Post by PLUSTAR on Jun 5, 2010 17:13:01 GMT 1
« on: November 8, 2009, 02:14:01 PM »
Q1 IF YOU COULD HAVE A VIRTUAL RACE BETWEEN ANY RIDERS FROM ANY ERA, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY?
DW - If the race was to include myself the answer would depend on the circumstances. First, as an opportunity to line-up alongside my childhood idols I’d choose to race against Dag Lovaas, Ole Olsen and Kenny Carter at The Shay. Whereas if the race was, say, a 3-man run-off for the Scottish Open Championship at Armadale, I’d choose Kenny McKinna and the man they call “The Fish”. One of those races ought to be an easy win; I’ll leave you to figure out which one, ha ha!!!
Otherwise, I’d go back to the 1970s and recreate a race or two from the British League Riders’ Championship at Belle Vue. I will never forget the race between Ole Olsen and Peter Collins at the climax of the BLRC in 1978, a nerve jangling, pen/programme shaker if ever there was one! It was available on YouTube not so long ago but has since been removed by its poster - tigerbrandcoffee - a real shame. If you threw in current stars Tomasz Gollob and Nicki Pedersen, then such a virtual race would do me.
Q2 ANY PARTICULAR RIDERS YOU LIKED RACING WITH/ AGAINST?
DW - I enjoyed strong riding partnerships with Nigel Crabtree for Glasgow and Paul Thorp for Hull, both good, experienced professionals. Neither ever put a wheel wrong while team-riding and I’d hope they’d say the same about me?! I remember team-riding for 5–1’s in the ‘big league’ with Jan O Pedersen at Sheffield, Richard Knight at Swindon and Billy Hamill at Coventry, all in really close races. It was always a thrill to be involved in heats like that.
I became mates with Alan Grahame after my time at Cradley Heath and we had some great scraps during subsequent seasons, including a couple of belters round Shawfield. On one occasion when I was in top form, the night before a Shawfield meeting he and his mechanic stayed over at my parents house in Yorkshire and were given the ‘royal’ treatment, full breakfast, the lot. The last thing my dad said to him before they left to drive up to Glasgow was please not to spoil my maximum (yes, things really were going that well for me at the time). But it was probably the worst thing to say because knowing Alan he’d be thinking of doing nothing else from that moment on, all the way up the M6 and M74, slap up breakfast or not! I dropped just one point that night and inevitably it was to Big Al. What’s more he has barely allowed me to forget it ever since!!
Q3 DO YOU THINK FELLOW YORKSHIRE-MAN KENNY CARTER WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN WORLD CHAMPION?
DW - To be good enough to become world champion I always thought a rider needed to be in the top 8 or so in the old British League averages (doesn’t explain Szczakiel’s 1973 win, mind!) and Carter was certainly good enough. After that, you just needed a bit of luck in order to come out on top in the old one-off world finals, but that’s what he lacked in the early 80s.
However, it would take a brave man to say anyone could’ve broken the Danish stranglehold on the title during the mid-to-late 80s and it’s an open question whether Carter would’ve had the temperament.
Q4 WHO WAS YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE AS A RIDER?
DW - The Glover family who owned Sheffield in the early 1980s were a big influence. I learned to ride a bike at their training track and received close tuition from former Sheffield rider Carl Glover on a weekly basis. Promoter Ray Glover helped me financially with my engines when he really needn’t have and they set me on my way with a lot of encouragement.
Following that, I wouldn’t say I was closely influenced by anyone in particular but certain teammates did tend to lift those around them. Bruce Cribb (Berwick 1984) was a great race partner and Joe Owen (Ellesmere 1985) was quite inspirational. At Cradley Heath in 1987/88 I was privileged to ride alongside the likes of Erik Gundersen, Jan O Pedersen, Simon Cross and Alan Grahame, though in retrospect I think I was a little overawed by the company I was keeping to truly benefit. I never really pushed myself forward to learn from the top riders, very much an opportunity lost!
