The Former New Zealand speedway champion and world finalist, Bobby Andrews, was taken to Middlemore Hospital on Saturday after one of the most serious and spectacular incidents in Western Springs track's 40 years of speedway broadsiding.
Andrews suffered a broken pelvis and a broken ankle when he was catapulted from the Auckland track to the concrete terraces.
A class field including four New Zealand representatives, the brilliant British international Mike Hiftle and the local rider Robin Fullerton lined up for the start of the open A-grade scratch race final, an event designated No.12A rather than No. 13.
Fullerton, as he had done so brilliantly in his heat, barrelled out from the gate ahead of John Goodall and Andrews but, as he tried to shut off his throttle going into the third turn, it jammed three-quarters open so he laid his bike over on to the track and slithered to a stop.
Goodall was unable to miss Fullerton and tumbled over him.
Then Andrews hit Goodall's machine at full speed and he and his bike hurtled towards the crowd. The machine hit the safety fence high up and fell back onto the cycle track , ( Western Springs had banked corners in those days) but Andrews went even higher and became tangled with the top steel hawser of the five feet high safety fence encircling the track.
He did a complete twist over it like a gymnast on a parallel bar, then sailed outward to the front terrace. He rose momentarily to his knees, then dropped back and lay still while the crowd sat in silent shock.
Andrews was treated on the spot by the track doctor before being put into an ambulance and sent to hospital.
Andrews was lucky though, in one respect - had he been 18 inches further around the track he would have hit a steel stanchion which holds up the hawsers head on.
Both Fullerton and Goodall received stitches in the ambulance room following the smash.
Last night Andrews was said to be in a satisfactory condition in hospital
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