A large gathering of speedway fans turned out on a glorious sunny afternoon at Leicester yesterday to salute Kauko Nieminen who celebrated eleven full seasons in British Speedway.
The theme of the day was ‘Fun with Nemo’ and it was a Testimonial with a difference as there was an element of surprise to keep the crowd entertained throughout the day. Bogus start-line men disguised as girls before the real deal arrived on the scene to banish the imposters from the track set the scene for a fun afternoon. A wheelie competition during the interval that was surprising won by Kauko entertained the crowd and to round it off fans were treated (well the ladies perhaps) to the sight of a few of the riders completing exhibition laps dressed only in helmets, racing boots and underwear!
Oh and the meeting ended in a draw at 45 points apiece between a Leicester Select and a Kauko Select with an hilarious heat 15 that started with the ‘Select’ pairing facing the correct way at the tapes and the Leicester pairing facing the fourth bend at the tapes. The sight of two pairs of riders launching themselves off in different directions had everyone laughing and thinking what will happen next! Well the best was yet to come as Kauko Nieminen, Lasse Bjerre, Kim Nilsson and Rusty Harrison returned to the start-line and as the green light came on they all rolled forward into the tapes. Working to a script, referee Jim McGregor excluded all four and you could hear the gasps around the stadium as people thought this was for real. In the re-run their mechanics were placed on a 15 metre handicap and when the green light came on they had to sprint to their rider who was sat on his bike on the start-line and push him off. Lasse’s mechanic made a false start and on came the red light and in the re-run Bjerre was first away from the tapes followed by Nilsson, Nieminen and Harrison. The result was secondary as the spectacle rounded off an enjoyable day.
“There has been so much preparation behind the scenes to bring everything together and I want to thank everyone who made the day possible. So many people gave up their afternoon for me which I am grateful for and hopefully fans left the stadium with a big smile on their faces” commented the Lions captain Kauko Nieminen.