Apart from that, I had all the encouragement and support I could’ve wished for from my parents, especially my father, mild mannered and understated though he was.
Questions from Gary Sloss
Q1 WHAT DID YOU CONSIDER AS YOUR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TIGERS RACE JACKET?
DW - I usually answer this question by recalling Heat 2, Glasgow v S****horpe at Craighead Park in 1983, the time I almost looped at the gate and gave everyone a 30 yard start but still won the race! But, actually, to top-score in both legs of the 1994 Cup Final against Edinburgh is probably the right answer.
Q2 WAS YOUR INJURY RECEIVED AT THE HANDS OF MARTIN GOODWIN THE WORST YOU RECEIVED DURING YOUR RACING CAREER? IT LOOKED A SORE ONE!
DW . You’re right, it was a sore one but not the worst. That would be the 4 broken vertebrae that ended my career while riding for Hull in 2001. I think that injury will come back to haunt me at some point in later life! A (dis)honourable mention goes to the severed fingertip while riding for Berwick in 1991. The removal of the stitches was absolute purgatory!
Q3 DURING THE HISTORIC BACK TO BACK DOUBLE WINNING YEAR OF 1994 WERE YOU AWARE OF THE PARANOID ACUSATIONS OF CERTAIN LESSER TEAMS THAT YOURSELF, CRABBY AND ROBERT WERE USING SPECIAL MACHINERY WHEN YOU WERE ALL LEAVING SAID LESSER TEAMS HEATLEADERS CHOKING ON YOUR DUST? CAN YOU CONFIRM IT YOURSELF,CRABBY AND ROBBIE WERE IN FACT MOUNTED ON SMALL ROCKETS AT THAT TIME OR IF THE PARANOID RAMBLINGS FROM SAID LESSER TEAM WERE COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED?
DW - I was aware of that, yes, and as I understood it the engines were all supposed to be being prepared by the same tuner, which was factually wrong for a start. My engines were tuned by Guy Allott at the time and were quite standard; just well put together by an old-school expert.
It’s peculiar how some daft rumours gain traction and that we’re still asked about this one after all these years.
Questions from Grasscutter
Q1 HOW DID THE REF NOT THRow GOODWIN OUT OF THE MEETING THAT NIGHT?
DW - The performance of the referee was the last thing on my mind, I can tell you! Though, if his performance was lacking in any way then it merely matched my own poor performance on the night.
I went under Martin Goodwin going into the third turn, moved him over a little and got in front coming off the fourth bend. I didn’t completely ‘shut the door’ though, and left him room to come back at me going down the home straight. Come back at me he certainly did, the consequences of which you’re well aware.
The trouble was, it was midway through the season and the traveling from Yorkshire had started to affect me. I was regularly arriving at Shawfield with headaches and bleary eyes. For a few weeks it seemed to take my first race to really wake up, perhaps because that’s what it took to get some adrenalin flowing. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the crash with Goodwin happened when it did, in my first ride!
It was only after that incident that I decided to move to Glasgow for the rest of the season and it worked a treat. I was always so much sharper for my home meetings and I traveled to Yorkshire the night before any long southern trip. Certainly, thereafter I rarely made the same mistake of not being hard enough with my opponents around Shawfield and living in the city laid the foundations for two great years with the Tigers in 1994 and 1995. So, actually, I perhaps owe Martin Goodwin a debt of gratitude for prompting me to make the change and move to Glasgow!!
Q2 BEST 7 TEAM-MATES YOU RACED WITH?
DW - Kelly Moran (Sheffield Tigers, 1986), Shawn Moran (Sheffield Tigers, 1986), Erik Gundersen (Cradley Heath, 1987/88), Jan O Pedersen (Cradley Heath, 1987/88), Jimmy Nilsen (Berwick Bandits, 1991), Mark Loram (Bradford Dukes, 1997), Billy Hamill (Coventry Bees, 1998)
Q3 HOW MANY CLUBS DID YOU RACE WITH IN YOUR CAREER?
