Any Forum members, especially you Brits, who followed Speedway Racing from the late '70s to the early '90s, may remember Kelly Moran. He died from emphysema in Huntington Beach, California last Sunday at 49 years of age. He was also born in Huntington Beach.

He rode for several teams in England from '78 to '92, and was a fan favorite at Costa Mesa here in Southern California. A 2 time US National Champion, Kelly rode both fast and fairly. I was a huge Speedway fan in the early to mid '80 on friday nights at Costa Mesa, and enjoyed cheering on Kelly and his brother Shawn from turn 3.

 

Bummer I was in the UK in the early 80's and went to many meets that he and his bro raced in.

 

According to Wikipedia, Kelly placed 4th in the World Championships twice, in addition to his 2 US National Championships in '83 and '84.

I've heard that Speedway in England is somewhat like baseball here in the US for popularity during spring and summer.

Kelly raced on these teams in England from '78 to '82 and '86 to '92:

Hull Vikings
Birmingham Brummies
Eastbourne Eagles
Sheffield Tigers
Belle Vue Aces
Swindon Robins

 

For any of you not familiar with Speedway it's:

500cc singles, mostly Jawa's
no brakes
no rear suspension
1 speed
about 80 hp
under 200 pounds

Tracks are oval and from 1/8 to 1/4 mile. Costa Mesa is 1/8 mile, which means they are in a power slide for over 1/2 of each lap.