One Way-Side Ways

Standing the test of time, speedway is a beautifully simple spectacle. Two teams (four pilots per team), riding methanol-powered 500cc motorcycles with no brakes, minimal front suspensions and a single heart-wrenching gear, race four times around a quarter mile circuit – and one of them wins. The signature style of broadsiding these furious machines through the constant left arc circuit is complemented by the flair and colour of the daredevils themselves who were, and remain in the most part, privateers with a fistful of horsepower and something to prove. Names like Frank ‘Satan’ Brewer, Jonny ‘Hard Edge’ Cale and Peter ‘Angel’ Stephens are not difficult to imagine.

Originating from West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia in the early 1920s, this genre of speed took off in Europe after the first British meeting was staged in Essex in 1928. By this time, a global platform had been created and competitive international events were making heroes out of the few men who had the right kind of mettle to take this style of racing forward. The ’50s and ’60s saw New Zealand’s Barry Briggs win the World Final five times and, by the late 1970s, the extreme power-to-weight ratio of the bike, and sheer competitiveness of the pilots themselves, made for a golden age of motorcycle speedway. During this period, New Zealand’s very own Ivan Mauger took three world titles and is considered by many to be one of the most stylish racers in the history of the sport.

The machine presented here is a good example of a standard post-1970s privateer’s outfit and is in good running order.