Danger and risk of spills thrilled 70s speedway legend Terry Betts

New legends are set to be made at the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday – here Terry Betts, a legend from the heyday of the sport, reflects on his years of success on the track almost half a century ago.

For Terry, the 1972 World Pairs Champion, the dirt track to success began when he was just nine and being taken to watch speedway stars of the day in the early 1950s.

Now 74 and retaining a sparkle in his eye when recalling the thrill of the speedway track, Terry said: “I can always remember the floodlights, the noise and the smell of the Castrol R. It was unbelievable.

“I decided speedway was what I wanted to do. It was risky. It was a dangerous sport and a lot of people got killed in those days. It was the thrill of the danger that attracted me to it.”

That very first practice session on a track

Terry Betts, 74, a speedway legend.

Obsessed almost immediately, Terry practiced and perfected his speedway sliding technique on an old BSA until, at the age of 16 – the minimum age for racing – his father bought him a JAP motorcycle from rider Brian Meredith at Rye House.

“My dad took me to Rye House to a practice day. I’d never been on a speedway track, but I thought ‘this is easy’ because I’d learned to slide on Tarmac.

“Mike Broadbank was running the session and he said to my dad, ‘who does he ride for?’ Dad said, ‘it’s the first time he’s been on a speedway track’.”

Broadbank wanted to sign the wonderkid on the spot, but his father said it was too soon, allowing him to compete in an open meeting in a pair with Meredith.

“I crashed every race!” he recalled, admitting that sliding on your own was far easier than sliding during a sprint to the first bend in a competitive race.

“I loved the fact I could be getting paid for something I loved doing…”

Terry’s speedway racing leathers.

Terry got his break when he was spotted riding around the track after a Norwich Stars National League meeting and he was invited to compete in a junior handicap race.

“I went off the gate and won my race, and the next week they put me 10 yards back and I won, and each week they put me further and further back but I kept winning,” recalls Terry, who was then still only 16.

“My attitude was ‘I want to be a speedway rider and I am going to do it’. I loved the fact I could be getting paid for something I loved doing.”

Not that his speedway career was not without a few spills and broken bones.

“This wild and often frightening lad was going places…”

Reflecting on a racing career on the track.

Speedway journalist Dudley Jones remembers watching an 18-year-old Terry in action. He wrote: “This wild and often frightening lad was going places – if he stayed alive!”

“With Terry in 1962 you never knew what to expect, or whether he would stay in one piece.

“He was already the favourite of the teenies, and wore what appeared to be turned down wellies, with green and yellow Norwich football socks.

“As to style, I would best describe it as wind the throttle on and hold tight.

“It was at this time that I learned how to hold my breath for more than 70 seconds while I willed that Terry would stay on his JAP for four laps.”

Terry had the speedway world at his feet, but a row over money with Norwich almost saw him quit speedway for good.

“I started spending a lot of money having engines done and that’s when I started wanting more money. I said I’ve got to have more money or I’ll pack up.

“It was July or August 1963. They took me to court and I got banned for a year.”

The Firs stadium at Norwich was sold for development just over a year after Terry’s enforced retirement, but that ultimately opened the road for his return.

Betts makes a speedway comeback…

Speedway comes to King’s Lynn.

Maurice Littlechild and Cyril Crane brought speedway to Kings Lynn, taking the Stars name, their yellow and green jackets and the old floodlights from the stadium.

“Maurice came round and said ‘how do you fancy doing some open meetings at King’s Lynn?’” Terry explained. “I said ‘King’s Lynn? Where the hell’s Kings Lynn?’

“I still had the old JAPs I raced at Norwich and rode one in the very first open meeting in May 1965 at King’s Lynn.”

After more than a year out of the saddle, Terry won that meeting, and suddenly the word was out – Betts was back.

“It all went silly. All the tracks in the country wanted me to come out of retirement,” says Terry.

Boom time for British speedway

Competing for The Stars.

The King’s Lynn Stars duly got their licence and, with the amalgamation of the national and provincial leagues, it was boom time for British speedway once more.

During 14 seasons at King’s Lynn, Terry was the proverbial living legend, earning international recognition at the 1966 World Team Cup, finishing fourth.

The following year, he was knocked unconscious while representing England in Australia but he was back in action just two weeks later, and rode every round to help record a 3-2 series win.

As well as the World Pairs title, Terry was part of the World Team Cup winning teams of 1972 and 1973.

Terry’s 1972 World Pairs Champion certificate

He was granted a testimonial at King’s Lynn in 1975, and continued to be the heartbeat of the team. He competed in 649 meetings and was voted the best King’s Lynn Stars rider of all time in 2005.

He joined the Reading Racers in 1979 but raced for just a single season quitting after suffering a head injury in a nasty fall. He didn’t mind breaking arms and legs but head injuries were harder to mend so he decided it was time to hang up his gloves and helmet once and for all.

For many professional sportspeople, retirement leaves a massive void: “I was in speedway for 20 years, and it all went too quick.

“I loved every minute. It was brilliant, I earned a living doing something I loved.”

Read Terry’s story about how he restored the Jawa on which he won the 1972 World Pairs title with Ray Wilson in Sweden.

Who will follow in Terry’s illustrious tyre tracks at the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff on Saturday?

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