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Post by Administrator on Aug 8, 2018 14:24:20 GMT
Forwarded message from Retro Speedway: VERY sad news from New Zealand, where former double World Champion Ronnie Moore has been diagnosed with incurable lung cancer after seeing specialists in his home city of Christchurch. The Wimbledon legend, 85, recently spent three days in hospital and is now set to undergo radiotherapy treatment to ease his breathing, although not cure his terminal illness.
Our thoughts go out to Ronnie and his family.
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stutowner
Junior Member
This is not a practise - do it while you can!
Posts: 70
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Post by stutowner on Aug 9, 2018 17:55:12 GMT
Sad news indeed. Fingers crossed for you Ronnie.
Stu & Sue
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Post by thelittleun on Aug 18, 2018 15:18:08 GMT
I saw Ronnie at my first meeting in 1955 when Peter Craven became world champion. As a born Dons fan Ronnie was always my idol and remains so to this day. To me Ronnie and Peter were the two most talented speedway riders ever and they were both modest gentlemen. It has been a bad year for speedway and especially for us Dons fans but greats in speedway will never be forgot.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 18, 2018 15:45:12 GMT
FORWARDED MESSAGE sent by Garry Cambridge‎ It is with great sadness we report the passing of Ronnie Moore MBE, arguably the most naturally gifted of the great World Champions. Sincerest Condolences to the Family and Friends of Ronnie. RIP Ronnie Moore.
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Post by Administrator on Aug 18, 2018 19:29:12 GMT
From Speedway/plus: Riders to Remember....Ronnie Moore By Dudley Jones Ronnie Moore It seems a long time now but I can still see, in my mind's eye, Ronnie in action in a world final at Wembley. Most will know that Ronnie was twice world champion, those who saw him probably feel that he could have had many more championships, if he had wanted to enough. A strange thing to say perhaps, but here was a supremely talented rider. Ronnie came over from New Zealand in 1950, and sought a trial at Wimbledon (he was actually Australian borne but had migrated to New Zealand). That Ronnie was possibly the greatest 'natural' rider ever can be deduced from his start in Britain, in 1950, at age 17. Ronnie scored a reserves maximum in his second team appearance for Wimbledon and by the beginning of May he was a fully-fledged team member. Picked to ride for Australia he was an international by July, qualified for his first world final and scored seven points in his last three rides to finish eighth. Ronnie went on to win twice and was one of the 'big four' who dominated the podium for a decade. Ronnie only ever raced for Wimbledon and he was a team man through and through. It is said that he cared far more about his team winning than individual glory, and that the world championship didn't mean very much to him. I first saw Ronnie in 1962, at Norwich, in the days when an elite few were handicapped in every race. Ronnie, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Peter Craven and Bjorn Knutssen were the super stars who started behind everyone else. Matches between Norwich and Wimbledon tended to be hard affairs, grudge matches. There was always tension, which sometimes spilled over. Above all this, and despite my unconditional support for the Stars, I could not help appreciate and admire this superb rider. Ronnie was magic on a bike. Sadly, Ronnie broke his leg in 1963 (but not before lifting the Malcolm Flood Memorial Trophy at Norwich). With that, and at the age of only thirty, he retired home to New Zealand, where he rode wall of death while recovering from his injury. Years passed without Ronnie, but we could read reports of this natural star down under. Ronnie was persuaded to fly up to North Island during their summer, where he would borrow a bike and leathers and participate in match races with Ivan Mauger, and this was when Ivan was at the height of his powers. That this man, match rusty to say the least, could put on a genuine show, on borrowed equipment, against a world champion like Mauger says it all, here was a legend. One of the high spots of 1969 was that Ronnie was persuaded to come back to Wimbledon. By then Norwich was closed, I had moved to Essex and found a new love in Rayleigh Rockets in Division 2 of the British League. Therefore I did not see Ronnie ride often. Ronnie started where he had left off six years earlier. 1950, Ronnie's novice year, was the only year in his British career when he failed to average 9 points (or nearly so, 8.96 in 1962). In his 'twilight years' in the UK Ronnie's averages 1969 - 1972 read 9.59,9.83,10.19 and finally 11.82 - what a man. I can still see Ronnie at Wembley, in red and gold leathers (black had just gone out but there were no advertisements). He suffered in those last finals from a mix of injury and the rapid ascendancy of Jawas over his Jap, but the skill still shone through. His mastery of a bike was such that he could switch from outside to inside, or vice versa, in an instant when hunting down an adversary, and often the rider in front had no idea where he was. I have never seen the like of it. Ronnie Moore, probably the greatest natural talent ever, and up there with the handful who can lay claim to being the greatest of them all. I consider it a privilege to have seen Ronnie Moore ride.. This article was first published on 16th July 2009[/b]
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