IN 1970, Swindon found themselves at the lower end of the league table (sixteenth, to be precise), but the standard of racing was terrific and the home fixtures against Sheffield and Halifax left the fans breathless. In both matches, the Robins had come from 10 points behind to force a draw versus Sheffield and a win against Halifax. As had become normal, though, Swindon dropped several league points at home, losing to Belle Vue, Cradley Heath, Poole and Wimbledon, while drawing against Sheffield in the aforementioned match.
John Bishop joined the club from Oxford, but it was a term of struggle as he could only register 66 points from his thirty-one league matches, and a 3.40 average told its own story. Meanwhile, Barry Duke was ever-present in league matches and impressed with a points tally of 155. The fast-starting Bob Kilby outscored Barry Briggs during the season but, to be fair, Briggo did ride in five fewer matches. ‘Kilb' had really established himself as an international rider and his final league average was 9.64, with 10 full maximums and a paid one to boot. As ever, Briggs topped the statistics, finishing with a massive 10.51 points per match to his name.
The Robins battled past Wolverhampton and Leicester on their way to the Knock Out Cup semi-final, where they went down to a 44-34 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon. And, for the second year running, Swindon were knocked out of the Midland Cup by Leicester at the semi-final stage, with the victorious Lions again winning both legs.
The Blunsdon track record was broken in successive weeks during 1970, firstly when Kilby brought the time down to 70.6 seconds on 1 August. Seven days later, however, the great Briggs scorched around in 70.2 seconds against Hackney in a Division One fixture and, needless to say, nobody else got near the new best time during the remainder of the season.
Briggo was again triumphant on the individual front, winning both a World Championship qualifying round and a Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round at Blunsdon during the year. He wasn't so fortunate in the World Final at the Olympic Stadium, Wroclaw, Poland, however, where he could only muster 7 points. He bounced back in typical fashion, though, yet again winning the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue for the sixth successive season.
Barry Duke unfortunately suffered a broken collarbone that put an end to his chances in the Junior Championship of the British Isles, which was staged at the Abbey on 2 September. The meeting was won by Barry Thomas, but the line-up also featured several other riders who would go on and grace British speedway for many years, including runner-up Dave Jessup, third-placed Mick Bell, plus Bobby Beaton and Gordon Kennett.
Whilst on the subject of youth, Swindon sent a team billed as ‘Young Robins' on the road for three challenge matches during the summer. The fledglings were beaten at both Plymouth and Sheffield, but emerged from Shelbourne Park in Dublin with a 39-38 success.
There was great joy on 5 September in the match against Cradley Heath, when Mike Broadbank returned to active racing, scoring 7 points. Unfortunately, ‘Broady' rode just one more match before ending his comeback for 1970.
Martin Ashby was welcomed back to Blunsdon for the 1971 season after three years at Exeter, but the Rider Control Committee posted Bob Kilby in the opposite direction to the Falcons as his replacement. With a spearhead of Barry Briggs and Ashby, Swindon looked powerful but, often on away trips, the scoring was left solely to the dynamic duo. Mike Keen at times looked very good, but a series of niggling injuries countered his try-all-the-time efforts. Mike Broadbank, Clive Hitch and Pete Munday all struggled to find their best form, while a young Scot, Jimmy Gallacher, appeared on the scene, and James Bond arrived via Wolverhampton.
The Abbey Stadium regulars were treated to several mouth-watering meetings during the year, the first of which saw Briggs again win a World Championship qualifying round on 17 April. Great Britain annihilated Poland by 80 points to 28 in a Test match on 22 May, with Ronnie Moore (14), Jim Airey (13), Trevor Hedge (12) and Ray Wilson (12) leading the scoring. For the beleaguered Poles, Andrzej Wygleda (8) and future World Champion Jerzy Szczakiel (7) were the best of a disappointing bunch.
On 14 July, Blunsdon again played host to the Junior Championship of the British Isles, which was won by Ian ‘Tiddler' Turner courtesy of a super 15-point maximum. The runner-up from the previous year, Dave Jessup, had to be satisfied with the same position again, while other competitors included Tony Davey, Gordon Kennett, Peter Collins and future Robin Geoff Bouchard. The fourth and final ‘biggie' of the year at Swindon was the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round on 16 July, which was won by Briggs with a full 15-point tally.
