Post by PLUSTAR on Jun 5, 2010 17:31:18 GMT 1
« on: November 30, 2009, 09:16:34 AM »
QUESTIONS FROM MERV JANKE FAN CLUB
Q YOU JOINED GLASGOW AT THE START OF THE 1989 SEASON AS A 16 YEAR-OLD,IT A MOVE THAT DIDNT REALLY WORK OUT, DO YOU THINK YOU WERE READY FOR IT AT THE TIME.
KL not at all as it turned out . Having only raced a few junior meetings before being given a big team spot was a huge leap even in those days. The Glasgow thing had came about through Dick Barrie the year before and I’d being doing the few laps after the meeting on my own and that had developed into me being kept on for the next year under the new regime . My family were keen because of the crowds at Shawfield at the time and it was the right place to start a career. However , i may have been a youngster with potential but i hadn’t done any racing at all till i was 16. The new promotion had seen enough after a couple of meetings though, and soon after, a letter dropped through the door at home telling me my contact had been terminated . So I was done as Ii Tiger after only a few weeks , and since then Ii can only recall being a tiger once guesting at an away match at Reading in 97 or 98 .
Q WHICH TRACK DID YOU ENJOY RIDING DURING YOUR CAREER.
KL I’d enjoyed racing at Armadale very much during my time racing , it suited me perfecly in the early days. Trap and turn hard and stay on the white line, its what had been talled into me from an early age at the old Berrington Lough , and I loved racing there .nowadays its totally different to race on, here its chase the dirt and ride as near the fence as you can. Still a great track though because the racing rarely gets strung out. Lakeside was another favourite and also very oddly the Isle of Wight.
Q WHERE WOU.LD YOU TAKE SOMEONE WHO FACIES A GO AT SPEEDWAY
KL Nowhere up here. Since Kenny stopped doing the winter Sundays at Ashfield that's the problem for lads starting out . Losing Linlithgow cost Scottish speedway dear and it has never really recovered from it . probably the last of the production line is Andrew Tully who , in the end went to S****horpe every week to get the racing he needed. The way the world is now in doubt if we will see a new training track, certainly in the central belt , being created.
Q WHAT IS YOUR BEST SEVEN FROM HEAVEN TEAM-MATES ONLY.
KL Kenny McKinna , Peter Carr, Mick Powell, Scott Lamb , Mark Courtney , David Blackburn Gary Havelock and as no.8 David Meldrum
Q I BELIEVE YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLIVED WITH YOUNG GREG BLAIR, HE HAS BEEN UNLUCKY WITH INJURIES DURING HIS SHORT CAREER, HOW FAR DO YOU FEEL HE CAN GO
KL Yes I have been involved with young Greg more with the earlier stage of his career till he crashed at Ashfield since then I haven’t had much to do with him . there is no doubt he has something , and its understandable that since those injuries the spark has never been ignited yet .He has the talent but at the moment not the application to be what he can be ,I really hope he makes a go of it because he could have a great career.
QUESTIONS FROM GRASSCUTTER
Q HOW MANY CLUBS DID YOU RACE WITH
KL All of them up here !! and I’m the only one who can say that , for now, until James Grieves does a season at Workington!! also Bradford , Coventry and Belle Vue in the big league.
Q ANY BIG SPONSORSHIP DEALS DURING YOUR CAREER
KL Mr and Mrs Little !! main sponsor!! I had good sponsorship at Newcastle with a van for two seasons , and when I rode on the ice in the USA ,everything was sponsored which was very good , even the beer !! R.D. Anderson helped me very well too .
Q BEST TEAM-MANAGER YOU RACED UNDER
KL Alan Bridgett at Edinburgh , a riders team manger and one of the lads . He would make light of problems on a bad night with joke but also have the knowledge to help and know that I was always trying to make something happen . George English is good at the tactical side and is always willing to buy a round win or lose !!
Q WHICH WAS THE BEST CLUB YOU RACED WITH
KL Ii enjoyed being with Redcar in their first season and my last . The best club is Newcastle for me , certainly in the good years of 01 & 02 . looked after as a team , had a great atmosphere, great crowds , a fabulous team spirit which made a winning team in 2001 and very close to winning in 2002 . I think it was the best time to be at the club then and even when things went downhill in 03 and then in freefall in 04 I still enjoyed and felt proud to be a Newcastle rider.
Q WORST TRACK RACED ON
KL Most definately Newport, it has been awful for years and was at its worst ever for the pairs in 1999 when they put about a foot of dirt on , it was two foot deep where they had filled in the holes and ruts. just unbelievable .
Q HAVE YOU EVER RACED ABROAD
KL Yes , but never on shale !! I was lucky enough to be invited to race Honda XL125's on the ice in the Emirates in the winter of 1998 , the following year Scott Robson and myself did 3 meetings on the ice in the U.S.A , joining a winter tour which had a load of British lads riding . later in 2004 I rode in the USA again as part of XII R's inagural season and again in 2005. I never was interested or invited to race abroad , until I went to Sweden after id packed in and thought why have I never tried this !! It looked really good .
Q BEST TEAM-PARTNER YOU RACED WITH
KL There are few who I can say , Stoney, Havvy , Dickie Juul, . some may be surprised by this but Andre Compton and me were paired together at Newcastle in 2001 for a whole season. It took about two races in that season for it to click and we did a lot of damage that year as pairing .a feeling at the start line knowing that both of us were likely to be in front coming out the 2nd bend was very helpful that year !!
Q WORST INJURIES IN YOU CAREER
KL 1992 as a Bradford Duke I had a huge crash at Odsal , breaking my leg ,chestbone and vertebrae . kinda laid me up for a while . It had been a hard year in division 1 and it had taken me till that night in June to win a heat 2 and the next race it was my last as Duke !!
Q BEST TEAM CAPTAIN YOU RACED WITH
KL Gary Havelock , at Redcar in 2006. Havvy and I were the elder statesmen in that team and the younger lads did a lot of listening to us two , but I don’t think anyone listened more to Havvy than me. he knows so much stuff in general and being next to him in the pits watching him and Roy boy during a meeting was an education in itself .
Q DO YOU THINK ITS TOO EXPENSIVE TO RACE SPEEDWAY NOW
KL Absolutely , the price of gear is since I packed in 3 years ago has rocketed , I mean the price of a new engine today is almost double than what it was then. Then take the price of diesel , the cost of tuners , tyres , oil , I could go on, it has all gone up loads . So have the wages gone up ?? and the crowds to pay for the increased expenses ??
how much is left in your pocket for a beer after the meeting!!
Q ANY CAPS FOR YOUR COUNTRY
KL yes I have , and I’m proud to have captained my country once , when Scottish Lamb was injured.which lead to me being inducted into the Kelso High School hall of fame of former pupils who have gone on to represent their country in sport. among all the rugby players there is a speedway rider !!!
Q WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW?
KL I am a co commentator for GRT media , on their big meetings