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"What to do former double World Champion, and ex-President of the WSRA (or VSRA as it was then known), Freddie Williams and the Under 15 Young Lions have in common? On the face of it, not a lot, but they do have a lot in common considering the age gap. Welshman Freddie has been there, done that and got the T-shirt and the World Championship medals to prove it, long before the present youngsters were even born, but Mark Owen, Kyle Howarth, James Sarjeant, Rhys Naylor, Joe Jacobs and John Resch are setting out on that long road to World Championship success by racing in front of a bumper crowd at the Ben Bonanza at Sheffield and hopefully reach the high standard of Wembley's Freddie Williams. Fred also had something in common with Under 15 Team Manager, David Croucher. He had ridden against David's father, Bert Croucher, in their days at Banister Road, Southampton, so the Speedway thread runs through the ages from the '50's to the present day youngsters of 2009. Freddie and that Speedway Legend by the name of Barry Briggs, were two of the three World Champions on show at Sheffield, the other being Jason Crump who was still involved in the action-packed racing on a sunny afternoon at Owlerton. "It's great to be here to see these youngsters race and to be part of such a worthy cause to help the injured riders", said Freddie. "I drifted away from Speedway for some time, being more involved in the golfing and horse show worlds in which son David and daughters, Jane and Sarah were excelling", he explained, "but in recent years, I have become more involved with our sport again and I am delighted to be asked to do anything to help our injured riders", a sentiment with which Briggo also agreed. The sun shone and the skies were blue as the Owlerton Stadium car park quickly filled to overflowing. Fans came from far and wide to support the cause and to see some excellent racing from a star-studded lineup. From the glossy well-produced magazine/programme, to the pre-match presentations to the sponsored races and the free lunch laid on for the wheelchair boys, Paul Ackroyd and his hard-working Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund committee, did a fantastic job and the sun, and the fans, all headed for Sheffield. It was great to see young Adam Roynan being able to come along, only 3 weeks after his horrendous crash at Kings Lynn. He made the journey to Sheffield despite having a "Helmet" of metalwork around his head to help in the healing process. Adam was pleased to have some encouraging words from Barry Briggs, whose son Tony also had to wear this Metal Halo after his terrible injuries when he rode for Reading. Briggo was able to reassure Adam that, although it is a long healing process, he should, like Tony, make a full recovery when the metalwork is finally removed. Everyone enjoyed a great afternoon of racing and entertainment , from the Under 15 Young Lions, to the GP stars in the Bonanza, to watching and listening to the unsilenced Japs and 2-valve Jawas of the riders from the "Blast From The Past" team, all-in-all, a great day's entertainment for a very worthy cause. Briggo, Freddie, former Sheffield skipper, Reg Wilson & myself borrowed four of the old Japs and rode around the track, waving to the crowd. You could tell that we were having fun by the big grins on our faces and the shale on our teeth, but despite the temptation, we all managed to ride around fairly slowly with no "wheelies" or powerslides on our borrowed machinery. The "Blast From The Past" boys who owned the precious machinery, gave a great display in their races during the meeting and it was good to hear the unsilenced Japs & Jawas blasting around Sheffield, a sound that is sorely missed in modern-day Speedway. Belle Vue's Alan Wilkinson was unable to travel to Sheffield but sent his best wishes to everyone whilst our other wheelchair-bound heroes enjoyed meeting up with all their old friends. Usually the only time when all of our wheelchair boys get together, is at our WSRA (World Speedway Riders Association) Dinner before the season opens, so this was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and rivals. Well done to all the Ben Fund organizers and fund raisers and let's hope that all the money raised will be passed on to injured riders.
Meanwhile, keep your
eyes on the Under 15 riders as they try to emulate Messrs. Williams,
Briggs and Crump and bring a World Title to the UK."
BERT HARKINS
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