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1980 the first Official BMX Race in the UK at Redditch
August 30th 1980 the first Official BMX Race in the UK at Redditch, which was sponsored by Halfords, some of the keys guys involved in setting up UK.BMX.A – United Kingdom BMX Association and this first race included Alan Rushton, David Duffield (Halfords), Geoff Wiles, Peter Selby, Malcolm Jarvis and Don Smith. A select number of Dutch riders made the trip out to Redditch for the first event. History was made and the start of organized BMX Racing as we know it in the UK was underway. Reference: Gerrit Does universityofbmx.com.
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Interview – Mike Pardon
What year did you start BMX? I think I started bmx around 1980? I fixed up my sister’s bike, which was a 20’ girl’s shopping bike and used to pretend to do motocross over a track we had in local fields!!! The bike didn’t last long. I had been riding an 80cc Suzuki which my Uncle Paul converted to a field bike before that. I wanted to do motorcross but we had no money for that lark. A group of my school mates; Andy Bennett, Dave Westwell talked about a new shop called Alan’s in Hindley and also Halfords having something called a BMX bike. The brands I remember at the…
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Interview – Keith Wilson
How did you discover BMX? What year was it? How was your local scene, who did you ride with back then? Growing up in the outskirts of East London in the 1970’s was a magical time for anyone who rode dirt bikes due to the close proximity of Epping Forest and untold wasteland as a result of all the damage done in World War 2. The part of the forest closest to my house was littered with bomb-holes from German air-raids and as it was on a big hill. I was actually riding the bomb-holes as part of a big downhill track from the mid 70’s onwards. Around Late 1978,…
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1984 European Championships
European Championships, Birmingham Wheels, July 22, 1984. Superclass Tim March, Trev Robinson, Ludy v.d. Werff Super Trophy Tim March, Addie van de Ven, Andy Ruffell 7 & Under Open Chris Ward, 8/9 Open John de Lang, 10/11 Open Stefan Smits, 12/13 Open Dirk van Dijk, 14 + Open John Vile Girls 7 & Under Nadine Stevens, Girls 8/9 Diana Franssen, Girl 10/11 Corine Dorland, Girl 12/13 Gladys Vakkers, Girls 14/15 Sarah-Jane Nichols, Girls 16 + Anita van de Mortel 6s Edgar Busquets, 7s Chris Ward, 8s Roy van der Waardenburg, 9s Daniel Levy, 10s Stefan Welton, 11s Dean Bateson, 12s Stefan Nusser, 13s Ryan Ledebur, 14s Wayne Llewellyn, 15s Stu Diggins, 16s Pierre van Zuijlen, 17s Chris Jenkins 13 & Under Cruiser Dave Hendrickx, 14/15 Cruiser Mark Watkins, 16/17 Cruiser Jean Francois Lalli, 18/24 Cruiser Phil Hoogendoorn, 25 + Cruiser Peter Stiphout
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1983 European Championships
Round 2 of the 1983 European Championships in Dijon, France (Indoor). The 11-13 Open Final was stacked with UK talent. Stu Diggens took the win over Chas Smith, with Darren Wood finishing 3rd, giving the UK a full sweep of the podium. Also pictured is Wayne Llewellyn, who went on to win the 12 Expert class in Dijon and claim the overall European title for his category.
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Halford’s Mark “Whopper” Watkins – World Champion
Heading into 1984, the UK still only had 1 World Champion officially on record (Louis Mears winning in Holland in 83) and with the 84 Worlds taking place in Japan and with the European Championships on his home turf in Birmingham it seemed like the Euros would be the priority for our riders looking for international glory and most decided to pass on the trip to Japan. Still a small group of UK riders made it out to the Suzuka circuit which was close to Nagoya City for the 3rd IBMXF World Championships to date. Out of that small crew both Falcon’s Soap Dodger, David Maw and Halford’s Mark “Whopper”…
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NBMXA Nottingham National 1984
The NBMXA 1984 season opener at Nottingham was featured in BMX Bi-Weekly Volume 4, Issue 8. With registration, practice, and a full National featuring over 700 riders all set to be completed in just one day, the NBMXA crew was caught off guard. By the semis, they had run out of daylight and didn’t have floodlights. As a result, the race had to be postponed before the finals and was later completed as a double-header National later in the year. UKBMX regular Chris Simmons (Diamond Back), who at the time was looking to redeem himself in Nottingham after crashing out at the ’83 Derby British Championships, had to wait another day after…
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CV – Pete Middleton
Hometown Walthamstow, East London. Raced 79 – 86. Sponsors Ace, Skyway, Mongoose, ASR. Results Won the first ever race in the UK, Brockwell Park 1979. Won first money race (Isle of Man). Won first official UK Pro Money race at Landseer Road, Ipswich. Competition Early years, Alan Woods, Steve Gratton, Craig Burrows, John Lee. Later years, Tim March, Trevor Robinson, Geth Shooter, Andy Ruffell. Photo Credit Linda Rich
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Marcus Rich
Shot of Marcus Rich at Southampton we’re thinking 81/82ish. Marcus went on to become double British Champion in 1986 and UK BMX National number 2 the same year but for some reason never scored a Factory ride. PC: Linda Rich
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CV – Andy Please
Hometown Poole Dorset / Perth, Western Australia Sponsors Zeronine, Robinson, TNT Years Racing 1981 – 91 Competition Chico Hooke, Wally Pack, Sam Dovey, Simon Kelman, Tom Foreman, Robert Sprokholt, Daan Levy Results 5 x National No.1 3 x British Champion Euro Cup winner 1990 European Champion 2nd – 8th over 7 years World Championships 3rd in 1988 Photo Credit Steve Bardens