Ask Stan Luck

 I am delighted to have that stalwart of the South East STAN LUCK as my latest guest.

Stan: Thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions for the many fans that still remember you from the past:

1:       You first began your career in 1960 aged 20 and I believe started out on JAPs before switching to Hagons in 1962. Who built your early bikes?

A: I started when I was 21, as I was in Guys Hospital for ten months when I was 17-18 years old, after an operation on my spine.  My first bikes were my very own efforts, which were not very good! The Hagons were like riding in an armchair.

2:     You and Brother in Law Tony Black, first came to my attention at the 1964 Sleaford Nationals. Although not selected for the SE Team (Luckhurst/Godden/Angear/Simmonds) you both rode in the individual races, Tony getting a 4th and you a 6th in the 350 Final. What do you recall of that September day?

A: Not very much I’m afraid. I was just pleased to be in the Nationals and riding against all the top riders of the day.

3:      The following year at Bocking you again just rode in the Individual Championship races, getting a 2nd to DVG in the 500s, ahead of Luckhurst-Maxted-Simmonds and Alf Hagon. Did this result ask you to question why you were not selected again for the SE Team?

A: Not really as the South East could field a very strong team.

4:       Your style of riding was very much ‘keep it tight on the line and make them go round me’ much like Tig Perry. Would it be true to say that you ‘ignored fancy riding and concentrated on finishing’? Was this a concisions decision?

A: The main reason that I rode that way was that I was trying to copy Alf Hagon’s style of riding. It was also easier because of the problems with my back.

5:          During the years of the ‘multi-round Championships from 1966 till your retirement in 1973, you scored at regular intervals getting a 2nd in the 350s in 1967 and 3rd in 1968. Why do you think you went better on a 350, and did you find the system confusing as the format changed from year to year?

A: I liked riding the 350, but I also had some good results on the 500. I was the 500 SE Champion, and got a 2nd & 4th in the Nationals on the 500. The scoring system WAS confusing, but it did not bother me too much.

6:       The 350 Final at Rhodes Minnis in 1967 was controversial in that you ‘won’ the 350 title but ‘lost it’ after a protest for clipping a marker flag. What was that all about?

A: It was all on the last corner in the third leg. It was a bit dusty coming up the hill, the sun was setting and getting low and in your eyes. I went inside of two flags un-intentionally.

7:       You had some good races at the early Lydden meetings scraping with the likes of Neil Smith and Bill Hayward. How did you like riding at the Boarded track?

A: I loved it, as it was such a good meeting, well-organised and attracted good crowds.

8:       You at last achieved your ambition of being the National 350 Champion with 14 points, at that ill-fated meeting at Bocking on Sept 23rd 1973. If I recall there was talk of the meeting being abandoned (in fact the sidecar crews withdrew as a mark of respect) but the solos completed all 3 legs. There were press reports at the time that Tony had done ‘some work’ on the motor for that meeting. What had he done to give you that edge on the day?

A: I was on my own 350 bike that day. I rode Tony Black’s bike at the Rhodes Minnis Nationals in 1967.

9:       You I think once said that you were never going to get sponsorship because ‘I’m just not spectacular enough’. Do you think that had you gone onto ride in 1974 as a Champion that would have changed?

A: No, I don’t think so as I was happy to make my own decisions.

10:     Do you ever go to meetings nowadays, and if so who has caught your eye?

A: I only go to about two meetings a year and Paul Hurry is the man to beat.

Thank you Stan and for that interesting insight into your riding career:

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