Home form again cost Swindon dearly, with defeats against Belle Vue, Exeter, King's Lynn and Leicester being difficult for the Blunsdon faithful to swallow. However, thanks to an excellent end-of-season list of triumphs at Wolverhampton, Oxford and Cradley Heath, Swindon managed to finish fifth in the league. An earlier 41-37 defeat at Exeter also turned into a victory, following an appeal after the Falcons had tracked all three of their heat-leaders and used rider replacement as well! The Robins' appeal was upheld and the points recorded from rider-replacement rides were expunged, giving Swindon a 42-36 victory.
Briggo was again top of the Robins' averages on a 10.64 figure, but for the first time he failed to retain the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, finishing second to Ivan Mauger. Regrettably, Briggs created another unwanted record, when he missed out on a World Final place for the very first time in eighteen years. Meanwhile, the returning Ashby plundered 361 points during the campaign for an average of 9.70, which proved what a tremendous rider he had developed into during his time at Exeter. The popular ‘Crash' also set a new track record at Blunsdon, storming around in 70.0 seconds in heat five of the match against Belle Vue on 1 May.
Keen averaged 6.70 but, after that, the other Robins' figures dropped steeply. Broadbank returned and, although he only missed a single league match, he was a pale shadow of his former self, scoring just 121 points for a 4.94 average. Hitch struggled, too, averaging just 4.79, while the new boys fared even more poorly, with Gallacher finishing on 3.93 and Bond on 3.43.
There were many changes and disappointments during the 1972 campaign. Briggs and Ashby again formed the spearhead, while Brian Leonard joined the Robins' nest from Wembley as a replacement for Pete Munday, who had retired. In the middle of the season, ‘Storming' Norman Hunter got his wish and joined Swindon, following a disagreement with Wolverhampton. Both Briggs and Ashby finished with averages in excess of 10 points.
Briggo, however - following a run of machine problems and a disappointing display in the Wills Internationale at Wimbledon - took a two-week break from speedway. Hunter bolstered up the middle-order, averaging 6.08, while Hitch and Broadbank enjoyed only average seasons. David Ashby, the younger brother of Martin, looked very promising and rode in nine league matches. Later, he was loaned to Second Division Peterborough, in order to gain experience. Keen's scoring took a dive and he finished the season with only 83 points and an average of just 3.96.
It was not surprising then, that the Robins could only manage fifteenth position in the final league table. As usual, Swindon dropped many points at home, losing to Belle Vue, Hackney, Reading and Sheffield, while drawing with Leicester. The theory has long since been that the track is too fair to ride and all teams have a chance of success when visiting the wide-open spaces of the brilliant Blunsdon circuit.
The campaign was marred by the death of Svein Kaasa, though, when Swindon visited Glasgow on 29 September. The twenty-five-year-old Norwegian had started the season at Oxford, prior to linking up with Glasgow, having lost his place in the Cheetahs side to Preben Rosenkilde. Unfortunately, in heat eleven of the match against the Robins, Kaasa clipped Martin Ashby's rear wheel while trying to overtake on the outside, and was thrown head-first into the safety fence. After falling unconscious, the popular youngster regrettably passed away on the Hampden Park track.
A first round Knock-Out Cup defeat at the hands of Exeter did nothing to lift morale, while bogey side Leicester again dumped the Robins out of the Midland Cup at the semi-final stage. This was after a controversial quarter-final replay at the home of old rivals Oxford, which had originally ended in a 41-36 defeat. However, after successfully appealing, the result was amended to a 40-38 victory. The problem occurred in heat eleven, which had ended as a 4-2 to the Robins' pairing of Briggs and Hitch. Inexplicably, the referee deemed that there had been a starting gate infringement immediately prior to the race and ordered a re-start! Oxford subsequently won the race 5-0, before going on to win on the night, but the Speedway Control Board acted quickly to uphold Swindon's appeal and reinstated the original result of the heat.
