Royale Flush

Hooked on speedway in his early teens, hot summer nights meant only one thing for Jim. First was the steam train to Granville, meeting up with his mate Gordon Guasco to catch the red rattler to Central Railway, the bus up the hill to Moore Park, then follow the crowds to Sydney Showground; where the pair would hang as near as allowed to the fence, watching their heroes Bill Bryden and Lionel Levy. The excitement lasted until well past the witching hour when Jim faced the final long walk home from Wentworthville Station.

Thanks to Gordon’s skill with a paintbrush their Speedwell bikes became Speedways – cut down pushies on which the pair joined the ‘Skid Kids’ racing around Cumberland Oval, emulating their heroes. By the time they’d obtained their licences and joined Fairfield Motor Cycle Club these ‘Skid Kids’ had become the ‘Terrible Twins’. Though they’d made a pact not to attempt pro speedway until they’d mastered short circuit; it didn’t take long. At 21-years-old, both had notched up Australian Short Circuit Championship Titles. Jim had already had a shot riding Speedway at Westmead, first on a borrowed machine then on his own JAP; purchased for three quid. In only his second Sydney Showground appearance he won the