England at Halifax versus Sweden, he would have been really proud. I was saddened when he died earlier this year, I never met him but those who have say what a great bloke he was. It seems the Stoke press got his age wrong. R.I.P. Sandor."

"What about the Parker bros - Jack who rode for Belle vue and Norman the capt of the Dons in Wimbledon. No mention of Lionel Van Praag who rode for New Cross or Ron Johnson another rider from new cross. What about Vic Duggan who I think was Australian, Archie Windmill who rode for Wimbledon or Eric Chitty? I was of course a Dons fan living round the corner from Summerstown have a feeling the manager was Ronnie Greene. I can remember the teams we played, Wembley, Harringay, New Cross which was a dire round track, Bradford, Belle Vue."

"After reading the article on Brafield Badgers, having gone to a meeting one Sunday I met John Latrobe and asked whether I could help in any way. Well I finised up staying until the very end. All my weekends were spent putting up the demountable fencing. No mean feat that, but then I was only 25 years. Now I'm 69 and living in Aussie. That time at Brafield was the most rewarding time because of the friendships we made, lots of the riders went to become top class. You could not find a better or more friendly bunch of riders or fans. Thanks to John Latrobe we have just found our dear friends Archie Wilkinson, just one of the many who turned up Sunday after Sunday. Great days, not bad with one finger, eh?"

"It seems a bit unfair to criticise current day riders for bringing their bikes in a van rather than on a trailer or tow-bar mounted bike rack. Running a van doesn't really cost a lot more than a car, you can carry more gear, and you can lock everything away."

"You have a point with your article. But one thing I will say is where can you sit at home and watch for free? You have to subscribe to a premium channel so one way or another you still pay whether you go to the track or sit at home. Someone is making money when you sit at home and watch. If I can sit at home and watch for free where do I sign up?? Nothing is free. Maybe in future Speedway will be a track with no stands and we can all sit home and watch for free."

"I'd agree with a lot of what Alun and Dudley Jones have said in the last couple of weeks, when I started going to speedway in around 1972, Peterborough had a useful team who were about mid table and crowds were good enough to make finding four seats together in the grandstand difficult if you were a little late. Being in Division 2 the team was all British with the occasional Aussie thrown in (Glyn Taylor, John Stayte) and Richard Greer lived around the corner from me. The same eight riders rode for you all season and it was unusual if at least six of them were not back the following year. This season Peterborough have changed their line up at least three times already and last year it was worse.

I used to be able to name most of the top seven from each track in the country, what night each team raced on. How many people can do that now. I stopped going to speedway in the late eighties and only started to attend when my kids were old enough and we now go to Peterborough about four or five times a season. Thats mainly because we live forty miles away, regular race night is a Thursday (to accommodate the GP's) and therefore a school night. Monday's for Sky only adds to the problem.

The lack of teams in the Elite league is an issue, in one season the nights we were able to go meant out of four visits we saw Coventry three times and it's difficult to explain to a new fan that there are so few teams that can afford to be in the Elite league, racing the same opposition a minimum of four times a season is no good for anyone.

I think that any speedway on TV has to be a good thing and remember eagerly awaiting big meetings being shown on World of Sport, but it can't help tracks when as has happened twice recently Peterborough had a Friday home meeting against Belle Vue, then Monday against Lakeside. Two or three weeks later they then had Friday, Monday and I think Thursday home meetings. It cost's me around £70 per meeting including fuel, programme and food for four, how many people can afford that three times in a week?

The point I'm trying to make I guess is that there's no balance anymore, Peterborough have seven overseas riders and many more on loan or "rented" out to other tracks. The Premier League is full of overseas riders and thats blocking places for british youngsters to come through, overseas meetings seem to take priority for many of these riders and it's very difficult to explain to a youngster why a programme sometimes has three or four guests or changes.