The Abbey Stadium hosted an Inter-Nations Championship match between Sweden and New Zealand on 15 July and, in a somewhat one-sided match, it was the Swedes who ran out convincing winners by 50 points to 28. The victors' scoring was led by Christer Lofqvist (11 points), Anders Michanek (11) and Hasse Holmqvist (9), while the Kiwis' top men were Ronnie Moore (9) and Bob Andrews (8). The Blunsdon raceway was also utilized for no less than three individual meetings in 1972, with Ray Wilson taking the honours in both the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round and the first-ever staging of the prestigious Silver Plume.
The remaining big event of the season was the World Championship qualifying round, which was won in great style by Briggs. The season would be remembered for the World Final at Wembley when, after beating Ivan Mauger in his first ride, Briggo was involved in a crash with Bernt Persson and Valeri Gordeev and was forced to withdraw from the meeting with serious hand injuries. Later in hospital, the index finger on his left hand was amputated. With Briggs out of action, Martin Ashby took his place in the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue and put in a brilliant performance to finish as runner-up (with 14 points) to Ole Olsen.
For 1973, it was the end of an era when Barry Briggs announced his retirement, although he was later to ride again for both Wimbledon and Hull. Replacing Briggo was a rider who had long expressed a desire to ride for Swindon, namely Norwegian Edgar Stangeland, who was brought to the Robins' camp via Exeter. Another newcomer who arrived with a fine reputation was American Sumner McKnight, recommended to Swindon by none other than the legendary Briggs himself. Another new rider who appeared on the scene was Geoff Bouchard, who rode for Second Division Long Eaton, but made seven league appearances for Swindon when they were short-handed. He very much impressed the supporters with his never-say-die style, and would eventually go on to become a full-time Robin in 1975.
Hunter enjoyed a good year, finishing second in the averages (on 7.02) to the immaculate Ashby, who took over from Briggs and rode brilliantly, scoring 390 league points. Martin Hitch, son of Clive, joined the club but rode only in a single Knock-Out Cup match. Mick Handley was another newcomer who had bags of ability, but struggled with poor equipment. Sad to say, McKnight found the pace of British League racing far too hot and left after appearing in seven league matches for just 4 points.
There was an interesting occurrence when Swindon rode their home match against Halifax on 20 April, as Keen rode brilliantly to secure a 15-point maximum, whilst Eric Boocock of Halifax scored a paid maximum from six outings.
The Robins were again at the wrong end of the league table, finishing in thirteenth place. Away wins were gained at Coatbridge, Poole and Wolverhampton, but this was more than offset by the usual poor home form which saw four losses (against Hackney, King's Lynn, Leicester and Reading) and three draws (against Cradley, Exeter and Poole). Wolverhampton proved to be a thorn in Swindon's side, as they dispatched the Robins from the Knock-Out Cup at the quarter-final stage. Then, having reached the semi-final of the Midland Cup, where Wolves were the opponents, Swindon were forced to withdraw due to a congested fixture list!
Blunsdon played host to a further three high profile individual meetings during the season, and these resulted in victories for Ray Wilson (in the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round), Jim McMillan (in the World Championship qualifying round) and Bengt Jansson (in the Silver Plume).
On 30 June, New Zealand faced Sweden at the Abbey Stadium in a match from the Daily Mirror International Tournament. In a highly-charged meeting, the Swedes emerged with a 42-35 victory, with Christer Lofqvist (11 points) and Anders Michanek (9) leading their scoring. For New Zealand, Ivan Mauger recorded 10 points, while ex-Robin Barry Briggs scored 8. In the opening heat, Christer Lofqvist zoomed around the Blunsdon circuit in a new track record time of 69.8 seconds, becoming the first-ever rider to circumnavigate the track in under 70 seconds. In the second-half, Rider of the Night competition, Anders Michanek equalled the time set by Lofqvist earlier in the evening.
Ashby took the Golden Helmet from Chris Pusey at Belle Vue, but lost it a week later to Barry Thomas at Hackney. And he again rode in the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, where he bagged 10 points to finish in sixth position.
