The 1960's - Part Three
Fresh faced youngsters Ole Olsen and Ivan Mauger, they went on to dominate world speedway
Courtesy of Dave Gifford
Ivan Mauger chatting to mean and moody Dave Gifford at Old Meadowbank
1969
40 Years have gone by in a flash but who is the best remembered Newcastle rider? Ivan Mauger
Ivan after winning yet another trophy, his house must have been full of them
Ivan Mauger in Y/B. I don't recognise the track or
the other riders. Ivan was riding with a broken ankle (Right) his boot was
taped up to make it more comfortable for him.
Update: Mike Letch of Melbourne Oz says: The other riders
are Ray Cresp and Ray Wilson (Long Eaton) and the track is possibly Station
Road, Long Eaton
Ray Cresp is on the inside. He is riding a Rotrax Jap with some inovative sprung forks with rubber band shock absorbers on them a'la grass track style. There is a photo of him on this bike on one of the old West Ham sites. And I am pretty sure that is Ray Wilson bringing up the rear. I still see Crespy at speedway reunions here in Melbourne. Mike Letch
I was at this test match and I can remember a huge crowd easily the biggest I have ever seen at Brough between 1961 and the present time. I have the attendance figure of 12,000 in my mind but that is unconfirmed.
Have you noticed the old fashioned gauntlets Igor’s wearing, bits of a rarity even in those days. From memory I believe his leathers were an older style as well, unlike the more modern gear the England riders were wearing. It’s a complete contrast to modern day Speedway with its flashy gear. However Igor didn’t need flashy gear to be world class and he certainly was. He put Russian Speedway on the map. Again from memory something tells me Igor didn’t look settled in his first two rides but I can’t remember if it was due to the track or his bike, but he certainly flew in his last four outings. Here is his profile from the program.
Boris Samoradov and Brian Brett racing before a crowd of 12000 at Brough Park in 1966
Ole from Vojens in Denmark came to Newcastle on the advice of Ivan Mauger in 1967. I remember Ole riding an ESO with the distinctive clip on handlebars and I spent many Monday nights in the pits as a 14 year old looking at him (hadn't seen a Dane before) or an ESO up close, although Alan Butterfield has informed me that he had one before Ole. I remember Ole's first match, he scored 8 points (four second places) on a very wet track. Ole took over from Ivan as the crowds favourite when Ivan departed in 1968 for Belle Vue. Ole became a triple world champion but never quite matched up to Ivan (no one yet has done that). Ole is now a well respected figure as an administrator in the Speedway Grand Prix series. He departed to Wolverhampton for 1970 when Mike Parker pulled out of Brough Park.
Ian Hoskins told me recently that had Ole stayed at Newcastle when Ian took over in 1970 the club may have survived instead it closed down at the end of the 1970 season.
Ole 1968
Bernt Persson and Ole Olsen
Ole with the "Eddie Glennon Trophy" in August 1968
Here is Dave Gifford's account of Ole and Ivan driving back to Geordie-land from an an open meeting at Wimbledon, a big open meeting he says, maybe it was the Internationale or the Laurels.
SPROUTS AND THE DANE
by Giffy
This happened sometime around 1968 when Ivan, Ole and I were riding for the Newcastle Diamonds.
Both Ivan and Ole were invited to ride in one of Wimbledon’s big open meetings, the Internationale or maybe the Laurels and to cut the costs they shared a car and took Ivan’s trailer.
For reasons that are still not quite clear Giffy was not invited to ride but the story is still pretty good even without me in it. (Dantodan: We know you should have been invited too matey, an oversight and a massive blunder by Wimbledon).
The meeting ran its course, I don’t know who won or any of the details but I do know that after the meeting as they were about to begin the long journey back to the North, Ivan pulled into a Service Station for petrol.
A sweet young lady came out to serve them. Ole was sitting in the passenger seat looking pretty miserable, so Ivan said to the girl "Do you think you could give my mate a quick wink as you go by, he's had a really crap night and it might cheer him up a bit?"
Well the dear wee thing got all flustered, she turned red and spilt the petrol before she was able to stammer out “This is a service station and what sort of a girl do you think I am anyway? I’ve a good mind to call the manager"
Well, poor old Sprouts! he didn't know what to make of all this, he didn't think the suggestion warranted that sort of response and it wasn't till he'd gone several miles up the road that it suddenly dawned on him what had happened.
Whether it was the Kiwi accent or the London lasses ear that was to blame, who knows, but for what ever reason the word "wink" had been misunderstood completely and the poor dear had thought that the request had been for something quite different!!
Which just goes to prove that when you’re a Dane in England and having a bad night it will always get worse before it gets any better?
Cheers the noo!
giffy
Courtesy of Dave Rowland
This photo shows Ole Olsen (second from left) and Tom
Graham (right) The guy in the white shirt looks like Murray Burt. Can you
confirm and name the other two? John
Update: Jack Hides says: Dave Gifford & Gary Peterson are the
other two guys.
