Bobby (third left, back row) with the 1988 Stoke Potters
PS. Fascinating article about the ice, how did you get into that? (SEE
ARTICLE AT THE
END OF THIS INTERVIEW)
BD. I remember watching Bruce Cribb having a go round Stoke on his ice
bike in about 1985 and always thought it would be fun to see live,
hoping to try a bike some time in the future but no more than that !
PS.
For the younger fans, you rode for the Potters back in 87?
BD. Yeah, long time ago but John Dews had looked after me well
since I was 12 and
it was always on the cards to ride for the Potters when I turned 16 so I
was thrilled to get the chance.Cowboy Roy, Big Pete and the Brayfords
were typical of the warm friendly supporters and helpers at the club
which made it the best place to ride.
PS.
You only rode one season for Stoke why was that?
BD. One and a bit !! I retired I think on June 2nd 1988
after the away match at Hackney. Part way through my second season.
PS.
Did you not have a spell at Newcastle?
BD. No, I got a guest booking from Eric Stead to ride the away match at
Mildenhall a
few weeks before Stoke were due down there so it was good to try the
track. I had only been there once and cleared the fence coming out of
turn 4 and broke my thumb when I was 15, loved the track though !
PS. Why did you leave Speedway behind?
BD. Several reasons piled up during 1988. A sponsorship consortium
didn’t pay agreed moneys at the agreed time, a brand new engine blew up
twice on the first lap when I tried it on the track. The engine tuner
claimed I had not warmed the engine enough and withheld the engine
claiming I must pay for repairs. Strangely enough I had different
problems with the previous brand new engine from same tuner the year
before which left me under power for 10 meetings before he found a
timing gear running tight !
These problems left me 2000 pounds in debt, family pressure led me to
sell the bikes and pay the money I owed.
17 years old, with a job that payed 50 pounds a week and no driving
licence, what could I do ? I felt so bad letting people down, I turned
away from speedway and life sent me on a different path. But it annoys
me that I never found out how far I could go.
PS. What is your favorite speedway memory?
BD. Three memories from 1987.
40- 38 away at Wimbledon, boos and cans thrown at us on the victory
parade, straight home for a school exam.
Back in the van and returned to Arena Essex, 3-3s all night then I was
in third with Daz at the back, I crashed, not on purpose, re run Daz
won. I got booed the whole length of the track back to the pits! Joined
Crabby in my next ride for Stokes first 4-2, Then I Think Nigel and
Graham had a 4-2 and it was 41-37 to the Potters, Paid 5 for me, always
helped when I had at least ridden the track before! So it was 2 out of 2
in London.
Then making the rider of the night final at Exeter of all places, Beat
the home 2 top scorers in my heat, my 4th ride on the track,
I could hear Alan Rivett behind me the whole race so I just kept looking
forward and hoping for the win. He made the final as the fastest loser
and won it, I ran a third, What a track, amazing to ride speedway on
banks.
PS.
You used to have a Derby County FC poster up in the pits! do you still
follow the Rams and the Stoke Potters in Norway?
BD. Follow the Potters, at last they have a good web site ! Have a
little look at the Rams scores but not too often.
Generally keep up to date with British and Swedish speedway.
PS.
How long have you lived in Norway?
BD. Moved here December 1997 and didn’t speak a word of Norwegian! Been
here ever since apart from 16 Months in Brisbane Australia in 2005, The
wife took a Masters degree and I played with the kids… fun job !
Norwegian and Swedish is no problem now but I still don’t understand the
Danes….
PS. Is speedway big over there? Rune Holta is a 'Pole' now! how do the
Norwegians feel about that?
BD. To be honest I’ve never been to a Norwegian track, They have some
things
happening down South but it is 7 hours to the nearest track, Motorsport
is not too big
over here so it’s the best thing Rune could do really.
PS. Any chance of a comeback like Andrew Silver?!
BD. I made my comeback last year. Was almost exactly 20 years since I
quit so it was
time. I was as nervous as hell before I went on the track but everything
happened naturally when I got to the first bend. By the end of the year
I was getting it going at a good enough pace so im happy at that.
I have a 2004 laydown Jawa in the garage and I rode 5 days last summer
at the nearest track in Sweden, Ostersund,
www.jamtarna.se
. It is 4 hours drive and the track is quite like Stoke, the people are
great so its nice to get there when I can and have some fun on the track
and talk speedway with the others guys. My wife doesn’t like hearing
about the jawa ! J I’m Just waiting for the ice to melt so I should get
a ride about the first week in May.
After I left Stoke I have always promised myself a few more laps at
Loomer road, maybe I’ll get over next year when I turn 40, that’s a bit
of a wish I’ve had for many years.
Lastly I would like to wish the Potters all the very best for 2009 and
the future. I send my best wishes to anyone who dares to admit that
they are old enough to remember me !
All the best, Bobby
Bobby Duncan article from www.speedwayplus.co.uk
What do you do when it has been 5 months since you last
saw speedway and at least a further 2 months before you can get the bike
out of the garage? Go to the ice racing of course!
The long winter nights in Trondheim are subsiding and the
temperature is now above freezing...at the moment. As England struggles
through the worst winter for many years it is business as normal here,
although 3 weeks of -3 to -15, 24 hours a day is not usual at sea level.
My 5 minute drive to the forest to go cross country
skiing was swapped with the 4 hour drive to Østersund Sweden to see the
2009 Swedish pairs final on February 27th.
The border to Sweden is only 1 hours drive away but we
rise several hundred meters. The Scandinavian winter has also seen more
snow than normal, we drive through Åre, recently voted as one of
Europe’s top 10 ski resorts.
