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THE SOUTH AFRICAN TOUR OF EUROPE, 1951
by Ken MacLeod
This first - and only - tour of western Europe by a South African team lasted for 10 weeks, and included 18 meetings in four countries (Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), although some riders also rode in Germany at the end of the official tour. Originally, it had also been hoped to arrange matches in Austria and France.

Seven riders made the trip: Buddy Fuller, 34, was the captain, and was accompanied by Toby Boshoff, Bob Raw, Maurice Fenton, Harry du Toit, and brothers Joe and Alec Blankfield.
Although Buddy Fuller was quoted at the end of this 1951 tour as expressing disappointment that the tourists only won 10 of their scheduled 17 matches, losing the Test series against the Dutch, the team performed creditably, especially as they were without four of South Africa's top riders: Henry Long, Bob Serrurier (both at Belle Vue), Fred Wills and Doug Serrurier (unavailable).

In fact, only Fuller and Toby Boshoff had any overseas experience, and then only in British Division 3, which led the Dutch, who had toured South Africa in 1950/51, to regard the team as not particularly strong. But as so often happens, someone unexpected rose to the occasion.

A late replacement for Doug Serrurier, and described by Fuller as being inconsistent prior to the tour, Bob Raw emerged as the undisputed star of the tour. Raw, whom Fuller described as a "full-throttle artist", clearly relished the European tracks and had his particular "finest hour". On the other hand, the fact that Joe Blankfield missed most of the tour through injury after showing good form following a late start in Denmark, Fuller also missed matches through injury, and Fenton suffered recurring bouts of hay fever, didn't help their cause.

At the end of the tour South Africa lost the test series to the Dutch, who gained revenge for their defeat in South Africa earlier that year. But the tourists appear to have suffered a lot of tyre and machine trouble in particular.

Off the track the tour enabled South Africa to cement already good relations with the Dutch (Len Rehorst of The Netherlands was team manager) and establish good relations with the Norwegians and Swedes. Several riders from the latter two countries were to tour South Africa in the next few years.

The tourists proved extremely popular with the Dutch, Norwegians and Swedes. Raw was chaired three times round the track by the home crowd after beating Basse Hveem at Oslo, and the Swedes invited South Africa back for a full-scale tour the following year. That tour never materialised, probably mainly due to personal circumstances. But the fact that the Swedes rated the South Africans as the equivalent of a British Division 2 team is an adequate reflection of the tourists' performance.

