A heroic fundraising ride from Cardiff to Wroclaw for the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund had a dramatic conclusion.
Chris Morton, John Curtis and Derek Richardson had completed the epic ride but there was an unwanted interruption just before the Wroclaw Grand Prix on Saturday.
Chris was taken ill just before they went out on track to be greeted by the huge crowd and to get the reception they deserved.
He was taken to hospital and had an emergency hernia operation that night, as the condition was successfully dealt with. He has been in hospital since then and will be released today.
Fortunately Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund secretary Stephanie Babb is a retired nurse and she was with Chris throughout, and has stayed on in Poland past her intended departure date.
Chris’s wife Jackie is flying to Poland today. In the aftermath of the operation, Chris is not permitted to fly and so plans are being made to get him home by different means.
The other cyclists did get out on track, minus Chris, at Wroclaw and by that time they had been joined by five-time world champion, 91-year-old Ove Fundin for the conclusion of the ride.
SRBF chairman Paul Ackroyd said “Ove was the star of the show, signing autographs and posing for photos. They all got a tremendous reception on their lap of honour.”
Former Ipswich rider Savalas Clouting was another hero of the trip, driving the back-up vehicle with his colleague Gavin Rackham, and they are also starting the long journey back today.
The three cyclists – Morton, Richardson and Curtis had attended the Ben Fund Bonanza meeting at Northside.
Donations to boost the fund are still being received at https://gofund.me/e19faaab
