Barry Briggs: Wembley and Beyond (From Swindon Advertiser)

Barry Briggs: Wembley and Beyond

9:55am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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BARRY Briggs is known to speedway fans the world over as one of the greatest and naturally gifted riders the sport has ever produced.

Therefore one could forgive Briggo for highlighting the on-track battles he so famously shared with the likes of Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger - two men he counts as close friends.

In Wembley and Beyond, however, Briggs shys away slightly regurgitating the phenomenal statistics of an extraordinary career, instead illuminating the reader to the equally extraordinary life he pursued off the shale.

It is a story which captures the heart and provides an adrenaline kick in equal measure.

The tragic loss of wife June to cancer makes up a poignant part of the narrative, as does the accident which led to son Tony's paralysis.

Meeting Briggs for the first time at a dinner held in his honour at the De Vere Hotel back in December, it was evident from our discussion of his latest work that writing had been something of a healing process for him.

Both instances, but particularly the passing of his wife, had left the great speedster with a hollow which needed filling.

In a way, the sharing of his grief enabled Briggs to find solace, alongside the love of new wife Jan.

This is the first book Briggs has written entirely himself, and there is a voice in the text which allows the reader to associate themselves personally to the author - something a ghostwritten autobiography, in all its formulaic formality, fails to address.

And there is much to be inspired by away from the elements of sadness and tragedy.

Briggs tells a quite unbelievable succession of stories which circumnavigate the globe in their geography and truly baffle in their diversity.

The accounts of Briggo's personal relationships with Bernie Ecclestone and Evel Knievel are fascinating. As is the bizarre tale of teaching Steve McQueen how to slide a speedway bike. Imagine 'The Great Escape' if Barry Briggs had been a theatrical consultant.

Briggs resists name-dropping, focusing on intimate moments and terrific adventures. I challenge any speedway rider, past, present or future, to work into their autobiography a chapter on diamond mining in deepest, darkest Liberia.

But Briggs, astonishingly, has even this on his endless CV.

Moreover, he was mixed up in a coup which left him staring down the barrel of an unfriendly AK-47.

There are tales of racing in Japan, New York and of course Plough Lane in Wimbledon. There is a lesson in how to acquire a £43 million fortune in the space of a day, but lose it before breakfast the next morning. There is the discussion of how to promote Formula One racing in Las Vegas.

It is necessary, when reading Wembley and Beyond, to get off and take a breath every once in a while due to the sheer velocity of Briggs' spontaneous and action-packed endeavours.

Once you've reached the end, however, you'll have enjoyed the rollercoaster life of a great sportsman and incredible human being.

Wembley and Beyond is available now at http://www.speedwaystar.net