Swindon aimed to finish their season with a Four-Team Tournament that would have featured a one-meeting comeback by former club stalwart George White. Unfortunately, the meeting fell victim to the weather, so nothing happened and ‘Wee George' stayed in retirement.
The 1974 season saw the Robins complete twenty-five consecutive years of speedway at Blunsdon, with the club now firmly established as being one of the premier circuits in Britain. Swindon marked the occasion with the publication of a lovely little anniversary handbook, priced at just twenty-five pence!
With Reading closing for the season whilst their new stadium was being built at Smallmead, Swindon added Bernie Leigh to their riding squad, and he proved to be an excellent addition, being an ever-present and averaging 5.26. Keen celebrated his tenth year as a Robin, although the likeable lad from nearby Malmesbury saw his average dip to 4.18. Meanwhile, the spectacular Hitch retired to concentrate on his plastering business, although he did ride at Rye House, which was just a stone's throw from his home.
Ashby proved to be an inspiring leader - he was ever-present, had an average of 10.10 and recorded 9 full maximums plus one paid during the season. Stangeland was next in the Robins' averages, on a 7.87 figure, emphasizing the fact that Swindon needed more strength at the top end. Hunter had a steady, if unspectacular year, averaging 6.49, while David Ashby achieved a highly creditable 4.51 figure from his fifteen matches. A man who was to feature strongly at Swindon many years later made a couple of tremendous guest appearances, scoring 21 points from just 8 starts - and his name was Mick Bell.
The Robins finished the league season in twelfth position out of the seventeen teams. As had happened so many times in the past, they would have undoubtedly finished higher but for some poor results at Blunsdon, where two matches were drawn and three were lost. The Knock-Out Cup saw a first-round exit for them at the hands of Newport, although this was slightly off-set by an aggregate victory over the Welsh side in the Severn Bridge Trophy.
The Robins reached the semi-final of the Midland Cup, only to crash out with home and away defeats to Leicester. The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary was celebrated on 13 July with a challenge match against Oxford, who were led by ex-Robin Bob Kilby. It was a grand occasion, as the two sides that first faced each other in the Blunsdon opener in 1949 once again did battle on the track. However, despite 11 points from Stangeland and 10 from Martin Ashby, Swindon lost the match 42-36.
The Russians came for a Test match on 27 July, with Martin Ashby skippering England to a 66-41 victory and top-scoring with 17 points. Tony Davey and Dave Jessup gave him great support, both mustering 16 points, while the Russians' best were Vladimir Gordeev (13), Grigori Khlinovsky (11) and Anatoli Kuzmin (10).
John Louis won the Blunsdon-staged World Championship qualifying round, with victory in the other couple of ‘biggies' going to George Hunter (in the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round) and Martin Ashby (in the Silver Plume). Capping what was a tremendous year for Ashby was a new track record time of 69.6 seconds, which he set in the opening heat of the Division One fixture against Wolverhampton on 17 August. And, he was again Swindon's representative at Belle Vue for the British League Riders' Championship, where he had to be satisfied with 8 points.
Bob Kilby was welcomed back for the 1975 season but, with Reading re-opening, it was goodbye to Bernie Leigh. However, with ‘Killer's' team-mates including Martin Ashby, Stangeland, Hunter and Bouchard, the Robins looked to have a very solid squad. Things looked even better when promoter Ted Nelson dipped into the coffers to purchase Bobby McNeil from Second Division Eastbourne but, by the time Leicester came for a league match on 12 April, Stangeland was already wanting away - naming lucrative weekend long track bookings as his reason. The Norwegian left Swindon, of course, but was later to appear in the colours of Wimbledon (alongside Barry Briggs).
So, Ted Nelson again looked to the transfer market but, having no luck, cast his eyes abroad and came up with outstanding young Swede Jan Andersson. He made his debut on 26 April in a match against Sheffield and won his first-ever race at Blunsdon, although Swindon lost the match 45-33. Later on, Alan Grahame was also signed on loan from Birmingham.
Despite having a useful squad on paper, a series of injuries (particularly to Keen) and indifferent form, saw Swindon slide to the bottom of the league table and collect the wooden spoon. They lost every one of their seventeen away matches, as well as suffering a quite staggering nine home losses, to Coventry, Cradley, Exeter, Halifax, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Newport, Oxford and Sheffield.