Yes that looks like Giffy partly obscured by
Ole Olsen, I will email Dave to see if he recognises part of himself and the
little dark haired guy
Update: Giffy says: Dave Gifford, Ole Olsen, Gary
Peterson, Murray Burt and Tom Graham (Jnr) not sure where it was taken.
Kings Lynn maybe?
1972 World Champion, Ivan Mauger, with Ole Olsen (right) and Bernt Persson.
Ivan with a bad back or has someone stolen his roll of carpet.
No change to track record all season (71.0 seconds Ivan Mauger 9/5/1966) I think Alan Paynter was the only other rider to turn out for the Diamonds (3 Meetings 0 Points) Russ disappeared from the program mid-season, I can’t remember why. I know he had problems keeping his place in the team. Did he move to another track?
Well he did score and went on to win the world championship 3 times and if had still been at Newcastle in 1971 we probably wouldn't have close according to a conversation with Ian Hoskins.
Ivan won
When Ivan beat Barry on 9-5-66 Ivan broke the track record which stood for 2 years Ole Olsen equalled Ivan’s 2-year-old track record on July 22nd 1968 (71.0 seconds) in the scratch race final of all races.
For non residents of Tyneside best of luck in reading the above if you need a translation ask Barry Wallace.
Murray Burt.
Could be either 1968 or 1969. A New Zealander who rode for Wimbledon in 1967.
In 1968 and 1969 he rode for Nelson in Div 2 and doubled up with Newcastle in
Div 1.
Newcastle 1968
Courtesy of Barry Stephenson
Dave Scofield, Eric Tilgaard and Ole Olens. Ole obviously was winning that night.
This picture proves that Ivan Mauger could be headed at Brough. This is Hackney Hawk, Colin Pratt out in front.
Mike Watkin, Goog Allen, Alf Wells, Ole Olsen, Dave Gifford, Alan Butterfield with Ivan Mauger on his Bike
Ole Olsen got the track record down to 70.8 seconds on 29th July. I was a regular at Brough from 1961 to 1970 and I feel 1969 was one of the low points in Newcastle Speedway History. No replacement for Ivan Mauger. Guest riders or rider replacement all season what a farce. A sad end to the 60’s and the Mike Parker era.
1969 wasn't a good year for the fans. It is summed up pretty well by the Evening Chronicle's Sam Brookes as follows
Australian Garry Middleton
Newcastle at Newport Norman Strachan leads Alan Butterfield Dave Gifford and Jon
Erskine
Courtesy of Ted Hearns
Steve McClurey's Memories
It was back in 1963 that I was introduced to speedway, a chance encounter between my parents and a speedway rider Milton Caisley, who was on his way to Druridge Bay where riders practiced and raced on the sand and I still see Milt as he lives near to me. I remember going to Brough Park for many years and my mum & dad Jack & Eileen McClurey became friends with loads or riders and others involved at Brough Park. The ones I remember from the ground staff were Jimmy Richardson who was on of the track graders and Jack the starter who used to line the bikes and riders up to the tapes. I remember my Dad making steel shoes to fit on the left boot and helping out with bike preparation for Jim Airey and the late Gordon Guasco who rode for Sunderland speedway, once while Gordon was preparing his bike he sat me on the top tube of his bike and I still remember burning my leg on the exhaust, and the time my brother and I were coming back from a meeting with Jim Airey in the Morris Minor van that he and Gordon used to carry their bikes in , my brother was sitting on Jim's lap steering the car only to be stopped by the Police about the car wandering from side to side.
Mum & Dad became very good friends with Ivan and Raye Mauger and they used to stay with us if the next meeting was north of Newcastle, instead of driving back to Manchester, and I recall memories of our family in a caravan parked outside of their flat while travelling to some where on holiday, The one thing that I remember vividly, is the stuffed crocodile that used to reside on top of the telly, one day I will find out what became of it, I remember when Ivan had broken his ankle and he got himself fit by running up and down the ban beside the Armstrong bridge for days to make sure he could race for the silver sash or silver helmet and him cutting the rubber insert off the bottom of the plaster cast so that he could have a steel shoe fitted over the plaster cast.
I also remember Spencer Oliver the Photographer who we became good friends with and we still have many photos from the various tracks around the country, one I remember is of us as kids with Ivan & Rayes kids messing about on the track grader at Brough Park.
We went to all the meetings at Brough Park for many years and I still remember that there were stands on both straights and that they were filled with spectators
I even thought about riding myself and bought a J.A.P. engined bike and had to travel to Teesside to have a go as there was no racing at Newcastle at that time, I managed to complete 4 laps but scared the poop out of myself, so that was the end of that.
I still live within earshot of Brough Park even with silencers fitted and am intending to take my Grandson to meetings, who knows he may want to have a go.
Finally the 60s & 70s were the heyday of speedway at Brough Park but hopefully as the spectator’s numbers are going up we may see more tracks opening up who knows
Best Regards
Steve McClurey