Gary Havelock has assembled a world class field for this evening’s farewell meeting at Poole
Teesside shalesport legend Gary Havelock was as determined a rider as you could meet during his glittering 27-year career.
And the Eaglescliffe-born former world champion and England captain is just as eager to make his richly deserved farewell meeting a success tonight.
Marton-based Havvy, 45, was forced to call time on his career after a horror crash riding for Redcar Bears, the team he had captained since their launch in 2006.
That crash, against Edinburgh in March 2012, left him with an incredible 14 broken bones and severe nerve damage which means that even today he doesn’t have any feeling in his left arm from just above the elbow.
He admits he’s still in pain, has good and bad days and faces another major operation this year.
But that’s not stopped him assembling a world class field for this evening’s farewell meeting at Poole, where he is still a hero after a successful five-year stint at Wimborne Road.
The meeting will see two other former world champions take charge of opposing teams with Mark Loram’s Legends lining up against Tony Rickardsson’s Raiders.
Antonio Lindback, Chris Holder, Darcy Ward, Greg Hancock, Freddie Lindgren, Scott Nicholls, Maciej Janowski, Chris Harris, Bjarne Pedersen, Craig Cook, Davey Watt, Vaclav Millik, former Bears star Ty Proctor and Richie Worrall are all in action.
There will then be a second half shoot-out featuring the match’s best riders with some impressive prizes up for grabs.
“We’re doing 14 heats then two semi-finals and a final and I’m hoping the fans will see a great first half and an even better second half because the riders have got something to ride for,” said Havvy.
A clash of dates with the Elite Riders’ Championship put the meeting in jeopardy before the BSPA’s meeting was switched back to its original date.
Now Havvy can enjoy his big night and a 5,500 sell-out crowd has been mooted.
But Havvy said: “Anything I get I’ll be grateful for. It’s not as if I can go out and get a normal job now with this injury.
“Hopefully I’ll have a successful farewell meeting and it will go towards our future.”
No comments:
Post a Comment