BARRY BRIGGS COMING HOME FOR GOOD

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34045, 8 January 1976, Page 10

BARRY BRIGGS COMING HOME FOR GOOD

(By

ROD DEW)

One of the great figures of New Zealand speedway racing', Barry Brigg's, is planning to ireturn to Christchurch on a permanent basis with his family, after be.ing' based in Britain for the last 20 years. Briggs, who retired from ; league racing in Britain at I the end of the last northern •summer, slipped quietly into Christchurch on Monday and spent yesterday house hunting. “I am virtually here from now on,” he said, when asked I when he intended to take up | residence in the city. : “Obviously. I have got a i lot of loose ends to tie up .in Britain and for the first jcouple of years I will only; i be here for six months at a! time. It will take me a while: [to settle back in,” he said. I He has put his house in; Southampton up for sale but intends to retain some busi-l iness interests in Britain. Champions’ troupe Briggs, who won the world , speedway motor-cycle championship four times in an international career which began in the early 19505. arrived in New Zealand on New Year's Day with the World Champions’ Troupe.i [which is now touring the (country. However, the troupe jis not scheduled to race at I Templeton until January 17. •Briggs will fly back north to (Napier for the next meeting 1 tonight and if he has not

found the house he wants by then, he will return immedi-, ately afterwards. ! “Flying backwards and forwards could add quite a bit to the purchase price,” he I joked. Briggs's wife. June, arrives, in 10 days, so he has until ; then to set up home. His two, boys, Gary and Tony, are at I boarding school in Britain. Although he has retired from league racing (he captained Wimbledon last season), he is not sure what the future holds for him in racing. “I’ve got to have a serious look at my racing future. If the offers are good enough. I might go back to Europe for international meetings next season. But everything depends on whether I qualify in the Australasian final of the world championship in Auckland next month,” he said.

“If I qualify, I will probably carry op, although I am not even sure I want to race; again in the world champion-1 ship. I would only race in it i if 1 thought that I could win; it. I think I could do it but i I am old enough to realise; that everything would have’ to fall exactly into place.” Chance disastrous Briggs, now 40. nearly won the world 1000 metres long track championship last year. He only had to win his last heat and led the field through the first corner. Egon Muller (West Germany) passed him down the straight. “If I had just continued on I would have been second loverail to Muller but I decided to take a chance and 'cross Muller’s dirt. It was the world title or nothing. !Unfortunately, it didn’t come off. The dirt flung back by; [Muller’s bike hit me in the) I face and tore all my goggles [off. That was the finish. The speeds are so great in long track racing that you cannot race without goggles.” Briggs finally finished third equal on aggregate with the new world speedway champion. Ole Olsen, of Denmark. Ol'di leading I Olsen is also in New Zealand with the international troupe and he currently leads the series with fivej points. Ivan Mauger, of New! jZealand, is second on four'

(and the 1974 world cham-ii pion. Anders Michanek, of j Sweden, is third on two. It i Briggs, who admits that hep jis not as fit as he should beij jafter a holiday in America, .< 'shares fifth place behind Jirii< ■Stand (Czechoslovakia) withlj • Jim Airey (Australia), I Tommy Janssen (Sweden): and Edward Jancarz (Poland). “I’ve spent the last two; nights running to get fully fit.” Briggs said. “The standard of- these riders is so high that you only have to be slightly off and you have had it.” Busy He is uncertain what he 1 will do in New Zealand, al- • though he expects to be • fairly well occupied with 1 organising the World Cham- 1 pions’ Troupe, which he and'; • Mauger are backing finan-•] (dally. He recently took a , (small troupe to South Africa (and Rhodesia and at the end J of the New Zealand tour, the;! full troupe will go to Aus- i tralia for five meetings. Five 1 more meetings will follow in 1 the United States. Then, de- i pending on what happens in 1 the Australasian final. Briggs , will either return to New I Zealand or carry on to ; Britain. But whatever happens, he i has no intention of sitting ; still and reflecting on the past in an armchair. “There;, is no way I am going to stop (racing and stop home and : •dig the garden,” he said. “I ‘am just not that type.” p