Ashby and Kilby did their best to stem the tidal wave, but there was very little in the way of support. Ashby recorded scored 385 points (average 10.13), while Kilb plundered 286 points (average 8.31) and, briefly, while Stangeland was around he averaged 6.36 from five matches. Then the figures dropped sharply, as follows: Hunter (5.24), Grahame (4.95), McNeil (4.23), Andersson (4.20), Bouchard (4.12), Keen (3.38) and David Ashby (2.89).
Swindon fared poorly in the cup competitions as well, with a second round defeat to Leicester in the Knock-Out Cup and a first round exit to Oxford in the Midland Cup. The Robins overcame a potential banana skin in the Inter-League Knock-Out Cup, winning narrowly 39-38 at Second Division Workington. They were then drawn at home to Boston in the next round. However, due to fixture congestion, Swindon applied to have the meeting raced at Boston, but the idea was vetoed by the powers-that-be and the Barracudas were given a walkover into the next round.
The Blunsdon track record was again broken in 1975, with Ashby lowering his own record to 69.2 seconds against Wolverhampton on 5 April. That wasn't the season's best though, for Kilby screamed around in 68.8 seconds in the opening heat of the league encounter with Cradley Heath on 20 September; his new best time being eight-tenths of a second faster than the record that stood at the beginning of the season.
A total of four prestigious individual meetings were held at the Abbey Stadium during the season, the first of which saw Kilby take victory in the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round. The remarkable Ivan Mauger recorded a brilliant 15-point maximum to win a World Championship qualifying round, while future Swindon superstar Phil Crump produced a dazzling display to win the Artdeans Mobylette Trophy. The final open event of 1975 saw racer supreme Peter Collins storm to a full maximum and win the much sought-after Silver Plume.
Ashby qualified as a reserve for the World Final at Wembley on 6 September, but unfortunately didn't get a ride. There was some consolation for him, though, when he scored 11 points to finish third in the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue.
In 1976, Swedish rider Sören Karlsson was allocated to the Robins by Rider Control, but compatriot Andersson was missing at first, due to the call of Swedish National Service and a nasty collarbone injury. Having won the Golden Helmet from John Louis at the back end of 1975, Ashby defeated Malcolm Simmons in his first defence of 1976, before losing to Wimbledon's brilliant Swede Tommy Jansson. Unfortunately, Jansson was killed shortly afterwards, when riding in a World Championship qualifying round in his home country, on 20 May.
The wonderfully loyal Mike Keen was granted a Benefit meeting, which took place on 19 July and, typical of ‘Keener's' luck in what was a generally fine and particularly hot summer, it rained on his big day. Despite the elements, a Swindon Select beat a Mike Keen Seven by 47 points to 31. Kilby topped the Swindon scoring with 9 points, while the Mike Keen Seven were superbly spearheaded by a quite marvellous 15-point maximum from Dag Lovaas.
The previous week had seen the Russian riders back at Blunsdon, this time riding against the Robins in a challenge match. In an excellent contest, Swindon won 47-31, with Kilby scoring maximum points. For the Soviet visitors, Grigori Khlinovsky was the pick of the bunch, netting 8 points. Kilby and Ashby kept up their private battle to see who was the quickest around Blunsdon, with ‘Killer' lowering the track record to 68.6 seconds in the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round on 23 June. However, his record didn't last long, as Ashby blitzed around in 68 seconds dead on 10 July to set another best time.
On the league front, Swindon rose to fifth place in the final table so, all in all, it was an excellent year of progress at the Abbey, although Hunter retired before the season finished in order to concentrate on his motorcycle business. The key to the Robins' rise was a far better home record, which saw three draws (with Coventry, Exeter and Ipswich), but perhaps more significantly, no defeats! On the road, Swindon also fared much better, chalking up four successes, at Hull, Leicester, White City and Wimbledon.
