The Internationale 1966
By Tracy Holmes

'EMBASSY the best in smoking.' The Wills Internationale on May 30 went down to the wire as Barry Briggs and Gote Nordin faced off in heat 20 with 12 points each. Joining them was Wimbledon's own Trevor Hedge with 11 and the injured Nigel Boocock, right out of it on 2.

Here is how Paul Parish saw it for 'Speedway Star';

"It was Briggs from the inside who got away. Hedge and Nordin followed. In two laps, Hedge put more pressure on Briggs than he had all night but on the pits bend third time around, Trevor went too far and crashed. Nordin flung his bike down as men and machines disappeared in a cloud of dust. Mercifully neither was badly hurt. [ The race was stopped and Hedge excluded. ]

In the re-run, Briggs was beaten from the gate by Nordin. Going down the back straight, Briggs nosed ahead just as he had done in all his other races. But this time his momentum into the corner was just a little too great. Nordin siezed back the initiative by sweeping from outside to inside to nip under Briggs."

And so Gote Nordin took home the brand new Jawa leaving Briggo to wonder how his night had just gone up in a puff of Embassy smoke. Ove Fundin, now riding part time for Long Eaton as a favour for Reg Fearman, showed just what a powerful force he still was on the big stage. Beaten only by Nordin and Briggs, the Fox magic was very much still there.

Heat 1. Nordin, Nygren. Harrfeldt ret. Monk fall ex.
Heat 2. BRIGGS, McKinlay, Maidment, Mountford.
Heat 3. Fundin, Pratt, P Moore. N Boocock ret.
Heat 4. Hedge, Pander, Paulsen. ANDREW fall.
Heat 5. BRIGGS, Fundin, Monk. Pander ret.
Heat 6. Hedge, Harrfeldt, Mountford, P Moore.
Heat 7. Nygren, Maidment, N Boocock, Paulsen.
Heat 8. Nordin, ANDREW, McKinlay, Pratt.
Heat 9. ANDREW, Mountford, N Boocock, Monk.
Heat 10. BRIGGS, Pratt, Harrfeldt. Paulsen fall/ex.
Heat 11. Fundin, Hedge, Nygren, McKinlay.
Heat 12. Nordin, Pander, Maidment, P Moore.
Heat 13. Hedge, Maidment, Monk, Pratt.
Heat 14. Harrfeldt, McKinlay, Pander, N Boocock.
Heat 15. BRIGGS, ANDREW, Nygren, P Moore.
Heat 16. Nordin, Fundin, Mountford, Paulsen.
Heat 17. McKinlay, Paulsen, Monk, P Moore.
Heat 18. Fundin, Maidment, Harrfeldt. ANDREW fall/ex.
Heat 19. Mountford, Pander, Nygren, Pratt.
Heat 20. Nordin, BRIGGS, N Boocock. Hedge fall/ex.

Gote Nordin 15. BARRY BRIGGS 14. Ove Fundin 13. Trevor Hedge 11. Olle Nygren 8. Ken McKinlay 8. Cyril Maidment 8. Sverre Harrfeldt 7. Ron Mountford 7. BILL ANDREW 7. Arne Pander 7. Colin Pratt 4. Bob Paulsen 3. Nigel Boocock 3. Charlie Monk 3. Peter Moore 1. Res Reg Luckhurst dnr. Res Terry Betts dnr.

This article was first published on 9th February 2020