Look at the National league and how many riders over thirty or forty are there in what's essentially a training league. The really scary thing for me is that many of the British riders around now were around when I stopped attending in the first place, Gary Havelock etc. While thats a testament to their commitment and longevity they should be being ousted by good youngsters by now. I don't have the answer but the product is there, the set up and marketing isn't and that may be the problem. Speedway has, like football come to rely on Sky money and Promoters possibly don't have to work quite as hard to keep themselves afloat with one shining example, Len Silver at Rye House.

Having said all that, styles, bikes, promoters and riders might change but theres still something about speedway on a well prepared track under lights that draws you in. I might be in my 50's and only an occasional fan these days but I still get excited when we set out from home for a meeting and in what other sport would I have got to sit next to and spoken to my favourite rider (Briggo) recently.

By the way can anyone explain why we got rid of the old tactical substitute rules that potentially gave each of the oppositions three heat leaders an extra ride to keep a match close and went with the current double points version which only gives you one chance to close the gap? "

"Interesting comments. The suggestion of a truncated Elite League competition with clubs also competing in the Premier League has echoes of the present-day situation in Welsh Rugby. The so-called regional clubs like the Ospreys and the Newport-based Gwent Dragons attract the crowds. The original town-based club sides like Newport, Neath etc still exist but by all accounts attract even smaller crowds that most speedway clubs. "

"Another well written article by Matt Jackson on the future of Speedway. Do you really think the promoters care? Let's get down to the nitty gritty. As long as they are making a buck or pound they could care less about anything else. It's a real shame about just thinking of the money and not the future. He is right Peter Collins and all the other World Class riders would arrive in a vehicle with the bike on the back. There a bunch of pre-madonna's today. You know the old saying 'SHOW ME THE MONEY'"

"I grew up near Shelbourne stadium and watched Speedway standing on the corner. No Stand, we stood on a hill. Once I had to run for shelter in the horse shed I slipped and got covered in mud. Mother was none too pleased to see the state I was in. Still happy days.I was then 10 or 12 years old."

"My friends and I started watching speedway at Belle Vue in 1960 and watched them regularlly until Peter's death in 1963. I well remember a visit to the pits after the match one Saturday night which became a very special night to me because having chatted with Peter for some time and telling him of my involvement in cycle speedway, he actually gave me his number 1 ace of spades breastplate which I wore on many of my tracking occassions. Thanks again Pete. "

Shanon Berry wonders whatever happened to Stephen Morris the former Wolves rider.

"I'm sorry that I missed a line in the Tom Black story. Tom won back to back South Island Titles. After his win in 1969, he won again in 1970 from Roger Wright and Merv Salt. Then in 1971, he was 3rd... Sorry Tom!!!"

"I went to the Shay quite a few times, mostly for the Dukes v Aces matches. I saw some great racing there, and the banking certainly added to the thrill. I was in the crowd when Eric Boocock parked his bike across the start line because he disagreed with the ref's decision ! Great days."

"I watched my first speedway at Barrow Bombers, moved to Glasgow area in 75 and went to Paisley and saw half my old team there. I also helped out with the track staff either raking the track between races and even getting to push start Ivan Mauger when he raced there."

"Boy, I bet this book that Micheal Lee put out really gets down to the dirt. Should be a real good read not like all the other stars that keep everything quiet to make themselves look good. I don't think there is another book like it on the market as far as controversy goes. "

"Any chance of a excerpt? I know other books on Chris Morton, Kenny Carter, Simmo etc have appeared on this web site, it would be interesting to read about Mike, perhaps both positive and negative views. I look forward to reading it hopefully in the near future."