At the top of the Robins' scoring were Messrs Ashby and Kilby, both with averages in excess of 9 - 9.89 and 9.15, respectively. McNeil enjoyed a very good year, raising his average from 4.23 to 7.55, whilst Andersson made rapid progress, achieving a solid 6.84 figure. Karlsson bolstered up the middle-order, scoring 117 points to yield a 6.38 average, with the remaining regulars finishing thus: Bouchard (5.96), Hunter (5.51) and David Ashby (4.12).
After beating Poole in the first round of the Knock-Out Cup, Swindon lost narrowly to Ipswich on aggregate (79-77) in the second round. In the Midland Cup, it was the familiar story of defeat at the semi-final stage, this time to Wolverhampton. Once again, Blunsdon played host to four first-class individual meetings during the course of the season. These saw victories for Dave Perks (in a World Championship qualifying round), Bob Kilby (Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round), Malcolm Simmons (Daily Mirror Grand Prix qualifying round) and Peter Collins (Silver Plume). Finally in 1976, Ashby again did well at Belle Vue in the British League Riders' Championship, finishing in fourth position with a well-acquired 12-point tally.
1977 was very much ‘as you were' on the team front at Blunsdon, although a number of very promising junior riders appeared on the scene. Among the hopefuls were Kevin Pope, Kevin Young, Malcolm Holloway and Richard Evans. To gain experience, Holloway was loaned to Oxford, where Young was already establishing himself, while Evans joined Weymouth.
Swindon were pretty formidable on their own circuit, with only Reading winning at Blunsdon, although Exeter forced a last-heat draw on 17 September when, with Ashby injured, the Robins operated rider replacement and Kilby rode out of his skin to net 16 points.
Both Andersson and Martin Ashby suffered collarbone fractures during the season. As a result of crashing at Sheffield, Ashby didn't ride again in 1977 having, up to that point, enjoyed another high-scoring year to yield a 9.80 average. He was sorely missed, no more than in a Midland Cup semi-final match against Coventry on 22 September. With the scores at 28-25 in favour of the Bees at heat nine, Ole Olsen and his boys hit the unfortunate Robins with 5-1 successes in the last four heats of the match, to win 48-29.
Kilby plundered 338 points in the British League, with his average dropping slightly to 8.68, but this was hardly surprising given all the extra rides he had to take along the way. Andersson continued to progress, pushing his average up to 7.77, while McNeil's average dropped by a point, to 6.56. Karlsson also had a dip in form and could only achieve a 5.74 average, while Bouchard was an ever-present and finished with a useful 5.56 figure. His battling qualities certainly endeared him to the Blunsdon faithful.
The Robins ended up in eleventh place in the league; a backward step from the previous season, probably due mainly to the injuries sustained by Andersson and Ashby. Their home record was impressive, though, with - as mentioned previously - a single loss against Reading, plus the draw against Exeter. It was the Falcons who put paid to any hopes Swindon had in the Knock-Out Cup, with the Falcons taking victory by 85 points to 71 on aggregate in their first round clash. Meanwhile, Coventry ended the Robins' aspirations in the Midland Cup following that thumping win at Blunsdon in the second leg of their semi-final tie.
Prior to his injury, Ashby had further lowered the track record at Blunsdon, soaring around the circuit in 67.6 seconds on 20 August on his way to victory in the Wadworth Jubilee Trophy. Two other individual meetings at the Abbey Stadium in 1977 resulted in triumph for Jim McMillan in the Midland Riders' Championship qualifying round, while Malcolm Simmons won the Volkswagen Grand Prix qualifying round. In the absence of Ashby, Swindon were represented by Kilby at the British League Riders' Championship, and he didn't disgrace himself in a class field, scoring 7 points.
In 1978, Swindon signed two Polish riders, Leonard Raba and Jerzy Trzeszkowski, but unfortunately neither was a success and within weeks both had been released. The Poles were replaced by a Norwegian and a Dane; Rolf Gramstad and Steen Mastrup, respectively. Of the two, Gramstad was the most impressive, but both did enough to warrant invitations to return in 1979.
