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NEWSDESK OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck has vowed that the sport cannot be turned into a “circus”. Cheetahs lost out to Poole in a highly-controversial Cab Direct Championship Grand Final last Wednesday night. In front of a huge crowd, Pirates overturned a 12-point first leg deficit to take their third title in four years. But the meeting will be remembered for two crashes, hotly-contested refereeing decisions and angry scenes between riders and fans. Vinnie Foord having an exchange of views with the Oxford faithful Oxford were furious after a Heat 2 pile-up involving Vinnie Foord and Luke Killeen caused their trump card reserve to be ruled out with concussion. There was also a mystifying re-run and warning for Scott Nicholls for moving at the start of Heat 6 and a massive crash in Heat 8 involving Foord and Jody Scott. That resulted in a heated exchange of words and gestures between Oxford fans and the young Poole rider. Boss Schroeck claimed that his side had been the victim of “weak refereeing” (see pages 7-9 for report and reaction). But on the crowd issue, he said: “We have a level of the sport we want to get to. We have Phil Morris at the helm, whether he is Premiership or Championship. He is trying his hardest to get new people involved, keep it as clean as possible, so we can’t turn it into a circus. “It’s hostile at Poole, it starts when you turn up at the gate. When it comes to these big meetings, they’re not called the Pirates for nothing. “They become a completely different animal. I did tell the boys from the beginning that this is going to be a very hostile situation and we just have to keep calm. “I know that their reserves were ready to shoot down one of the best reserves in the league in Luke Killeen. “The behaviour of Vinnie Foord and his dad…I know that fans will always give you stick but pretending to ‘shoot’ them with arrows, that needs to be controlled. “When kids get (racing) licences they need to know there are boundaries in what OXFORD FURY we are trying to achieve in the sport. “Jody Scott hasn’t got the most experience but nor has Vinnie. To go as hard as they did…we are lucky that they walked away from that. “Those things need to be looked at because that’s not speedway in my mind. I’ve been around a long time and there’s certain things you just don’t do as a speedway rider. “We have two more big meetings this week between the clubs and we need calm. We need to look after the product.” Despite the huge disappointment of losing the league title in such controversial circumstances, Schroeck is very proud of Oxford’s progress. He added: “We only lost out by a couple of decisions and accidents happen, I have to accept that. But from where we were three years ago to where we are now is just brilliant. “We have a team in all three leagues and it shows the commitment we have at Oxford and what we’re trying to achieve. “Our fans on Wednesday night were absolutely outstanding. We have got a great fan base and a great supporters ‘club who really help the riders. “We’re working so hard on a structure at the club and bringing riders through from the National League into the Championship and then Premiership. “We can be super-proud of what we have achieved. There are not many other clubs who are putting that sort of effort in.” Words: PHIL LANNING Len Silver LEAPING Len Silver has left a lasting legacy and the former England team boss – who died at his Kent home on Sunday morning, aged 92 – will be remembered for many different reasons. In a lifetime’s devotion to the sport, he became the best rider in the old Provincial League second division two years before becoming Hackney promoter 60 years ago. He breathed new life into an ailing venue in his east London backyard and, in the late 60s and early 70s, added a string of other tracks to his impressive, lengthy promoting and managerial CV, notably Rayleigh, Crewe, Sunderland, Weymouth, Rye House, Reading, Crayford and Eastbourne. In the early-to-mid 70s he led Great Britain and England through their most sustained spell of international success, winning the World Team Cup in three successive years, 1973, 1974 and 1975, as well as dominating the Test match arena. A shrewd innovator and straight-talking Cockney character, Silver – who modelled himself on his hero Johnnie Hoskins – was never afraid to speak up for what he believed in or get his hands dirty. He valued entertainment, a good, fair racetrack, above the pursuit of trophies. One of his many talents was that of track curator. He built the Wembley circuit for the last three major meetings held at the old Empire Stadium, including the universally acclaimed 1981 staging won by Bruce Penhall. Even in his later years, much of it spent toiling away on the tractor, be it at Rye House and then Kent, Len remained one of speedway’s biggest cheerleaders, his passion undimmed by the sport’s struggles. A full tribute will appear in next week’s issue. 4 speedway star June 1, 2024
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Belle Vue books to be won n AUTHOR David J.V. Pipes published his new book on the pre-war years at Belle Vue in the summer – and this week we have copies to give away to three Speedway Star readers. Pipes has trained his spotlight on the earliest years of the Aces’ illustrious history, focussing on 1928-1939 and the formation of the club during the sport’s first months and their subsequent dominance of the National League in the mid1930s. In his review of the book published in June, Ben Findon observed: “While the author shies away from labelling this a definitive history of the Aces, the amount of detail, particularly around race meetings, is staggering, clearly the yield of industrial-scale trawling of contemporary press reports. “From that emerges one of the clearest pictures I have read of what racing was like in an era in which speedway was an overnight sensation turned national obsession.” To be in with a chance of winning Belle Vue Speedway Manchester 1928-1939, simply answer the following question: How many times did the Belle Vue Aces win the National Trophy during the 1930s? Was it (a) 3, (b) 4 or (c) 5? Entries can be submitted via email to star@pinegen.co.uk using ‘Belle Vue Book Competition’ in the subject line or via post to: Belle Vue Book Competition, Speedway Star, Pinegen Ltd, 8 Coppergate Mews, Brighton Road, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 5NE. The closing date for entries is midnight on Thursday, October 31, 2024. Brits going Stateside GREAT BRITAIN boss Rob Painter admits it will be a “special occasion” when they take on the USA in a Test match in California next February. The clash of the old foes will take place at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, California on February 1, the first time ever on States shale. It’s a huge coup for USA boss Steve Evans, having brought the stars and stripes’ top riders back to race in their home country over the past two seasons. race in California. US team boss Evans added: “For the last two years we’ve brought the USA World Championship squad to race at home for the first time since 1988. “On both previous occasions we have raced against a Rest of the World team, but this was just a step to something better. “Racing against another country, not least the current World Champions, takes this event to a whole different level. They have taken on a Rest of the World side a couple of times but this will be their first official Test match against Great Britain. “Team Great Britain has set the highest standards, on and off track, with a very professional and well-organised structure. GB managing director Painter said: “Steve Evans and I have been discussing the possibility of GB racing an official Test match in the US for a while, so we’re both delighted to be able to confirm the event today. “It will be a special occasion going there as world champions in the USA’s first-ever home Test and I’m sure it will be a fantastic event.” The USA team is likely to boast the likes of Luke Becker, Broc Nicol and Gino Manzares. In the past GB stars Dan Bewley, Tom Brennan and Adam Ellis have travelled to “These are levels we are currently quite a distance away from as a country but we do want to eventually emulate and surpass them.” The event is set to take place on Saturday, February 1 at 1 pm local time and will be available in the UK via live stream at 9 pm UK time. Harvick's Kern Raceway in Bakersfield is a state-of-the-art facility featuring race circuits for NASCAR, sprint cars, motocross and speedway. More event details, including team line-ups and ticket information, will be released in due course. JUST SAYING... By TONY McDONALD WHAT’S with the sweary Danes these days? In their golden 80s era, when the Danish national anthem was virtually the only tune played at the sport’s biggest venues after the last chequered flag had been waved, their riders were professionalism personified. Erik Gundersen, Hans Nielsen and Jan O. Pedersen, world champions all, were the embodiment of class, on and off the track. Tommy Knudsen, Bo Petersen, John Jorgensen and others were equally good ambassadors for their nation and the British League clubs they represented. Even when they were knocking each other off – think Hans versus Tommy K at Chorzow in 1986 (he still denies it); Preben Eriksen v anyone, anytime, anywhere! And of course the godfather of Danish speedway himself, Ole Olsen could dish it out too – they never lost the characteristic cool, calm demeanour that underpinned their vast array of individual and team World Championship victories. They were so polished and predictably dominant that they were, in truth, quite boring. Noone else barely got a look-in for years. That changed, I guess, when ‘Nasty Nicki’ exploded onto the Grand Prix scene and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of his bullish antics. Pedersen’s heated public outbursts, primarily aimed at referees, rivals and sometimes even his own mechanics, were indulged in the heat of battle. Because he was box office and, well, because ‘that’s just Nicki being Nicki’ – a character crowds came to cheer or jeer in equal measure. And to be fair, the triple World Champion’s most memorable spats were not during the course of media interviews; rather mini eruptions captured by hovering TV cameras and microphones in Tobias Thomsen pit lane. Which brings us to today and two examples of a lack of selfcontrol displayed by couple of Danes. Winning the Czech Golden Helmet is well worth getting excited about, it’s a prestigious title won by most of speedway’s all-time greats spanning a 76year period. But did Rasmus Jensen really have to express his deep joy by excitedly informing the trackside female interviewer that he “can’t wait to have f****** sex with this helmet on”? She wasn’t quite lost for words and, undeterred, reeled off her next question. Unlike BSN pits interviewer Jason Harrold who encountered Poole’s Tobias Thomsen midway through last week’s stormy Grand Final encounter at Wimborne Road. A visibly ‘pumped-up’ Thomsen had earlier revealed his mood by vaulting over the safety fence by the starting gate, like an extra from The Great Escape, and then pointed at the Cab Direct Championship trophy with both hands. But it was mid-meeting, still work to be done. And that was still the case when, just minutes later, BSN invited the Dane to their booth for a quick chat. Amiable Jason kept it light, asked nothing remotely provocative, but Thomsen somehow managed to crank the feisty mood up another notch or two by referring to Poole’s opponents as ‘c***s’. No, not Cheetahs; he chose a much less palatable c-word. Thomsen has previous. I’m reliably informed that at Pirates’ pre-season press day, he managed to inject the f-word into a media interview. And when informed that it was a live broadcast, he replied dismissively: ‘I don’t give a s***’. I hope the Poole management have a stern word with him before any more unnecessary damage is done to the club’s hard-earned successful reputation. The SCB should take swift action too by issuing a fine as a future deterrent and to avoid a precedent being set. Bring back the boring Danes! October 19, 2024 speedway star 5

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NEWSDESK

OXFORD boss Peter Schroeck has vowed that the sport cannot be turned into a “circus”.

Cheetahs lost out to Poole in a highly-controversial Cab Direct Championship Grand Final last Wednesday night.

In front of a huge crowd, Pirates overturned a 12-point first leg deficit to take their third title in four years.

But the meeting will be remembered for two crashes, hotly-contested refereeing decisions and angry scenes between riders and fans.

Vinnie Foord having an exchange of views with the Oxford faithful

Oxford were furious after a Heat 2 pile-up involving Vinnie Foord and Luke Killeen caused their trump card reserve to be ruled out with concussion.

There was also a mystifying re-run and warning for Scott Nicholls for moving at the start of Heat 6 and a massive crash in Heat 8 involving Foord and Jody Scott.

That resulted in a heated exchange of words and gestures between Oxford fans and the young Poole rider.

Boss Schroeck claimed that his side had been the victim of “weak refereeing” (see pages 7-9 for report and reaction).

But on the crowd issue, he said: “We have a level of the sport we want to get to. We have Phil Morris at the helm, whether he is Premiership or Championship. He is trying his hardest to get new people involved, keep it as clean as possible, so we can’t turn it into a circus.

“It’s hostile at Poole, it starts when you turn up at the gate. When it comes to these big meetings, they’re not called the Pirates for nothing.

“They become a completely different animal. I did tell the boys from the beginning that this is going to be a very hostile situation and we just have to keep calm.

“I know that their reserves were ready to shoot down one of the best reserves in the league in Luke Killeen.

“The behaviour of Vinnie Foord and his dad…I know that fans will always give you stick but pretending to ‘shoot’ them with arrows, that needs to be controlled.

“When kids get (racing) licences they need to know there are boundaries in what

OXFORD FURY

we are trying to achieve in the sport.

“Jody Scott hasn’t got the most experience but nor has Vinnie. To go as hard as they did…we are lucky that they walked away from that.

“Those things need to be looked at because that’s not speedway in my mind. I’ve been around a long time and there’s certain things you just don’t do as a speedway rider.

“We have two more big meetings this week between the clubs and we need calm. We need to look after the product.”

Despite the huge disappointment of losing the league title in such controversial circumstances, Schroeck is very proud of Oxford’s progress.

He added: “We only lost out by a couple of decisions and accidents happen, I have to accept that. But from where we were three years ago to where we are now is just brilliant.

“We have a team in all three leagues and it shows the commitment we have at Oxford and what we’re trying to achieve.

“Our fans on Wednesday night were absolutely outstanding. We have got a great fan base and a great supporters ‘club who really help the riders.

“We’re working so hard on a structure at the club and bringing riders through from the National League into the Championship and then Premiership.

“We can be super-proud of what we have achieved. There are not many other clubs who are putting that sort of effort in.”

Words: PHIL LANNING

Len Silver

LEAPING Len Silver has left a lasting legacy and the former England team boss – who died at his Kent home on Sunday morning, aged 92 – will be remembered for many different reasons.

In a lifetime’s devotion to the sport, he became the best rider in the old Provincial League second division two years before becoming Hackney promoter 60 years ago.

He breathed new life into an ailing venue in his east London backyard and, in the late 60s and early 70s, added a string of other tracks to his impressive, lengthy promoting and managerial CV, notably Rayleigh, Crewe, Sunderland, Weymouth, Rye House, Reading, Crayford and Eastbourne.

In the early-to-mid 70s he led Great Britain and England through their most sustained spell of international success, winning the World Team Cup in three successive years, 1973, 1974 and 1975, as well as dominating the Test match arena.

A shrewd innovator and straight-talking Cockney character, Silver – who modelled himself on his hero Johnnie Hoskins – was never afraid to speak up for what he believed in or get his hands dirty. He valued entertainment, a good, fair racetrack, above the pursuit of trophies.

One of his many talents was that of track curator. He built the Wembley circuit for the last three major meetings held at the old Empire Stadium, including the universally acclaimed 1981 staging won by Bruce Penhall.

Even in his later years, much of it spent toiling away on the tractor, be it at Rye House and then Kent, Len remained one of speedway’s biggest cheerleaders, his passion undimmed by the sport’s struggles.

A full tribute will appear in next week’s issue.

4 speedway star June 1, 2024

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