SPEEDWAY RACING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 193, 15 August 1936, Page 16

SPEEDWAY RACING.

THE GAME IN ENGLAND.

AUCKLANDER'S IMPRESSIONS.

Impressions of the present English cinder track racing season were brought back to Auckland yesterday by Mr. J. C. Kay, track manager of Western Springs Speedway, who, with his wife, returned by the Wanganelia after a visit to England.

"Speedway racing was never more popular than it has been this season," said Mr. Kay. "At the Australia-England test .match, raced at New Cross, the gates were closed before seven o'clock. The three cleverest riders in England were Langton (Bell Vue), who has. been seen in Auckland, Grosskrutz (Bcli Vue) and Huxley (Wimbledon). The fastest was Trank* Charles (Wembley). The most popular rider is 'Tiger' 'Stevenson." Several of the leading English- riders were eager- to come' to New Zealand for the coming season;; said Mr. Kay, and such' stars as. ' Stevenson. Atkinson, Abbott and Parker were hopeful of com-, ing here. . t ' "Racing is run on very different lines in England/? said Mr. Kay. "Here we concentrate .on individaal racing, but there t}*ey concentrate on team, racing. When one of the team goes to tlie front it is tlie • duty of the other to block the men behind him. They are not as strict over the rules of racing as we in New Zealand/ ' The game is hard in, England, and there is hardly an evening goes by without ■■one or two riders; being sent to hospital. That suits the public, and they swarm to the speedways in thousands."

Mr. Kay mentioned that Putt Mossman and his motor bike rodeo were likely to be back in New Zealand this year. Mossman's .wife, Helen, who was badly injured iji a spectacular stunt with her husband at Western Springs, had now recovered and was stunting again with her husband. "But she is not doing the blindfold leap —the stunt in whioli she was injured here," said Mr. Kay. Bo Lisman and Manuel Trujillo were two Americans known to Aucklanders who had ridden with considerable success in England.