DW - Glasgow Tigers (1983, 1993-1995), Newcastle Diamonds (1983, 1999), Berwick Bandits (1984, 1989-1992, 1998), Ellesmere Port Gunners (1985), Sheffield Tigers (1986), Cradley Heath Heathens (1987/88), Middlesbrough bears (1996), Bradford Dukes (1997), Coventry Bees (1998), Stoke Potters (2000), Hull Vikings (2001)……11 in total.
Q4 ARE YOU STILL WORKING ON THE TRACK AT ASHFIELD?
DW - I think you may be aware that I withdrew from my official position as co-track curator last May following an accident while driving one of the tractors. Incidents like that aren’t trivial and it’s important to take seriously the potential consequences of making mistakes during what is after all a pressure job on race days.
However, I have still been helping during the week with the manual tasks that need doing from one meeting to the next. If on entering Ashfield this past season you were ever impressed by the dazzling whiteness of the safety fence or the cavernous emptiness of the wheelie bins, I’d like to think I could take a little credit!!!
Q5 ANY BIG SPONSORSHIP IN YOUR RACING DAYS?
DW - No, I wouldn’t say I had big sponsorship; that sort of thing is usually reserved for world champions! Over my career I attracted lots of modest sponsorships for which I was always grateful. I did get backing from two big national companies though. From my days at Cradley Heath right to the end of my career I was sponsored with products from Loctite, such a big help in the long run. Also, after Robbie Nagy left the Tigers I was sponsored by Specsavers Opticians (1995/96) courtesy of Stewart’s brother, Jim Dickson, and his business partner Soharab Khan at the Glasgow store.
Probably the best sponsorship of all came from Aidan and Janette Higgins of Hampstead Auto Electrical in Adelaide, Australia. For three successive winters I was provided with accommodation, transport and a speedway bike so that I could regularly compete at North Arm Speedway on the outskirts of Adelaide. It’s only through speedway that I would ever have got the opportunity to spend so much time in Australia and I will always feel very fortunate to have had that experience. Sadly, both Aidan and Janette have since passed away.
Q6 BEST TRACK RACED ON?
DW - No contest here: Hyde Road in Manchester, Belle Vue’s former home.
Of the tracks currently in operation it would have to be Sheffield, though having said that I always had a liking for smaller circuits. For example, I used to thoroughly enjoy racing at Berrington Lough, Powderhall, Cleveland Park and Armadale. Oh yeah, Dudley Wood and Shawfield were pretty good too and, perhaps oddly, towards the end of my career I really looked forward to going to the County Ground at Exeter, possibly the most feared of all tracks for away riders.
Q7 BEST TEAM-MANAGER RACED UNDER?
DW - As an out-and-out tactician, Ian Steel played a huge role in Glasgow’s successes in the 90s, but overall I can’t see beyond Eric Boocock, a massively influential figure to have at the helm of any team.
Q8 DID YOU EVER WATCH CHARLIE MONK AROUND THE SHAY?
DW - I do vaguely remember watching Charlie Monk ride for the Dukes towards the end of his career but I have the impression we never saw the best of him. We did see the best of his overalls though, as he’d be the first to wear them over his leathers if the track was wet! A tall bloke who rode high in the saddle, I’m not sure I ever quite warmed to his style, though I thoroughly accept his legendary status among Glasgow fans. Still, I was just a little pip-squeak back then so what would I know? I was probably more taken by the dashing, fence scraping styles of Graham Plant and Chris Pusey to fully appreciate the more considered game that Charlie was probably playing at the time!
Questions from Merv Janke Fan Club
Q1 You were involved in one of the most horrific crashes a lot of fans have ever seen, when you tangled with Martin Goodwin at Shawfield, what was your take on the incident? I have watched it on video a few times and to me it looks like Goodwin glances to his left, sees you coming and tries to halt your run up the inside.