In August, out of the blue, Raba returned for a further two score-less league meetings, but he was gone again almost as quickly as he had arrived! Ashby spent the season struggling with injury and illness and it was left to Kilby to head the Robins' score-charts. He received excellent backing from Andersson, who showed his undoubted class by qualifying for the World Final at Wembley, where he scored 3 points.
Karlsson missed the start of the season, but returned in mid-summer; however, he was unable to find form and quickly departed again. Bouchard, with his all-action riding, became the darling of the Blunsdon terraces, and scored his first-ever maximum in top-level racing with a 15-pointer against Leicester at Blunsdon on 8 April. Adding bite to the back-up department of the team, Robert Henry came on loan from National League Mildenhall, and did well in fourteen league matches for the Robins.
Swindon slipped further down the league table to sixteenth place, losing all but a couple of their away fixtures, with the exceptions being a win at Wolverhampton and a draw at local rivals Reading. At home, the Robins suffered five defeats (against Belle Vue, Coventry, Exeter, Hull and White City), with two matches being drawn (against Halifax and Sheffield).
In the end, it was Andersson who topped the averages on 8.18, slightly ahead of Kilby on 8.15, with other regulars finishing as follows: Martin Ashby (7.69), Bouchard (6.52), David Ashby (4.57), Gramstad (4.22), Henry (3.52), Holloway (2.29) and Mastrup (1.88). For the first-ever time, though, Swindon had no representative at the British League Riders' Championship.
In the Knock-Out Cup, Swindon had a bye in the first round, but at the next stage against Poole, both sides lost their home leg by the exact same score to draw on aggregate. Unfortunately, in the replay, the Robins again lost their home leg and were soundly thrashed at Wimborne Road. Swindon raced against Reading in the County Challenge Cup, but after winning 39-38 in the home leg, the Robins refused to ride in the second leg at Smallmead due to poor track conditions. The referee, however, awarded victory to the Racers by default, with their management then staging an impromptu Best Pairs meeting in order to keep faith with the attending supporters.
Tough Australian Phil Crump showed his liking for the Abbey Stadium raceway when, riding for Bristol on 29 July, he equalled Ashby's track record of 67.6 seconds. On the individual front at the Abbey Stadium, Peter Collins took the spoils of victory in the World Championship/Grand Prix qualifying round, with Jim McMillan later coming out on top in the Silver Plume event. The remaining big meeting of the season at Blunsdon saw Dave Morton triumph in the Artdeans Trophy on 26 August.
Little did the fans know when they left the Abbey after the last match of the 1978 season that it was to be the end of an era. In the winter conference of the British Speedway Promoters' Association, Ted Nelson, the long-standing Swindon bossr, handed over the reins to Wally Mawdsley, a multi-track promoter and a member of the League Management Committee, who had negotiated a five-year lease. Regrettably, this meant that Swindon had to bid farewell to Dick Bradley as team manager after eleven seasons in the position, as he was no longer required by the new promotion.
The arrival of Mawdsley as Swindon promoter in 1979 brought some much-needed strength to the team. With Bristol closing down, the Robins acquired the services of Australian international Phil Crump and American Steve Gresham. Departures from Blunsdon saw the promising and highly competent Andersson move to Reading, while David Ashby went on loan to Milton Keynes in the National League.
Swindon had an excellent squad, but achieved nothing of note in the season. Martin Ashby, in a year when he was granted a Testimonial, struggled to find his best form and found himself at reserve for many matches. Every so often there were flashes of the rider of old, but it was a disappointing year for him generally. To offset this, new acquisition Crump was quite brilliant, piling up a total of 340 points in league meetings for an average of 10.36. Kilby, despite a period when little went right with his machinery, picked himself up and finished the year with a 7.57 average.
Gramstad's season began very well, but he seemed to lose his way as the year progressed. He did, however, enjoy one meeting of note, away at Eastbourne on 29 June, when he scorched to 13 points. The Robins suffered a cruel blow on 28 August when the popular Geoff Bouchard crashed and was badly hurt, suffering a broken leg and a punctured lung. Unfortunately, he never rode again, but he will always have a special place in the hearts of the Blunsdon faithful for his on-track battling qualities, while off-track, he was an extremely pleasant chap. Czech rider Milan Å pinka was drafted in as a replacement and did well in the five matches in which he rode.
