The BLRC 1966
By Tracy Holmes

October 22 was the date for Belle Vue and FRANK MACLEAN again clicked the keys for Speedway Star;

"Hot favourite, Barry Briggs, won the second BLRC on a rain soaked track at Manchester on Saturday night. It was all so easy for the World Champion who finished five flawless rides looking back over his shoulder for the opposition. In only one race was the champion headed into a back straight, but before the next bend Briggs roared past challenger Ivan Mauger in a fantastic burst of speed to reach the front. Mauger fell almost immediately after being overtaken and his long glide to the crashwall was his exit from the top three.

Briggs neatly disposed of likely contenders Olle Nygren, Nigel Boocock and Cyril Maidment in a package defeat of this trio in Heat 4 and even at that early stage of the meeting it seemed the question of his supremacy was never in doubt. It would take Manchester mud or a machine failure to stop Barry Briggs on this sort of form for his rides were of real championship stuff and with complete confidence in his mastery of the difficult conditions. He simply ploughed through the rain pools with all the grace and speed of a powerboat and at about the same rate of knots."

So it was two in a row for Kiwi King Briggo, nae any strain just singing in the rain.

Heat 1. N Hunter, Sweetman, E Boocock, Pratt.
Heat 2. Wilson, Betts, Vandenburg, ANDREW.
Heat 3. MAUGER, Monk, Gooch, G Hunter.
Heat 4. BRIGGS, Nygren, N Boocock, Maidment.
Heat 5. Wilson, Maidment, Gooch, Pratt.
Heat 6. N Boocock, E Boocock, Betts. Monk fall
Heat 7. Nygren, MAUGER, Vandenburg, Sweetman.
Heat 8. BRIGGS, N Hunter, G Hunter. ANDREW ef
Heat 9. BRIGGS, Betts, Pratt, MAUGER.
Heat 10. Nygren, Wilson, G Hunter. E Boocock ef
Heat 11. ANDREW, Gooch, N Boocock. Sweetman ef
Heat 12. N Hunter, Monk, Maidment, Vandenburg.
Heat 13. N Boocock, G Hunter, Vandenburg, Pratt.
Heat 14. MAUGER, Maidment, ANDREW. E Boocock ef
Heat 15. BRIGGS, Wilson, Monk, Sweetman.
Heat 16. Nygren, N Hunter, Gooch. Betts ef
Heat 17. Nygren, ANDREW, Pratt. Monk ef
Heat 18. BRIGGS, Vandenburg, Gooch, E Boocock.
Heat 19. G Hunter, Sweetman. Maidment ef. Betts ef.
Heat 20. MAUGER, N Hunter. N Boocock fall. Wilson f/ex.

BARRY BRIGGS Swindon 15. Olle Nygren Wimbledon 14. Norman Hunter West Ham 12. IVAN MAUGER Newcastle 11. Ray Wilson Long Eaton 10. Nigel Boocock Coventry 8. George Hunter Edinburgh 7. BILL ANDREW Poole 6. Jimmy Gooch Oxford 6. Cyril Maidment Belle Vue 5. Charlie Monk Glasgow 5. Terry Betts Kings Lynn 5. Peter Vandenburg Wolverhampton 5. Tommy Sweetman Exeter 4. Eric Boocock Halifax 3. Colin Pratt Hackney 2. Res John Dews Sheffield dnr. Res Jack Biggs Newport dnr. Res Clive Featherby Cradley Heath dnr. Sverre Harrfeldt West Ham & Ken McKinlay West Ham q ns. Ivor Brown Cradley Heath q inj ns. Chum Taylor Cradley Heath q ns. Gote Nordin Newport q ns. Arne Pander Oxford q inj ns.

This article was first published on 5th July 2020