PS, Hi Alan, what with the 2009
season just around the corner are you looking forward to
it as much as
if you were still riding?
AM,
I always looked forward to the new season whilst I was still riding and
now I find myself as eager as ever. Keeps the fix going!
:O)
PS,
You had 25 years as a rider, but what is your best memory of your time
as a Potter?
AM,
There were too many great times at Stoke to mention just one but like
most people, your best times are your successful ones, Best Pairs at
Reading, 4TT at Workington and finishing fourth in the league. Plus,
spending time in the bar after a meeting.
PS,
Any regrets over your gate choice at Sheffield for the PLRC decider
2005?
AM, Not one! People
probably think that gate 2 was my downfall but the problem was a lose
bolt in the front seat bracket. On the green light at maximum revs, a
circle of
vibration went through the base of my spine up into my body
and down my arms to the handle bars, which for a split second, made me
think my engine was about to blow. In turn, my concentration was taken
off of the start and I was backing off the throttle only to recompose
myself too late to be back at maximum revs and therefore unable to make
a start like I had been making all night.
PS,
Are you still involved in speedway or are you just the other side the
fence these days?
AM,
I am still involved to a curtain degree as a mechanic for Luke Bowen
down at Rye House and I help out where I can with advice to my long term
mechanic’s young lad who is up and coming into the world of Speedway.
PS,
If anything could be changed what would you change in the sport?
AM,
If I had the money to put where my mouth is, I would make the outside
boundaries of all tracks a lot safer! They are known as the “safety
fence” but are far from safe at some tracks!
PS,
Grand Prix's or the old qualifying and one off final?
AM,
Either or. I don’t really mind! GP’s give you a true Champion through
the season and the one off’s gives the best man on the day.
PS,
Uprights or Lay down engines? Which is better in your opinion?
AM,
Lay down engines; lower centre of gravity gives you a smoother ride.
PS,
People ask what riders do after they retire, what do you do now Alan?
AM,
I work in a warehouse now and do pretty much everything from Goods-in to
Despatch plus all in between. About 50% of my working day is spent on
fork lift trucks, reach and counter balance.
PS,
Which club did you enjoy being with the most during your career?
AM, Berwick in 1999/2000 (Shielfield), I
loved that track, Ian Rae was the track curator and it was consistently
good from one week to the next. Through out my whole career I was never
at 1 club for more than 2 years for one reason or another but I was more
than happy to keep coming back to Stoke. I had good times riding for my
former clubs (and there have been a few
J)
but everything seemed to fit together so well riding for Stoke, so I
kept coming back for more and enjoyed being there.
PS.
Have you any ambitions to go into team managing or maybe promoting in
the future?
AM, If I had the money to
allow me to promote a team I would give it a go and if the circumstances
were right, I would manage a team but the one thing I would want to do
more than anything is work on my own track. This would probably never
happen so life goes on.
PS,
All this talk about Stoke being a fair track, do you think if it was
extended and the old greyhound track was made use of it would mean more
of a 'home' advantage?
AM,
Just by extending the track wouldn’t necessarily give you a home track
advantage although it might from what I hear as regards to the Crewe
track. In my opinion the shape of the corners need to be of a type that
will encourage riders to go for gaps entering the corners and allow for
cut backs coming out of the corner, i.e., most corners are semi circles
where as I think a diamond shape would open up the track a bit more and
in time the home track riders will learn to use this to their advantage
but that wouldn’t work if you had a good sized banking with heavy dirt
wide as everybody would just run round the fence.
PS, You were involved in a incident
with the late Kenny Carter at Bradford in a British semi final, can you
recall anything about that?
AM,
Yep. From the gate I was side by side with Carl Blackbird in the first
turn and Carl was on the white line pushing me and I was leaning on him.
Coming out of the second bend the way everyone does is a natural curve
up to the fence, before I had even got past half track I felt the
collision. Kenny had gone high on the banking and cut back down to get a
faster exit and ran into the back of me. I never even saw him and
wondered what had happened until I had got back to the pits and was
told.
PS,
I asked if you had any regrets in an earlier question about a gate
position, have you any regrets about your career or are you happy that
it went like it did?!
AM,
I look back at my career in Speedway with joy, I have no regrets at the
way things turned out and just wonder, if I had of had the backing of a
big sponsor, which would have allowed me to do it full time, how much
better would I have been.
PS.
Who was the best rider you raced against in your opinion?
AM,
I have raced against a few of them or should I say I have been in the
same race as them but the one time I remember that makes me smile was
when I first started out and I lined up side by side to Bruce Penhall. I
was in gate 3 and he was in gate 4, green light came on and I looked at
the starting gate past Bruce, waiting to drop the clutch and then he
just flew out of the gate before my left hand had even twitched. He was
the best back then (1981) and now days Jason Crump is the best rider I
have ridden against.
PS,
What is the best track you have ridden?
AM, Berwick! There are
plenty of tracks I enjoyed riding but Berwick is my favourite under Ian
Rae’s reign before Peter Waite ‘thought’ he could do the job as track
curator!
PS,
Who do you see, if any, the future British world champion?
AM,
Tai Woffinden, the lad is sheer class. I have had the privilege of
watching him at Rye House for the last 2 years and to see someone
enjoying themselves whilst racing is a pleasure.
PS,
What prompted your to move to Stoke in 2002?
AM,
After a poor season at Swindon in 2001 I was notified that I was not in
their plans for the next year so I had a look at what tracks I liked
riding and what ones I rode well. That in turn made me phone Dave. I got
the impression that Dave was keen and surprised that I called him. We
talked for a short while and true to his word, Dave called me back and a
deal was done.
PS,
And finally, have you got a message for all the Stoke fans from Alan
Mogridge?
AM,
I’m sorry that 2006 turned out the way it did for me and you at Stoke. I
so much wanted my last year to be a success for me and you that I went
about things the wrong way. Leopards don’t change their spots so I
should have just carried on the same as I had done in years past by
laughing with the clowns.
