Post by PLUSTAR on Jun 5, 2010 17:43:36 GMT 1
« on: November 1, 2009, 03:49:36 PM »
Q1 Where in aussie did you start your career?
MP - I started racing speedway at the Gold Coast Speedway when I was 17, although I'd been racing bikes since I was 5 years old.
Q2 How many clubs did you race for in britain?
MP - Poole, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berwick, Workinton then Newcastle.
Q3 Are you missing the scottish tennents lager?
MP - Not much of a drinker these days.
Q4 That day at newport what was going on in the pits?
MP - Some dirty and dangerous riding by a certain Swede.
Q5 Testimonials - is it worth having one or are you out off pocket?
MP - Definately worth having but what a lot of work they are. It is a full 12 months working around the clock. Now I know why promoters are bald.
Q6 Did you enjoy yourself as a tiger or was there a fallout?
MP - Riding for Glasgow was Brilliant and I never had any intentions of ever leaving there.
Q7 Which scottish club were you the happiest at?
MP - Silly Question, Glasgow of course.
Q8 Hightlight of your career?
MP - Have to be my testimonial. Just wish it could have been at Glasgow, as that was my chance to thank all the fans properly.
Q9 Who was the best team man you raced with?
MP - Shane Bowes. I am still good friends with Bowesie but unfortunately he lives about 28 hrs drive away.
Q10 Will you ever come back and see us in scotland?
MP - Would love to think so but I'll have to save a lot more pennies than what I got just now. I miss the people more than the place.
Q11 Did you take the belt-up trophies back to aussie that one for mr entertainer of the year did you take that on plane, it must have been over weight!
MP - When I first came back from over seas I had about 10 boxes of trophies. Through my Mum and my Wife I am down to about 4 boxes. However the one you speak of is still there.
Q12 As one of the most popular Tigers of the 90s, how disappointed were you in the way your excellent Tigers career ended?
MP - Very disappointed as I would have loved to have had my testimonial there just to thank the fans for their support over the years.
Q13 You featured in one of the geatest races ever by a Tiger, when you held off the attentions of both Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock, do you remember much about it?
MP - I remember I was head down, ass up and wasn't game to look back. At the end of the day they are all beatable.
Q14 You suffered one or two nasty knocks during your career, how's your health these days?
MP - As far as broken bones go I am surprisingly well although I have had some problems with my inside and have had three operations over the last 2 years.
Q15 Do you still have an interest in speedway or keep in touch with your old speedway mates?
MP - I keep in contact with quite a few now days since the invention of Face Book. As far as speedway itself, I was helping young Darcy Ward occasionally and go to the brisbane track on odd times.
Q16 What part,if any,did you play in advising rusty harrison to join workington instead of glasgow given that you may still have been hurting after being axed by the tigers promotion, rusty had agreed in principle to join glasgow the following year but withdrew that and joined the comets instead.
MP - I didn't know Rusty until I joined Workington myself. From living in Glasgow I was slightly isolated from the other Aussies and didn't have much of a say in who went where.
Q17 Did you enjoy your 40th birthday party
MP - Yes although very tame.
Q18 What was your best times racing for tigers and if there was any what was the worst?
MP - Best would have to be winning the league and KO cup back to back. Worse would have to be the day they sacked me.
Q19 In 1991 ko cup final the supporters bus that i was on had to call by your home to collect your bike, The rumour on the coach was that you had left for the final and forgot?
MP - I didn't personally forget it although I should have stayed with my bike in hindsight to make sure that it was loaded on to Jason Lyons van.
Q20 You played a vital part in the 1991 team culminating in the KO Cup Final meetings and the replays with Arena Essex in October 1991. What are your memories of these matches?
MP - We were complete under dogs and weren't expected to even get close to them. And when they only lost by 2 points at Glasgow well then we were complete right offs. How wrong were they. I also remember that Arena already had T-shirts made up that said 1991 KO cup champs on it. Cheeky buggers.
Q21 You rode at no. 2 with Steve for all of season 1992. Having Steve as your regular partner must have contributed to your significant better form by the end of the season. How was it to partner Steve and did you get on well on and off the track?
MP - As everyone knows Steve is a top bloke and didn't have many enemies. However he wasn't the easiest person to ride with. Steve had a job to do and he did it well. Get out the start and win the race. I also know he carried the Tigers for many years and this was probably distilled into him. A living Legend Though.
Q22 It must have been good to be one of those great teams that won the double in 1993 and 94. How did it feel at the time?
MP - 93 was great as it was what everyone had dreamt of and it was a great relief to finally do it. In 94 there was a lot of bickering with the promotion and didn't quite have the shine on 1993.
Q23 I loved watching you on the Shawfield track. How did you like the track and do you agree with me that Ashfield was never as good.
MP - I think we would have all loved to stay at Shawfield but it was getting so run down in the end that you couldn't go in the stand without fear of it collapsing. The track was difficult to master hence why used to win by so many points on most occasions. I helped design Ashfeild track with Doc Bridgett and believe me, that track is how it is because that was the only place it would fit with all the restrictions we had.
Q24 The unfortunate consequence of Paul Bentley’s injury in 1999 was that Les Collins was brought into the team and you were unfairly dumped by Sands. You know that many of us were angry about this. How did you feel at the time?
MP - The fact I was warned it was going to happen before it did made me angry. Not at Les or Banger but with the promotion. I was in a catch 22 situation. I needed money to fix up a bike I had blown up and I had to ride a slower bike to do this. The promotion gave me no help period.
Q25 Looking back what was it like to arrive in Glasgow in 1991 and to live locally for a few years. How well did you get on with local non speedway folk?
MP - The 4 aussies that lived together that year pretty much played together. We used to watch Rab C Nesbitt on the TV just so we could understand the Ibrox accent.
Q26 Do you think you might visit us at Ashfield or where we might be in a future visit to the UK?
MP - I don't think I could return to the UK without visiting Glasgow. I have a lot of friends and good memories from there. They would kill me if I didn't.
Q27 who was your favourite team-mate to race with?
MP - Probably Shane Bowes.
Q28 what are you up to these days, do you still follow speedway?
MP - I usually follow the GP rounds and keep track of the BSPA site to see who is making news.
Q29 Some consider your race win against greg hancock and billy hammil as one of their greatest memories of the shawfield era. Was this your favourite win in the stripes?
MP - Every win was my favourite but that one does stand out a bit. Also beating Crumpy in the KO cup final has become one I should remember. As the better he becomes the better I used to be. LOL.
Thanks for the questions and thanks to Mick for the answers