In the year 2000, Phil Morris started off his Testimonial year in great style by winning the New Year Classic at Newport on 2 January. Phil continued his great form from the previous year, scoring 8 points in the qualifying round to grab a place in the grand final. There he made no mistake, beating Brent Werner, Steve Masters and Robbie Kessler in the final and celebrated by jumping in the pond on the centre green! Later in January, it was announced that Pat Bliss would be helped in the season ahead by Chris Shears and Bernard Crapper, former promoters at Ipswich and Oxford respectively. It was stressed that they would not be coming on board in a promoting capacity, but would help out in an official capacity on meeting nights.

On 6 February, the Southern Track Riders staged a meeting at Smallmead. It was a pairs event and although Seemond Stephens was unbeaten, the scoring system meant a victory for Adam Pryer and Gary Fawdrey. Phil Morris continued his great start to the year by winning the Speedway Star Pairs event, along with Alun Rossiter, at Telford Ice Rink on 13 February. It wasn’t an easy run to the Pairs Championship though, as the final had to be re-run twice, after Phil had taken a couple of tumbles. Wayne Broadhurst, who later went on to win the British Open Championship, eventually won the second re-run, but with ‘Rosco’ second and Phil third, it was enough to take the Pairs Championship. Sadly though, after those falls, Phil didn’t contest the British Open Championship, but perhaps he was just giving all the others a chance!

Things looked bright for the Racers to bounce back in the season ahead and a great team had been assembled, with David Mullett taking over as team manager while recovering from his horrific injuries. The ‘Italian Stallion’ Armando Castagna made a very welcome return to the Smallmead camp and he was backed by Per Wester and Testimonial man Phil Morris in the heat-leader department. Returning after a steady year at Swindon was Krister Marsh, and also back for another term was the ever-improving Paul Clews. The final team spots went to youngsters Marc Norris and Shane Colvin, so everything was in place and looking good.

The pre-season optimism came crashing down right from the start, however, when the Isle of Wight arrived for Smallmead’s opening fixture on 27 March, and stole away with a 47-43 victory in the Premier Trophy. On a night of problems, Armando Castagna only scored a single point and was unable to get his machinery going properly, while Per Wester could only muster an unconvincing 7-point tally from five starts. Reading bounced back with a 48-42 success at Stoke on 1 April, when the Potters’ Neville Tatum suffered four exclusions for exceeding the 2-minute time allowance and didn’t make it on to the track all night. The Racers’ fortunes soon dipped again though, with a 42-48 reverse at Arena-Essex, and then a 43-47 home defeat at the hands of local rivals Swindon on 17 April. A further defeat followed at Newport (42-47), before Exeter thrashed the Racers by 66 points to 24 at their sweeping County Ground home.

Reading then beat the Falcons at Smallmead, before journeying to the Isle of Wight the following day and earning a surprise 46-44 success. Things seemed to be back on track, but the Racers then travelled to Swindon and lost 39-52. This was when things really started to go badly wrong, for Per Wester took a nasty looking spill on the back straight in heat four and was ruled out of the remainder of the meeting. Although Per was back for the following week at Smallmead, when Reading beat Newport 46-43, he only yielded 5 points and looked far from happy. Per rode on, complaining of headaches as the Racers lost at home to Stoke and then defeated Arena-Essex, but he was clearly not the rider he had been in 1999. The match against Stoke on 8 May was memorable for what happened afterwards, when David Mullett received the biggest cheer of the night as he donned his leathers for an after-match practice session. Despite his terrible injuries and such a long lay-off, David looked as if he had never been away, as he stormed around the Smallmead circuit in his old familiar style.

The home match against Arena-Essex had signalled the end of Reading’s Premier Trophy fixtures, but with only five wins from their twelve matches, the Racers could only finish sixth in the southern group table. The league campaign began with a 50-40 victory over Berwick at Smallmead on 22 May, with Per Wester looking much better as he notched a 10-point tally. However, a week later, Sheffield forced a 45-45 draw at the Racers’ home, with Per struggling to score a 4-point tally. Defeats at Edinburgh and Berwick followed, before another embarrassing home defeat to local rivals Swindon in the Knock Out Cup on 5 June. Per Wester only scored 6 points against the Robins, and his evening included another frightening crash at the start of heat thirteen. Although the Swede took his place in the re-run, he was clearly far from fit and he stood down from the Reading team following the match.

Using David Walsh as a guest, the Racers battled hard in the second leg of the Knock Out Cup at Swindon, but a 2-point defeat meant an aggregate reverse of 87-93, as the Robins continued on their merry way. Guest riders became the order of the day, as Reading collected a 2-point home success over Newport, before suffering defeats at Hull and Sheffield. The racing at Smallmead was just as good as it had been the previous season, if not better, especially when the Racers gained a 47-43 victory over Stoke on 19 June. More defeats followed at Workington and Glasgow, as Reading struggled to find any consistency whatsoever.

Then on 3 July, Reading unveiled a new signing in the shape of eighteen-year-old Matt Read, who arrived on loan from Arena-Essex. The youngster notched just 3 points on his debut, as the Racers defeated Edinburgh 49-44, but the talent was obviously there and boded well for the future. There was then a two-week gap in the fixtures, before the Racers suffered a 43-47 home defeat at the hands of Newcastle, for whom Bjarne Pedersen was absolutely brilliant. Matt Read, unfortunately, fell in his opening ride, before running a last and then falling again in heat eight. Sadly, that was the end of Matt’s spell with the Racers, as he suffered a shoulder injury, and preferred to concentrate on grass-track racing, rather than getting back into speedway when his injuries cleared. Reading were forced to use the rider-replacement facility for the youngster, and defeat followed at Arena-Essex, prior to a depressing loss at home to Glasgow.

Thankfully, there was some respite from the stress of team matches when Phil Morris staged his Testimonial meeting on 31 July. Despite several withdrawals, it was an enjoyable and successful night, boosted by the appearance of a number of Reading’s finest from the recent past. As well as speedway, the large crowd was treated to sidecar and youth grass-track racing, as well as a football penalty shoot-out! Among the riders filling in for absentees was David Mullett, who made a terrific return and scored 8 points, including 2 race wins. Craig Watson went on to win the meeting, ahead of Todd Wiltshire, with Phil Morris finishing third in his own big event. Among those competing were ex-Racers Petri Kokko, Jeremy Doncaster and Ray Morton, but the night was all about the ‘Welsh Wizard’ and his ten loyal years of service to the ‘Winged Wheel’.

League action resumed at Smallmead on 7 August, and in order to fit David Mullett back into the side, a complete revamp was necessary. This saw Reading continue with the rider-replacement facility for Matt Read, while both Krister Marsh and Shane Colvin were unfortunately sidelined. With the sport governed by averages, this was the only permutation that allowed the Racers to accommodate David on his green sheet figure of 8.77. Taking the remaining slot at reserve was Lee Herne, signed on loan from Newport, while replacing David as team manager was Tim Sugar, back in his old role. Sadly, all the moves failed to work, with Reading falling to a 39-53 loss to a rampant Hull side. David Mullett, riding with a pin in his left thigh, got through his return match safely, though notching a win in his 6-point tally.

A win came the following week against Arena-Essex, as Reading found themselves only one place off the basement position in the Premier League table. The match was a personal highlight for Phil Morris, however, as he went through the card to record the first full 15-point maximum of his long career with the Racers. Things then got worse for Reading as Swindon ran riot, winning 58-32 at Smallmead, before coasting to a 62-28 victory at Blunsdon. The rot had set in, and the only victory from the next 5 matches was a 2-point success over Exeter at Smallmead on 28 August. Following an 11-point haul in that match against Exeter, David Mullett’s season came to a premature end as he had to return to hospital in order to have the pin removed from his thigh. Unfortunately, this meant that the Racers would have to complete their fixtures by employing guest riders.

The Premier League Riders’ Championship took place at Sheffield on 10 September, but in a meeting won by Workington’s Carl Stonehewer, the Racers’ representative Phil Morris could only muster 3 points. The following evening, both Phil Morris and Armando Castagna were on hand to present Racers superfan Emily Brakespear with flowers and a gift to mark her ninetieth birthday. The evening marked a rare Reading victory, with a 48-41 success over the Isle of Wight, but it was too late to halt the Racers’ slide, as they then occupied bottom position in the league. Reading completed their league schedule with defeats at the Isle of Wight and Newcastle to claim the unwanted statistic of finishing bottom of the pile for the second successive season, having won only seven matches out of twenty-six.

Amid pouring rain, Smallmead staged the seventh Test Match in the series between Young England and Young Australia on 18 September. It was a credit to all concerned that the meeting was completed and saw the English lads secure a 49-39 victory. As an indication of the atrocious conditions, the second heat was won by Swindon’s Mark Steel in a time of 77.62 seconds, which was almost 20 seconds slower than Per Jonsson’s track record, which was set in 1987! It is worth noting that the England side included the Racers’ own Paul Clews, as well as some of the sport’s up-and-coming stars such as Simon Stead, Danny Bird and Chris Neath.

It wasn’t all gloom for Reading in 2000, for they finished off the season with a 91-89 aggregate victory over Newport to lift the Severn Bridge Trophy, with the second leg of the encounter bringing the curtain down at Smallmead on 2 October. After initially struggling to find his feet, ‘Italian Stallion’ Armando Castagna emerged as Reading’s top man, plundering a total of 307 points from twenty-six league and Knock Out Cup matches for an impressive average of 9.12. Welsh number one Phil Morris carried on where he had left off in 1999, with 287 points and his first full maximum. Paul Clews developed into something of a thrill merchant, earning himself the nickname of the ‘Smallmead Master’, as time and again he came from the back. ‘Clewsey’ ended the season as Reading’s third highest scorer with a total of 182 points. The brave David Mullett managed only seven matches before had had to have more surgery, and an average of 4.39 would prove to be very handy when the 2001 team was assembled. David’s seven matches took his total appearances for the club to 405, just twelve short of Bernie Leigh’s all-time record.

Prior to the start of the 2001 campaign, spirits were further lifted in the Racers camp when it was revealed that promoter Pat Bliss had agreed a deal that would see dashing Dane Charlie Gjedde join Reading on loan from his parent club Swindon. The twenty-one-year-old had originally linked up with the Robins in 1998, before spells with both Coventry and Wolverhampton in 1999. A broken kneecap had forced the youngster to sit out the following season, but apparently back to full fitness and raring to go, ‘Champagne Charlie’ would undoubtedly add strength to the Racers’ top end. The remainder of the side was completed with familiar faces David Mullett, Armando Castagna, Phil Morris, Paul Clews, Marc Norris and Shane Colvin. The team looked pretty solid, so after two seasons of occupying the basement position in the Premier League, optimism was high that Reading would again aspire to their past glories and make a serious challenge for any silverware that was on offer.

The first track action of the year took place on 26 March, with the staging of an individual event, entitled the Smallmead Classic. This gave the riders a chance to shake off any rustiness and ease themselves back into the groove. To the delight of everyone present, David Mullett showed no ill effects from his leg surgery and rode well throughout, before roaring to victory in the final ahead of team-mates Charlie Gjedde, Phil Morris and Armando Castagna. The Premier Trophy campaign began the following week, with the Racers defeating local rivals Swindon 48-42 in a hard-fought Smallmead encounter. Reading’s all-round strength throughout was enough to see them home, and the result emphasized that the Racers were a renewed force to be reckoned with. Another narrow home win (46-44) followed against Newport, before a stunning 51-39 success at the Clay Country Moto Parc, home of new boys Trelawny. On a night of superlative racing at the 230-metre circuit, ‘Italian Stallion’ Armando Castagna shattered the track record, while Charlie Gjedde sped to a brilliant paid maximum.

Although losses followed at Arena-Essex and Exeter, the scores were close and Reading were confident of collecting the bonus point in the return fixtures. They certainly achieved that goal when crushing Exeter 64-26 at Smallmead, before going down 40-49 at Swindon, losing out on the bonus by just 3 points on aggregate. Quickly returning to winning ways, Trelawny were the next to get a hiding at Smallmead, as Reading chalked up a huge 68-22 victory. That particular match saw Charlie Gjedde collect a 12-point maximum, with the ‘Smallmead Master’ Paul Clews racing brilliantly to a paid 15-point maximum. With Marc Norris appearing at Wolverhampton in the Under-21 Championship, youngster Chris Schramm stepped into the Reading line-up, and as things would turn out, ‘Schrammy’ was soon to become a regular in the side. A 4-point defeat at the Isle of Wight followed, but the Racers then charged to a 59-31 success over Arena-Essex, making sure of another bonus point along the way. The match against the Hammers marked one of the turning points of the season for Reading, however, with Marc Norris stepping down from the side after deciding to take break from speedway. In the event, Marc was to miss the remainder of the season, which was a great shame as he had such potential, and many thought he was on the verge of a major breakthrough. At the time of his departure, Marc had completed just eight Premier Trophy matches, scoring 19 points for a 3.59 average.

In a break from the Premier Trophy, the Racers enjoyed a 99-81 aggregate success over Newport to retain the Severn Bridge Trophy. With 23 points over the two legs, Danish superstar Charlie Gjedde proved to be Reading’s top man, and it could safely be assumed that the starlet had indeed fully recovered from his horrendous knee injury. Back in Premier Trophy action, the Racers were shocked when the Isle of Wight came to Smallmead and stole away with a 46-44 win. The Islanders were to go on and enjoy a successful season, with most pundits labelling them as the dark horses and rightly so. Despite completing their Premier Trophy fixtures with a 47-43 win at Newport, that defeat at home to the Isle of Wight was to cost Reading dearly, and a third-place finish in the southern section table was not sufficient to see them progress to the semi-final stage.

In the Knock Out Cup, the Racers began well with a 45-45 draw at Arena-Essex, before completing a fine aggregate success with a 48-42 win at Smallmead. The league campaign then got underway, and with Shane Colvin missing after receiving a knock at Newport in the final Premier Trophy match, M4 neighbours Swindon forced a 45-45 draw, in a typical blood-and-thunder local derby that ended amid controversial circumstances. Charlie Gjedde was adjudged to have knocked off Robins star Alan Mogridge in the final heat, although many people, including Charlie himself, claimed there had been no contact. In the re-run, Swindon’s top man, Paul Fry, was joined by the aforementioned Mogridge for maximum points to give the Robins a dramatic share of the points.

With Shane Colvin back on board the following week, Reading’s Premier League hopes took another jolt, as pre-season favourites Hull became the second team in succession to force a draw at Smallmead. A 4-point defeat at Hull followed, before Reading received another bolt out of the blue, when Shane Colvin decided that his future lay elsewhere. Like Marc Norris before him, Colvin ended up sitting out the remainder of the campaign. Reading acted quickly and signed Tommy Palmer, who had been released by Newport. Shane would prove hard to replace, for he had been gating well and riding with more determination than ever before. When he stepped down, the nineteen-year-old had ridden in a combined total of fifteen official meetings, recording 70 points for an impressive 5.38 average. Sadly, although Chris Schramm showed plenty of promise, and the all-action Tommy Palmer harried away constantly, Reading battled on without the fire-power at reserve they had possessed at the season’s beginning. Home wins followed against Trelawny and Edinburgh, while a 4-point defeat at Workington was quickly forgotten when the Racers secured a superb 2-point success at Glasgow.

Defeat at the home of eventual Champions Newcastle was followed by a Smallmead victory over the Isle of Wight and another win at Trelawny, as the Racers maintained their challenge in the top five of the Premier League table. The quarter-final of the Knock Out Cup provided a rest from the rigours of the league, but Reading were shocked when a fast-gating Exeter side restricted them to just a 10-point victory in the first leg at Smallmead. Although Reading dug deep in the second leg, they were unable to stop the Falcons from swooping to a 12-point victory and aggregate success. Reading were then represented by Charlie Gjedde and Phil Morris in the Premier League Pairs Championship at Workington. The duo performed heroically, battling through to the semi-final, only for Charlie to be excluded for a tapes infringement. Unfortunately, that meant a place in the consolation final, but at least they had the satisfaction of finishing third overall, after seeing off the challenge of Exeter pairing Lawrence Hare and Mark Simmonds.