DW - I have seen the video and I agree that Martin Goodwin appears to check my position before barging into me as he draws level. His manoeuvre dragged my weight over the right side of the bike which opened up the throttle and I couldn’t get off. I had the whole straight to speed up for an Evel Knievalesque attempt at clearing the fence…no danger!!
I’ve answered elsewhere that I should’ve been harder with him on the way into the corner and not given him a chance to come back at me, though his reaction no doubt indicated he felt aggrieved by my inside pass. I’ve witnessed similar incidents elsewhere too, where riders have been too accommodating only to get the rough-end-of-the-stick moments later. Speedway’s a hard sport and, without knocking people off, it rarely pays to be timid!
Q2 Was a career in speedway all you ever wanted when you were a youngster on the terraces of The Shay?
DW - No, not always. In my early teens I fancied going in the navy, chiefly because of the adverts: “Join the navy and see the world”, and all that. It was only later that I realised that seeing ‘their’ world could involve serving a corrupt state or being blown up!!
To be a speedway rider was nothing short of fantasy while growing up, and when I left school all I wanted was to get a trade, which I did. But it wasn’t long before I realized how unsatisfied I’d be by spending my whole life doing the 9-to-5. Things came to a head when I was nineteen and a mate, who was also a speedway fan, told me of someone who was selling all his speedway gear. I remember having long conversations with my mate about the pros and cons of taking the plunge, one disadvantage being that I’d have to carry on in the job I had to finance the racing, rather than leaving and taking up a place at college I’d lined myself up for. Deep down though, I knew I wanted to be a speedway rider and that if I didn’t at least try to become one I’d look back and regret it in later life.
I’d been hugely influenced by punk rock as a youngster and a lyric by The Clash kept coming to me during my deliberations. “So don’t complain, About your useless employment, Jack it in, Forever tonight, Or shut your mouth, And pretend to enjoy it, Think of all, The money you’ve got” (Clash City Rockers). Anyway, I bought the speedway gear and did the 9-to-5 for another nine years! We all need to work, of course, but I came round to realising how important it is to genuinely enjoy whatever it is you do for a living.
Looking back, I came nowhere near to fulfilling the high ambitions I had set myself when I first started (to become world champion, no less!), though I enjoyed many more modest successes, particularly in team racing. Over all though, I think my biggest achievement was becoming good enough to be a full-time professional for a decade. Also, I’ve avoided the possibility of reaching, say, the age of sixty and looking back on my working life with one quite significant regret – not having had a try at speedway. My career was no big shakes compared to many but I’m happy to be able to say I really did manage to live the dream!
Q3 Which team partner, from the clubs you rode for, did you enjoy racing alongside the most?
DW - I like the thought that I was once privileged enough to be the race partner to the great Erik Gundersen, though of course the partnership was by no means one between equals!
I’ve answered elsewhere about my partnerships with Crabby in 1993 and Paul Thorp in 2001. I think they were probably the most enjoyable.
Q4 I recall you having some great tussles with Alan Grahame at Shawfield, who was the toughest opponent you Came up against?
DW - Alan Grahame did become a great rival, probably because of the friendship that developed from our Cradley days. Again, in answer to another, similar question I’ve already mentioned our duels at Shawfield and Big Al was as hard as they come, though always fair.
Believe me, in the top tier of speedway there are none but tough opponents, so it would be pointless naming anyone from there. But because of the frequency with which we met, and the history that developed, the lads from Edinburgh were always tough opponents. Whether while riding for Berwick or Glasgow (both fierce rivals to the Monarchs) I could never relax when up against Les Collins, Kenny McKinna, Peter Carr et al. Les in particular, as all will be aware, was a master at passing and no matter how well you were going you could never be sure he wouldn’t sweep around you at any moment. Kenny and Peter were more likely to burst through up the inside going into the turns.