The frozen lake below us is a hive of activity with Snow
scooter hire, Porsche car hire and go-carts all available for Joe Blogs
punter to throw his money at and have some fun on the ice. The mountain
above is sparkling white in the early afternoon sunshine and I do wish I
had my snowboard...but my first taste of live ice racing awaits.
In Østersund the general snow depth is around 1 meter and
the track, center green (white!) and car park have been cleared.
The pits are full of the most frightening motorcycles I
have seen, with the general homemade look and 200 spikes per tyre I can
only compare with Mad Max without the sand. The Riders are generally
older than the average speedway rider and you could say that they look
as if they have seen a battle or two!
After the rounds in the pits of saying hello to the known
faces from the summer sport its time to pay our £8 and join the other 80
or so spectators on the back straight. Cut oil drums filled with logs
are burning to ward off the cold. There is a barbeque and coffee but the
ice cold cans of cola don’t seem to be selling. Minus 6 is not too bad
tonight but it is snowing, has been for an hour and will continue to do
so for the duration of the meeting.
The track lights come on 15 minutes before the start and
a road brush and two ploughs clear the track. The track preparation is
as regular as in normal speedway but the crushed ice is pushed to the
center. As the riders enter the track for race one I notice some other
differences that had not entered my head. The white line is blue and the
tapes are red!
As the tapes go up I must admit that I am amazed at the
quality of the racing, this is the Swedish elite, including world
finalists, and it shows. Plenty of passing.
The riders give it full pelt down the straights and drop
it over on its side with a gentle touch of throttle until they are about
¾ of the way round then it is full gas again. Some choose the wide
smooth ride about 1 meter from the fence, others dive in tight and can’t
hold the corner…..but somehow they do and avoid a crash. There are a few
crashes but everyone walks away, nobody gets hit by the spikes so no
blood. One of the Jamtarna boys crashed in training the week before and
needed 50 stitches.
Race times are about 60 seconds, 5 seconds under the
speedway track record. The ice record is 53 seconds. The engines give
out about 20 horse power less than speedway bikes but it is drive all
the way.
The next weekend the club will be having an open day
where you can try an ice bike and I must admit it is very tempting...But
my boy is ski jumping that day so I can’t make it, that’s my excuse and
I’m sticking by it!
The spectacle of ice racing can be highly recommended if
you are abroad in the winter and have the chance to take in a meeting.
Just for the record, the results on the night were as
follows:
What do you do when it has been 5 months since you last
saw speedway and at least a further 2 months before you can get the bike
out of the garage? Go to the ice racing of course!
The long winter nights in Trondheim are subsiding and the
temperature is now above freezing...at the moment. As England struggles
through the worst winter for many years it is business as normal here,
although 3 weeks of -3 to -15, 24 hours a day is not usual at sea level.
My 5 minute drive to the forest to go cross country
skiing was swapped with the 4 hour drive to Østersund Sweden to see the
2009 Swedish pairs final on February 27th.
The border to Sweden is only 1 hours drive away but we
rise several hundred meters. The Scandinavian winter has also seen more
snow than normal, we drive through Åre, recently voted as one of
Europe’s top 10 ski resorts.
The frozen lake below us is a hive of activity with Snow
scooter hire, Porsche car hire and go-carts all available for Joe Blogs
punter to throw his money at and have some fun on the ice. The mountain
above is sparkling white in the early afternoon sunshine and I do wish I
had my snowboard...but my first taste of live ice racing awaits.
In Østersund the general snow depth is around 1 meter and
the track, center green (white!) and car park have been cleared.
The pits are full of the most frightening motorcycles I
have seen, with the general homemade look and 200 spikes per tyre I can
only compare with Mad Max without the sand. The Riders are generally
older than the average speedway rider and you could say that they look
as if they have seen a battle or two!
After the rounds in the pits of saying hello to the known
faces from the summer sport its
time to pay our £8 and join the other 80 or so spectators on the back
straight. Cut oil drums filled with logs are burning to ward off the
cold. There is a barbeque and coffee but the ice cold cans of cola don’t
seem to be selling. Minus 6 is not too bad tonight but it is snowing,
has been for an hour and will continue to do so for the duration of the
meeting.
The track lights come on 15 minutes before the start and
a road brush and two ploughs clear the track. The track preparation is
as regular as in normal speedway but the crushed ice is pushed to the
center. As the riders enter the track for race one I notice some other
differences that had not entered my head. The white line is blue and the
tapes are red!
As the tapes go up I must admit that I am amazed at the
quality of the racing, this is the Swedish elite, including world
finalists, and it shows. Plenty of passing.
The riders give it full pelt down the straights and drop
it over on its side with a gentle touch of throttle until they are about
¾ of the way round then it is full gas again. Some choose
the wide smooth ride about 1 meter from the fence, others dive in tight
and can’t hold the corner…..but somehow they do and avoid a crash. There
are a few crashes but everyone walks away, nobody gets hit by the spikes
so no blood. One of the Jamtarna boys crashed
in training the week before and needed 50 stitches.
Race times are about 60 seconds, 5 seconds under the
speedway track record. The ice r
ecord is 53 seconds. The engines give out about 20 horse power less than
speedway bikes but it is drive all the way.
The next weekend the club will be having an open day
where you can try an ice bike and I must admit it is very tempting...But
my boy is ski jumping that day so I can’t make it, that’s my excuse and
I’m sticking by it!
The spectacle of ice racing can be highly recommended if
you are abroad in the winter and have the chance to take in a meeting.
Just for the record, the results on the night were as
follows:
