Carl Stonehewer is still an iconic figure as far as sport in Workington is concerned, although it’s 14 years since he last rode for the Comets.
I caught up with him in his native Manchester this week to talk about those golden days as a Workington rider.
For starters Carl, just remind us how you got into speedway in the first place?
Well it was through schoolboy grasstrack as a seven-year-old.
My dad was friendly with Terry Beecroft whose two sons were into it and I had my first race at a track in Stockport. I started to go and watch the Belle Vue Aces at Hyde Road and I was hooked on speedway. I saved my money and wanted to buy this bike when I was 14 but my mum wasn’t keen.
It was £350, which was a lot of money for a kid, but I had saved about half and I remember my dad coming home one day and he had bought the bike.
When you got into your first one to seven team did your place fluctuate much or was it hard to nail down a race jacket at first?
I was in the Belle Vue Colts team and they put me in the Aces British League side which was pretty tough. In those days everybody rode in the British League, unlike now when the big money is in Poland.
In 1989 I started the season with a 2.0 average for the Aces and by the end of the season it was 5.59 so I had virtually ridden myself out of a team place.
I then had a year at Wolves before returning to the Aces and I was on my way.
Over the years, and I suspect in the early days, who gave you the best advice and you have followed throughout your career?
I think I have to put my dad up there at the start, because he got me going really and later as an established rider it would have to be Ian Thomas and Graham Drury, who always gave me good advice.
But there were four former riders who were very good to me in my early days. Peter Collins wanted me in the Belle Vue Aces team when I was riding the odd meeting for them, and I was mainly with the Colts.
Former world champion Hans Nielsen and the late Simon Wigg, an ex-British champions were both at Oxford and were always very encouraging and helpful.
So too was Erik Gundersen, another former world champion, when he was at Cradley Heath.
What was your first reaction when Ian Thomas approached you about signing for Workington Comets and did you know much about the place?
My dad and I drove up to Workington for talks and a look round. It was a shocking day weather wise, we were looking to enjoy all the views coming up and into the Lakes but it was wet, misty and we couldn’t hardly see the road never mind the fells!
We met at Derwent Park and when I saw it remember saying to my dad. This isn’t for me, it’s just like Exeter, my least favourite track.
Ian Thomas had to spend time persuading me to give it a go. In the end we agreed a 12-month contract. Of course it worked out brilliantly and by the following May we were already discussing the next contract, although it wasn’t released until the September.
I’d heard of the Comets as a kid in the 1970s but I knew nothing about Workington until 1999 when I signed. It was the best decision I made in the sport.
I have to say, too, that Ian was like a second father to me. We used to argue like cat and dog over my contract every year, sometimes over 50p, but once it had been settled he looked after me.
He was a proper speedway promoter, old school but knew what he was doing.
You were a star at Derwent Park for a number of years, what was the performance or match for the Comets that you remember most and why?
I remember that as clearly as if it was yesterday. It was a meeting at Reading when I scored an 18-point maximum.
But it wasn’t just the fact that I scored those points it was what happened during the meeting with my old adversary Anders Henriksson.
We’d clashed a few times in the past and I remember once chasing him across the centre green with a shovel after he’d put me off. This time it was heat 13 and I was battling for second spot with him when he went under me and knocked me off.
I got up walked across and lamped him one. That wasn’t all because a track official was giving me grief and I went after him. But when I got up I saw he was quite an old chap so I just put him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground.
I went back into the rerun and won so it had got me really fired up and I won the last heat for the 18-pointer – but I know a got a fairly hefty fine.
Becoming the first second tier rider to make the GPs was a special moment. How good was that meeting in Lonigo?
It was something very special. On the day everything seemed to fall into place and I felt so confident.
However, I remember ahead of my final ride that I only needed a third place to qualify. Ian Thomas came to the pits to talk and confirmed third was all I needed.
I remember saying to him that I didn’t know whether I wanted to qualify because Saturday night GPs would mean me missing all the Comets meetings.
He told me to make sure I qualified and he would sort the Comets meetings. I went out and won, and subsequently didn’t miss a Comets meeting as Ian had us running on a Sunday.
That was typical of Ian and I remember going to see his widow Dot after he died. We had a cuppa and a chat and I asked her if I could see his office where he used to do all his business at home. She showed me, and I got quite emotional because the only picture on the wall was of Ian and me after Lonigo.
To think that Ian worked with top stars like Ivan Mauger, Kenny Carter and Kelly Moran, but it was me with him on his wall which brought a lump to my throat.
You became a specialist in the Premier League Pairs winning it with several partners. What do you recall of those events?
Yes, winning it with five different riders was a bit special and I think there was something different about them all.
The first was in 1997 as a Long Eaton rider with Martin Dixon and I know it was a strange finish.
Martin had to drop out in our final race and although I won it we didn’t think it would be enough. But as it happened our nearest rivals suffered a mishap and we won it.
Two years later was my first win in Comets colours at Newport with Brent Werner. The track was in dreadful condition and I remember the riders had a meeting with the BSPA and the track staff. They were stood in a circle and I walked into the middle, threw my helmet down and said the track was a disgrace and I wasn’t riding.
I could see the reaction among the other riders and when the track staff went out to do more grading I said to Brent – ‘We will win this now’ – and we did.
The Comets won it for the next two years, both at Derwent Park. The 2000 event was terrible because it rained for most of the meeting and in those conditions it could have gone to anyone.
Fortunately Mick Powell and myself kept at it and were fortunate enough to win.
We did the hat-trick in 2001 and that was a bit special because I did it with a rider who became a big mate, Peter Karlsson.
I remember when he first came he smashed-up his two bikes and I loaned him my spare, only for him to bend that one as well.
I thought to myself ‘what has Ian signed here’ but he soon showed his class and as I said we became big friends so winning – fairly comfortably in 2001 was fantastic.
My last Pairs win was in 2003 with Simon Stead, who was going really well at the time. But on the night his bikes weren’t right for some reason and he was struggling.
I told him he needed to use my spare, or even the one I was riding, and he’d be fine. That’s what happened and we went on to win it.
You had a serious injury when suffering a badly burnt arm. How did that happen and was it the worst injury of your career?
It was definitely the worst injury of my career and easily the most painful.
We were racing against the Isle of Wight AT Derwent Park and I tangled with Craig Boyce in a racing accident.
My arm was trapped between his wheel and the mudguard and was burnt very badly. It meant a long time out of speedway – over 12 months in which I had three operations, skin grafts and painful physio.
Because of the skin grafts my arm wouldn’t bend properly and at physio there would be two nurses, one sitting on my chest and the other stretching my arm. It was horrendous. The other bad one was when I was a teenager and I crashed into the fence at Belle Vue and broke five vertebrae in my back which kept me off the track for six months.
Was there any special reason you decided to retire and how did you get back into it?
Well I couldn’t see myself getting back because of the arm and I said I was quitting in 2006.
But Kevin Little kept ringing trying to persuade me to ride in his testimonial. Finally I gave in and went up and rode. I actually won three races and enjoyed it so on the way home I contacted Judith and Michael Lomas, who ran the Northside Training track to see if I could have a spin round.
That went well and then Ian got me to have a spin round Derwent Park ahead of a meeting. Daniel Nermark had been signed to ride and the Comets couldn’t fit me in so Ian negotiated me a contract with Edinburgh.
Then when Daniel had to pull out of coming over Ian sorted it out with Edinburgh for me to re-sign for the Comets.
In 2009 I couldn’t fit into the Comets side so I went to Redcar but I had a couple of knocks and in all honesty my heart wasn’t in it. That’s when I decided to finish for good although I have to admit I think I would have gone on for a bit longer had I still been at Workington.
What do you think of the current crop of GP stars compared to your day?
Well there is a clear difference in shape and fitness because they are all skinnier and spend time in the gym.
Jason Doyle, for instance, spends up to 12 hours in the gym. I mean after I’d done half an hour I’d had enough.
But there are some outstanding riders and we’ve got some very good British lads – Tai Woffinden, Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley.
I might be a bit biased towards Dan as he’s an ex-Comet but I genuinely believe he’s going to get there. He’s been 33/1 each time and I’ve had a tenner on him because I am sure he’s going to win a GP soon. It would be terrific if he could do it at the British Grand Prix next month.