Due to contractual and sponsorship problems, Per Jonsson missed the first six matches of the 1994 season and the Racers had to rely on guests and short term replacement, Jeremy Doncaster, at number one.
Jonsson returned to Smallmead for the British League match against Ipswich on 25 April 1994, but found some difficulty with the newly introduced dirt deflectors. He was beaten into second place by Doncaster(twice) and Chris Louis, in three of his five rides total of 12 points, for the match.
The following week, on 2 May, he recorded a faultless 15 point maximum, the first of many in what turned out to be the start of a record run of unbeaten rides around the Smallmead track.
During the next five weeks, Johnson remained unbeaten in four British League and one K.O. Cup matches at Smallmead, covering another 26 rides including a Run-off(for the bonus point) win over Jason Crump, in the match against Poole on 30 May.
The closest Jonsson came to losing his unbeaten sequence was in his third ride of the match against Wolverhampton, when he dead-heated with Peter Karlsson. But, to emphasise his superiority, Jonsson beat Karlsson twice in his remaining two races of the match!
Going into the 4 team Tournament match, against Eastbourne, Ipswich and Poole, on 20 June - in what turned out to be his final appearance at Smallmead – Jonsson’s unbeaten run had extended to 31 races. He had little difficulty in seeing-off Dave Norris, Mitch Shirra and Jason Crump, in his first three rides, but Martin Dugard(Eastbourne) and Chris Louis(Ipswich ) beat him into third place, in his final race at Smallmead.
However, Racers fans will remember his record run of 34 unbeaten rides, on his home track, which is a record unlikely to be beaten by any present or future rider in the top flight of the British League or, indeed, in World Speedway.
Amongst the many riders who had to play ‘second best’ to Jonsson, during his record breaking unbeaten run, were former Bulldog Greg Hancock, Jason Crump, Craig Boyce, Gary Havelock and Joe Screen. All of these are still riding, 13 years on, and Screen(Belle Vue) will be at Smallmead when Jonsson returns to Reading on 19 September.
Jonsson’s British League average, for the eleven League matches he rode in 1994, was 10.27 and his average for those ridden at Smallmead was an amazing 11.53!
Unlike many of the leading riders, Jonsson didn’t just ride for himself, he was also a talented ‘team’ rider and often nursed round some of his less talented or inexperienced partners and was quite happy to follow them home, for a bonus point.
My young son, Christopher, and his good friend Alexander(son of the late Andy Fuller, whose Memorial Shield is awarded to the Racers Most Improved Rider, at the end of each season) were just 11 years and nine years old, respectively, at the time of Jonsson’s crash in Poland and were heartbroken at the news.
A few weeks before the tragedy, my son prepared a special PER IS PERFECTION banner, which the two boys displayed on the back straight before every match, during Jonsson’s warm-up laps, and following his many victories, too.
The boys were photographed, by veteran lensman Alf Weedon, with the banner and this appeared in the Racers programme of 5 June 1994, for the match against Wolverhampton. Rather poignantly, the picture also features a smiling Andy Fuller, just to the right of his son Alexander.
How Andy would have loved to be at Smallmead for the return of Per Jonsson on Wednesday. However, Christopher Horsnell (now based in Luton) and Alexander Fuller( now living in Worcester), who are now 24 and 23 years old respectively, will be travelling down to meet their hero again, and show him the banner which has been recovered from the Reading Museum, where it was waiting to be included in their Speedway Exhibition.
I have, personally, seen all the top riders who have ridden for the Racers during the past 40 years and, in my opinion, Per Jonsson was simply the best and really was PER…FECTION.
Due to contractual and sponsorship problems, Per Jonsson missed the first six matches of the 1994 season and the Racers had to rely on guests and short term replacement, Jeremy Doncaster, at number one.
