DATE OF BIRTH: 5 September 1948, Leicester, Leicestershire.
BRITISH CAREER: (1970) Long Eaton; (1971) Long Eaton, Cradley Heath, Wolverhampton; (1972) Long Eaton, Leicester, Wolverhampton; (1973) Long Eaton, Reading, Swindon; (1974) Long Eaton, Swindon; (1975-79) Swindon.
CAREER RECORD WITH SWINDON: Meetings: 265 (182 League; 19 Knock-Out Cup; 3 Inter-League Knock-Out Cup; 19 Midland Cup; 29 Challenge; 4 Four-Team Championship; 8 Four-Team Tournament; 1 Three-Team Tournament) Rides: 1,098 Points: 1,340 Bonus: 247 Total: 1,587 Average: 5.78 Maximums: 3 (2 full and 1 paid)
CLUB DEBUT: 4 August 1973 versus Sheffield (Home) British League; 7 points (5 rides).
GEOFFREY ALAN BOUCHARD was a rider appreciated by practically everyone at Blunsdon during his time with the club. Indeed, he was well-loved for his tenacious battling on the track, as well as being a really nice guy off it.
He began riding in second-half events at Long Eaton in 1969, before breaking into then-nicknamed Rangers' Division Two side the following season. Steady progress at the Station Road venue saw him work his way up to heat-leader status by 1971, and Geoff was to remain at Long Eaton until the end of 1974 - a season that saw him finish with an average in excess of 9 points per match.
In total, he made 158 league appearances for Long Eaton, scoring 1,314.5 points for an average of 7.86. He was quite a star during his spell at the Second Division club, since he also notched a total of eighteen maximums (12 full and 6 paid).
Whilst with the Nottinghamshire outfit, Bouchard also made fleeting appearances in top-flight speedway. These included a number of occasions when he was brought into the Robins' line-up when they were short-handed.
In fact, he first rode for Swindon on 4 August 1973, when a British League double-header was staged at Blunsdon. With Clive Hitch out of action, Geoff was handed the No. 7 race-jacket for the first of the evening's two matches versus Sheffield, and he went on to collect 7 points from five starts in what was a very satisfactory showing.
He became a full-time Robin in 1975 and the fans really took to him due to his all-out racing style. On 26 July that year, Swindon played host to Exeter in a British League match, with the Falcons boasting a very powerful spearhead in Ivan Mauger and Scott Autrey. On the way to the stadium, Bouchard and team-mate Norman Hunter, a fellow Leicester resident, suffered a car breakdown.
Thankfully, Geoff was able telephone and say: "We are on our way, never fear." As a result, the meeting was held up by the most elongated parade ever witnessed at Swindon Speedway - this clearly done in an effort to give the duo extra time to arrive.
However, in the end, the racing just had to start, and with Bouchard due to appear in the reserves' heat, the Robins could only track one representative. It was during this race that the two riders finally arrived, their vehicle having a tyre that was worn down to the rim and looking rather ramshackled to say the least.
Geoff had already changed and straight away was out in heat three to replace Hunter, who was still getting his breath back. After that heat, Swindon trailed 13-4 and began to fight-back. It would be nice to report that they eventually turned things around, but it wasn't to be as they finally went down to a 41-36 defeat, with Mauger and Autrey each plundering 12-point maximums for the victorious Falcons.
Bouchard, meanwhile, rode manfully to notch a 4-point tally, but the question remained unanswered as to just how on Earth he and Hunter managed to drive a car the distance they did, in the condition it was in?
Geoff continued to progress the following term, moving his league average up to 5.96, prior to the next two seasons (1977-78) seeing him as an ever-present and consistent performer in the side. Fittingly, against his hometown team, Leicester, he recorded his first-ever Swindon maximum on 8 April 1978. This was something that his efforts over the years had merited and the supporters were over the moon for him.
Ever-loyal, Bouchard stayed on board with the Robins in 1979, and his scoring remained consistent. Regrettably, though, on Tuesday 28 August that year, in a Midland Cup match - ironically at Leicester - he crashed in his first race and was taken to hospital with injuries to his ribs, plus a punctured lung. Unfortunately, the damage was serious enough to spell the end of his riding career.
Many Swindon fans still talk about Geoff with great admiration and they were delighted to see him back in the saddle at Blunsdon on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee meeting, staged on 9 September 1999. Mounted on an old Weslake, he took everyone back in time with his old familiar style as he completed two races in a special vintage match against Oxford in the second-half of the meeting.
He still pops up to the Abbey from time to time, his most recent visits being for the Malcolm Holloway Farewell in 2005 and the Mike Broadbank Benefit in 2006.
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DATE OF BIRTH: 5 September 1948, Leicester, Leicestershire.
In fact, he first rode for Swindon on 4 August 1973, when a British League double-header was staged at Blunsdon. With Clive Hitch out of action, Geoff was handed the No. 7 race-jacket for the first of the evening's two matches versus Sheffield, and he went on to collect 7 points from five starts in what was a very satisfactory showing.
Ever-loyal, Bouchard stayed on board with the Robins in 1979, and his scoring remained consistent. Regrettably, though, on Tuesday 28 August that year, in a Midland Cup match - ironically at Leicester - he crashed in his first race and was taken to hospital with injuries to his ribs, plus a punctured lung. Unfortunately, the damage was serious enough to spell the end of his riding career.