On 15 July, Smallmead played host to a Testimonial for Armando Castagna. The popular Italian had first joined Reading in 1989, and was an integral part of the Championship winning sides of both 1990 and 1992, so his benefit meeting was richly deserved. A well-organized meeting attracted a good attendance, who witnessed Australian Jason Crump take victory in the final, ahead of Phil Morris and Steve Johnston, while Armando himself pulled up with mechanical problems. Back to league action, and Reading’s hopes of challenging for the title went right off the rails on 19 July, when Paul Clews crashed in the final heat at Sheffield, suffering a painful broken thumb. Reading lost the match 40-52, and were subsequently forced to operate the rider-replacement facility for ‘Clewsey’. Although the Racers managed to win the majority of their home matches, crucial late season Smallmead defeats were suffered at the hands of Workington, Exeter and Newcastle, as the rider-replacement system failed to cover Paul’s rides adequately. The Racers managed one further away success at lowly Newport, plus a draw at Arena-Essex (the latter, ironically, with ‘Clewsey’ back in the saddle) on 21 September. They had missed Paul’s brilliant racing and scoring ability for fifteen league matches, which, on top of their other problems, had been one mountain too many for Reading to climb in 2001.

Paul had, in fact, returned to the track five days before the match at Arena, when he appeared in David Mullett’s Testimonial at Smallmead. David, who had adopted the nickname of the ‘Smallmead Bullet’ during 2001, was a most deserved recipient of what was actually a second Testimonial, having worn the ‘Winged Wheel’ with pride since first appearing for the club in 1985. His honours with Reading are recorded as follows: League Championship – 1990, 1992 and 1997; Knock Out Cup – 1990 and 1998; B.S.P.A. Cup – 1992; Four-Team Championship – 1993. In terms of Reading’s all-time records, by the close of 2001, David had taken his total club appearances (in league and Knock Out Cup) to 437, putting him into first place, ahead of previous record-holder Bernie Leigh, who had made a total of 417 appearances. With regard to to David’s special meeting, a good crowd turned out to pay homage and they witnessed an entertaining event, with victory going to former Racer Lee Richardson, who defeated Jeremy Doncaster, Phil Morris and Armando Castagna in the final.

The Racers ended the season in ninth position, and although it was a great improvement on the previous two seasons, it was almost as disappointing after so much more had been hoped for. Armando Castagna, who had announced his retirement from the sport, bowed out superbly, scoring 291 points to top the league averages on 9.10. Charlie Gjedde was next in line with an average of 8.51, and this would surely have been much higher, but for his inability to consistently get out of the gate on level terms with the opposition. Skipper Phil Morris had another solid year, plundering 199 points for an 8.46 average, while David Mullett well and truly proved he had overcome those terrible injuries (scoring 220 points and attaining an 8.26 average), as well as being Reading’s only ever-present rider. Mr Entertainer, Paul Clews, only appeared in thirteen league matches due to his injury, but he still managed to attain a solid 7.33 average, whilst Tommy Palmer finished with a figure of 3.56, and Chris Schramm averaged 2.87.

Finally, the home match against Workington on 13 August saw Reading introduce Australian Brendon Mackay to the side. The youngster came in on an assessed green-sheet average of 7.00, and in the event, he found this impossible to live up to. The potential was obviously there, but it was a struggle for points having started so late in the season, and Brendon ended up with a 0.94 average from 11 matches. However, with the young Aussie’s services again required in 2002, he could well turn out to be a real trump card, starting the campaign at reserve with a more realistic assessed average of just 3.00.


By Robert Bamford, extracted from Speedway in the Thames Valley (Tempus Publishing).