This was an incredible season for fixtures at Blunsdon, with a total of 37 home meetings going ahead! This was more than had ever been staged in a single year, with the previous highest total being 31 in 1951. The fewest staged was 14 in the initial, short 1949 season, although only 19 meetings were held during the course of a full 1963 campaign.
The quite staggering total of meetings for 1979 included no fewer than seven individual events. Also included was a Test match between England and Australasia, which the English won by 67 points to 41. Leading the England scorers were Michael Lee (16 points), Dave Jessup (15) and Chris Morton (11), while the Australasian score-chart was topped by Ivan Mauger (12), Phil Crump (10) and Billy Sanders (10).
Martin Ashby's Testimonial went ahead on 23 September, when a star-studded individual meeting took place. The line-up read like a ‘Speedway Who's Who', with Michael Lee coming out on top with a 15-point maximum. Other participants in Ashby's special meeting included England internationals Doug Wyer, Peter Collins, Malcolm Simmons, John Davis, Terry Betts and Dave Jessup, which was a measure of the high regard in which ‘Crash' was held.
Crump became the ‘King of Blunsdon', shattering the track record in the aforementioned Test match on 27 July, slicing six-tenths of a second off the previous best time in establishing 67 seconds dead as the new all-time record. Then, amazingly, on 22 September, ‘Crumpie' blitzed around the circuit in 66.5 seconds in heat one of his Golden Helmet challenge with Peter Collins, which took place immediately prior to the league match with Belle Vue. Five days later, though, Collins himself romped around the Blunsdon bowl in 66.5 seconds on his way to victory in the Silver Plume event.
Aside from Collins' victory in the Plume, other individual triumphs in 1979 went as follows: Ole Olsen (Mirrorsport Trophy), Crump (World Championship/Grand Prix qualifying round), John Davis (Artdeans Knock Out Trophy), Barry Allaway (Master of Junior Speedway), Dave Jessup (Duplex Litho Press Trophy) and Michael Lee, as previously mentioned in the Martin Ashby Testimonial.
Briefly going back to the Golden Helmet, Collins had held the title all through the season, until Crump relieved him of the coveted trophy. Unfortunately, though, Crumpie didn't hold on to it for long, losing to Bruce Penhall in his first defence.
Swindon ended the season in eighth position, with the usual indifferent home form prevailing, which saw four defeats and a draw. On the road, the Robins notched wins at Birmingham, Eastbourne and Hackney, while forcing draws at Belle Vue and Poole. In the Knock-Out Cup, Exeter put paid to Swindon's hopes in the third round, while Leicester dumped the Robins out of the Midland Cup at the semi-final stage.
Crump represented the team at Belle Vue in the British League Riders' Championship, scoring 9 points. Due to the congested fixture list, Blunsdon had its latest-ever finish to a speedway season, with the Robins facing Exeter in a British League match on a freezing cold 1 November.
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IN 1970, Swindon found themselves at the lower end of the league table (sixteenth, to be precise), but the standard of racing was terrific and the home fixtures against Sheffield and Halifax left the fans breathless. In both matches, the Robins had come from 10 points behind to force a draw versus Sheffield and a win against Halifax. As had become normal, though, Swindon dropped several league points at home, losing to Belle Vue, Cradley Heath, Poole and Wimbledon, while drawing against Sheffield in the aforementioned match.
Ashby took the Golden Helmet from Chris Pusey at Belle Vue, but lost it a week later to Barry Thomas at Hackney. And he again rode in the British League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue, where he bagged 10 points to finish in sixth position.
Crump became the ‘King of Blunsdon', shattering the track record in the aforementioned Test match on 27 July, slicing six-tenths of a second off the previous best time in establishing 67 seconds dead as the new all-time record. Then, amazingly, on 22 September, ‘Crumpie' blitzed around the circuit in 66.5 seconds in heat one of his Golden Helmet challenge with Peter Collins, which took place immediately prior to the league match with Belle Vue. Five days later, though, Collins himself romped around the Blunsdon bowl in 66.5 seconds on his way to victory in the Silver Plume event.