So, I’d answer this one by citing the Edinburgh collective, though I have to say I’m glad I wasn’t long an opponent of Bruce Cribb and Rob Grant!!
Q5 Who was the best promoter you raced for?
DW - Difficult to say, though I had a lot of respect for Derek Pugh at Cradley Heath. A lovely bloke who looked after his riders and ran a very professional club. For those reasons I felt quite dismayed when he eventually sold Dudley Wood for a housing development.
Davie Fairburn at Berwick was influential early in my career and there was a great spirit at Berrington Lough under his stewardship. His golden rule for speedway riders: “Hard first turn!” He was the reason I returned to Berwick in 1989 despite having been offered a better deal elsewhere.
From 1996 onwards my contract was owned by Malcolm Wright with whom I always got on well. I would have happily stayed with him at Middlesbrough had the stadium owners not sold-up at the end of ‘96.
Q6 If you could, which one significant change would you make in speedway right now?
DW - I’d have the ownership of all the speedway stadia passed to promoters. That would encourage more investment in the speedway related facilities and the profits from other stadium activities would go into the sport.
A more plausible change would be to extend the use of air fences to every track in both the premier and national leagues.
Questions from Pail Merk
Q1 Which current UK track would have best suited your style?
DW - There are a few I’ve never ridden, such as Somerset, S****horpe and Redcar but I can’t imagine I’d particularly like any of those, they all seem too round (short straights and sweeping bends). I preferred tracks that forced you to turn hard. Armadale is one such track that certainly suited my style. I found it was the track that rode most similar to Berrington Lough, though better because there are more racing lines. I would’ve quite happily had Armadale as a home track. I guested for Edinburgh a number of times in my final season, really looked forward to the meetings on the journey up from Yorkshire and usually did well. Yes, Armadale’s the answer to this one.
Q2 You had a reputation for being a fast starter. Was this a natural ability or the result of special practice?
DW - At his training school at Berrington Lough in 1983 someone asked Ivan Mauger what the secret to gating was and he replied that the person who wants to make the gate the most, will do. At the time I thought his answer was somewhat evasive but I later, much later, understood the truth of it. If you really want to make the gate you’ll develop the right habits to do it consistently, and that’s what I did once the penny dropped, sometime in 1990 while riding for Berwick at, funnily enough, Berrington Lough! It began when I decided to change the type of camshafts I’d always used up until then in my GMs. A lot of it was just common sense, bike set-up, reading track conditions etc. and trusting that the adrenalin in your body kept the reflexes sharp. I lost count of the times I approached a gate late on in a meeting to see that no one had previously started from the best position. Often all it took was a little digging around and I always gave myself as much time as possible to do just that before each race. I never quite understood why other riders didn’t do the same ...but I guess Ivan might say some just didn't want to make the start badly enough!!
Q3 Who was the best team-rider you raced alongside?
DW I’ve previously mentioned my partnerships with Nigel Crabtree and Paul Thorp. If I was to choose between the two, Crabby would edge it simply because I think he was a better all-round team man. He was a very good captain at Shawfield.
Q4 Who gave you the biggest bollocking in your career and why?
DW - I once came under fire from Maurice Ducker at Sheffield in 1986 for not doing as well as expected, and felt pretty humiliated as it was in a team meeting before a match at Owlerton. I thought it was unfair at the time because I’d had a delayed start to the season and was beating opposing reserves reasonably frequently. Afterwards, I went on to record my best score of the season and, while I’d like to think it was coincidental, I’m sure Maurice went away believing his man-management skills were top-notch. Regrettably, I have no choice but to acknowledge that the facts according to the scorecard statistics would support such a view!
Q5 It's DJ Walshie at Ashfield. What three left-field songs would you play to enliven the crowd?
DW - 1)Speeding Motorcyle, Daniel Johnston 2) Dirty Boots, Sonic Youth, 3) Out On The Floor, Dobie Gray
Thanks to David for the answers, everyone for the questions and Grasscutter for making the arrangements!