"What a SUPERB article by Jeff Scott. I have been talking about this for years both on this Site and on the British Speedway Forum. Qualification for the SGP is an absolute disgrace. I will say only this - once upon a time EVERY Rider from the LOWEST National League Team through the Premier League to the Top Elite League Team would have started a Season looking forward to HIS chance to claim the ultimate prize in Speedway. I have mentioned many times Jack Young winning the Title as a second Division Rider. He could not do this now - instead we have to watch the so called, HAND PICKED BEST Riders in the World Race for a Prize for which a number did not even QUALIFY. Nothing to do with ability now - it's all about QUOTAS - if it wasn't - I doubt we would have a British Rider anywhere near the Grand Prix. If we didn' t have any representation - how many people would go to Cardiff. Ergo the SELECTION process. "

"My first visit to Blackbird Road was as a youngster of 13 when The Hunters were the team. Fantastic racing with Harwood Pike, Lionel Benson, Jock Grierson, and many more, not forgetting Ron Wilson, the father of Ray. A fantastic racing strip which was so fair that the home team had virtually no advantage. I went back regularly in the 1960 s when the name had changed to the Lions. It was still a great circuit, and such a pity that CO sold it out to fund Brandon."

"Great site! Nice shot of Old Meadowbank, a real track with a great promoter Ian Hoskins. Tremendous provincial league clashes between Monarchs and Newcastle Diamonds. Phrases in programmes, such as get in early [Brough Park] before the Monarchs fans pinch your places! [500 plus of them!] Most surprising "find" was discovering speedway at Cloverdale (British Columbia) in 1984, run by ex Cradley supporters. I noticed one 15 year old kid looked as if he knew what he was doing, and was glad he made it over here a few years later. Anyone remember shawn venables? Pity speedway couldn't get a regular hold in B.C. "

"Thank you this has brought home many happy memories for me. My dad took me to see the Tigers from the age of two and i was hooked! As a teenaager Colin was one of my favourites, never a dull moment when he was riding. As you said it was not unknown for Colin and Steve to clinch the race at the last minute with us in the stands going mad screaming. We didn't need fancy staduims we had Blantyre, we had faithful fans and we had riders who gave their all every week, not for money but because the loved their sport! Great times!"

"My take on the Gordon Parkin free transfer of Peter Craven to the Aces, its my own speculation.

The Gordon Parkin 'free transfer' of Peter Craven to Belle Vue in 1952 could be called into question, based on Craven's history of speedway achievements; however Parkins actions might be viewed in context of the prevailing times.

Peter Craven rode for Liverpool, primarily as a reserve and sometimes team rider in 1951, unfortunately he failed to produce team points. Quite possibly, Gordon Parkin recognized young Cravens potential was not on the big Stanley track, but his balanced racing style, being more suitable, to a smaller wider track such as the Hyde Road facility.

In 1952, the Belle Vue Aces a division one team included riders such as Jack Parker, Dent Oliver, Louis Lawson, Ken Sharples, Henry Long, etc. Additionally, competing for a reserve position on the Aces, were experienced riders such as Val Morton, Dennis Parker, Ron Mason, Bob Fletcher, Norman Hargreaves, Bob Duckworth etc.

It’s quite possible the team management at Belle Vue at the time, might question 'paying a transfer fee', for a rider unproven from a second division track, while already experienced race ready, talented riders were on the Belle Vue reserve books.

Eventually in 1954, Peter Craven became one of the top riders on the Belle Vue Aces, and the rest is speedway history.."

"The Liverpool Chads, I think my dad, Jack, rode for them perhaps in the late 50s?"

"Mike Parkins on...Gordon Parkins I am always keen to read of lost tracks and speedway history. I found Mike's recollections on Liverpool very interested in those days at Liverpool. As my heart will always be at 'The Firs' at Norwich I very much hope that Mike will do an article on his dad Gordon. Gordon was very successful at Norwich and I would love to hear more insights into this period and his later involvements. Also his early introduction to the sport, I believe I read somewhere that he first saw speedway at Barnet. There were a number of names from the past management of speedway who must have had interesting stories. Fred Mockford, Ronnie Green, etc."

"Oh how I agree with Matt Jackson especially with the 'doubling up' rules and the double point tactical rule. Racers like Si Walker getting left out in the cold while other riders have two teams or the management bring in foreigners. As for the B/W tactical rule it undermines the work of the team who have got themselves a decent lead and it could be wiped out with one ride all because some riders of the opposing team are not doing so well. Let's get back to the days when two teams raced equally and happiness was 40-38."

"The site is now being developed, I believe there are going to be 130 houses built, safe to say an end of an era."

"I only went to Fleetwood once, and watched them paste the Leicester Hunters. I thought the track surface was like a bomb site compared to Blackbird Rd. Still, it was a decent day out."

"Erik Gundersen was a real racer and a true gentleman. I remember racing at Cradley for Wolves at No.6 and I out gated him and could hear him all around me trying to get by. I crossed the line in front of him and after the race he came up to me and shook my hand and said what a fine ride. I have never had a rider of his calibre do that ever. Just to see his smiling face is a moment in time I will never forget. He had a beautiful attitude. Not many men would be that gracious in defeat and that showed his character."

"'Roy Williams' rode against Middlesbrough and appeared at Cleveland Park on a regular basis between 1968 and 1970. I was only a child back then but didn't discover it wasn't his real name until a few years later. I was fascinated by this as Berwick had fielded another rider known as 'Mark Hall' (in real life a bank clerk called Walter Elliott whom changed his name just in case his employers found out he was a speedway rider!). One night the Boro Bears juniors were appearing in a match up at Shielfield Park around 2004 and I suddenly realised that I was stood next to 'Roy Williams', who was visiting the UK for the first time since he had left in 1970. I was suddenly transported back to those wonderful matches we had against Berwick Bandits in the league and the Teesside Tweedside Trophy. I exchanged a few words with him and was grateful I did as he sadly died not long after returning to New Zealand.

I often wonder what happened to many of those riders who rode in the harem scarem days of Second Division speedway 1969/1971. One of my favourite away riders was Geoff Ambrose of Crayford who always rode Cleveland Park very well. Does anyone know whatever happened to Geoff? I sometimes wish I could be transported in a speedway time machine back to the days of when we raced the likes of the Crewe Kings, Doncaster Dragons, Nelson Admirals, Rochdale Hornets & the Sunderland Stars. Speedway racing back then seemed much more simpler and far more exciting. It would be 1977 before I managed to make it to an away meeting watching Teesside in action at Stoke as it happens."

"Brilliant and a dream come true! Only dissapointment for me was in the photo section. It was World Finals I wanted to see, not British League or test matches or other Finals mixed in. The one thing I wanted to highlight was the 1973 Final, my favourite theme. Concerning the run-off; there was no mention as to why there was a run-off in the first place! That both riders had dropped 2 points. After being unbeaten at half time, Jerzy Szczakiel goes down to Grigori Chlinovski and then to Ole Olsen. Only that race is mentioned. Ivan Mauger, the defending Champion had won 4 heats but had been beaten in round 2 by Szczakiel and Pawel Waloszek. Ivan says that he wasnt surprised by Jerzy winning his first couple of heats.

I wanted more from Ivan on how he made such a hash of their race. It was heat 8 and you can see it on You-tube. Ivan bunnyhops out of the gate and is last into the first corner. It takes him over a lap to pass Valeri Gordeev and then he gets on level terms with the two Poles. But he cant pass them! Jerzy beats him by 8 lengths and Waloszek 6! A great snap of this is found in the book World Speedway Final a history from 1929 by Maurice Jones, on pages 88 & 89. The caption for this is wrong as it says heat 14. Its not! Its heat 8 and you will see Ivan outside the two Poles on the Pits bend. Look closely and you will see Ole Olsen in the background watching from the Pits. For this race to be ignored is a shame because it takes away from the fact that Jerzy won the World Final by beating Ivan TWICE! How good was that? Brilliant and I'm so glad that Ivan acknowleged just how good is opponent really was. And not just on that day."