None of the tourists returned overseas, but it was not the last time they made history. Several of them featured prominently in the birth of (Southern) Rhodesian speedway two years later.
TOUR DETAILS
The team flew from South Africa on Sat 01.06, landing in London where they picked up new machines before travelling to Holland.
1 : Sat 16.06 The Hague (Rijswijk), Holland Windmolens (Windmills) 26 South Africa 45
No details available. Bob Raw won the Star Riders' Final.
2 : Sun 17.06 Rotterdam, Holland Feyenoord Tigers 34 South Africa 38
No details available. Tinus Metzelaar (Holland) won the Star Riders' Final. A competition for flying start lap record attempts was won by Alec Blankfield.
3 : Thur 21.06
 Amsterdam (Olympic Stadium), Die Vliegende Hollanders (Flying Dutchmen) 31 South Africa 41
Holland
South Africa top scorers : Bob Raw 9, Buddy Fuller 7, Harry du Toit 7. Bob Raw won the Star Riders' Final.
South African captain Buddy Fuller, having scored 27 points in the first three meetings, was injured at Amsterdam and missed several meetings, returning for the match at Bergen, Norway.
4 : date unknown Nijmegen, Holland Southern Provinces 31 South Africa 41
No details available
Bob Raw scored 40 points in these first four matches in Holland.
5 : Sun 01.07 Odense, Denmark Fyens (Odense) 37 South Africa 45
South Africa top scorers : Harry du Toit 9, Bob Raw 9, Toby Boshoff 8, Joe Blankfield 8.
6 : Thur 05.07
 Copenhagen (Gladsaxe 1ST. TEST : Denmark 35 South Africa 37
Stadium), Denmark
Denmark : Keihn Berthelsen 11.
South Africa : Bob Raw 10, Harry du Toit 9, Toby Boshoff 8, Alec Blankfield 6, Joe
Blankfield 3, Maurice Fenton 1.
Joe Blankfield beat Berthelsen in his first ride in the fastest race of the meeting, but in his second ride Joe broke a wrist when he fell, and was hit by two riders. He did not resume riding until the Tests in Holland.
7 : Mon 16.07 Bergen, Norway Bergen Vikings 30 South Africa 54
South Africa : Buddy Fuller 12 (max), Bob Raw 12 (max), Toby Boshoff 9, Harry du Toit 8,
Alec Blankfield 7, Maurice Fenton 5.
8 : date unknown Oslo (Daelenenga), Norway Oslo Phantoms 53 South Africa 29
Oslo : Henry Andersen 12 (max), Basse Hveem 11.
Despite a heavy defeat, the match was a personal triumph for South Africa's Bob Raw, who inflicted a rare home track defeat on the mighty Basse Hveem in the opening race, in a time (73.1) which was the fastest ever achieved by a visiting rider - and visitors had included Vic Duggan.
9 : date unknown Trondheim, Norway Trondheim 43 South Africa 39
No details available. South Africa had to borrow a local rider for these last two matches to replace Buddy Fuller.
10 : Tues 24.07 Burtrask, Sweden Swedish Northern Open Championship : 1st.Maurice Fenton
The South Africans dominated this event, filling 6 of the top 8 positions, with Fenton winning with 14 pts from Eskil Carlson on 13 pts. Attendance : 7,000
11 : Sun 29.07 Skelleftea, Sweden Umea 38 South Africa 46
South Africa : Toby Boshoff 11, Bob Raw 9, Alec Blankfield 8, Buddy Fuller 8.
This was the world's most northerly track, 83 miles from the Arctic Circle.
12 : Mon 30.07 Skelleftea, Sweden North Sweden 37 South Africa 47
South Africa : Bob Raw 10, Toby Boshoff 10, Buddy Fuller 9, Alec Blankfield 7, Harry du Toit 7, Maurice Fenton 5.
13 : Tue 31.07 Eskilstuna, Sweden Eskilstuna 49 South Africa 35
South Africa : Bob Raw 10, Toby Boshoff 6, Buddy Fuller 6.
14 : Sat 04.08 Falkoping, Sweden Falkoping 50 South Africa 34
South Africa : Bob Raw 9, Harry du Toit 6, Buddy Fuller 6, Alec Blankfield 5, Maurice Fenton 4, Toby Boshoff 4.
15 :date unknown Venue unknown 2ND. TEST : Denmark v South Africa : cancelled due to rain.
15a: Thur 16.08 Amsterdam (Olympic Stadium), 1ST. TEST : Holland 28 South Africa 44
Holland
Holland : Henk Stemen 8, Co Boef (captain) 3?, Tinus Metzelaar 3?
South Africa : Bob Raw 12 (max), Buddy Fuller 11, Harry du Toit 8, Maurice Fenton 5, Toby Boshoff 5, Joe Blankfield 2, Alec Blankfield 1.
The Star Riders' Final was won by Henk Stemen.
16 : Sat 18.08 Rotterdam, Holland 2ND. TEST : Holland 46 South Africa 26
(afternoon)

 Holland : Tinus Metzelaar 12 (max).
South Africa : Buddy Fuller 8, Bob Raw 5, Harry du Toit 4
South African team suffered five punctures during the meeting.
17 : Sat 18.08 The Hague (Rijswijk), Holland 3RD. TEST : Holland 37 South Africa 34
(evening)

 Holland : Henk(?) Dammers 10, Tinus Metzelaar 9.
South Africa : Buddy Fuller 10, Maurice Fenton 6, Toby Boshoff 6, Bob Raw 5, Harry du Toit 5.
18 : Wed 22.08 Hengelo, Holland 4TH. TEST : Holland 47 South Africa 24
Holland : Tinus Metzelaar 12 (max), Henk Stemen 10, Gerrit Jonker 8.
South Africa : Bob Raw 10, Harry du Toit 5, Toby Boshoff 5, Buddy Fuller 4, Maurice Fenton 0, Alec Blankfield 0, Joe Blankfield 0.
Extra: Sat 25.08 Olching, Germany South Africa 34 Upper Bavaria 33 Lower Bavaria 25
South Africa : Bob Raw 13, Harry du Toit 10, Joe Blankfield ?, Toby Boshoff ?
Upper Bavaria : Albin Siegl 15, Sebastian Wiesent 14
Lower Bavaria : Gerhard Hofmeister 10
The scores also counted towards an individual event, in which Bob Raw came third.

1951 TOUR AVERAGES
Matches Points Average
Bob Raw 18 163 9.1
Buddy Fuller 13 114 8.7
Toby Boshoff 18 129 7.1
Harry du Toit 18 129 7.1
Maurice Fenton 18 102 5.7
Alec Blankfield 18 89 4.9
Joe Blankfield 8 27 3.3
excludes Olching meeting
TEAM MATCH RESULTS
Matches Won Lost
in Holland 8 5 3
in Denmark 2 2 0
in Norway 3 1 2
in Sweden 4 2 2
Totals 17 10 7
excludes Olching meeting

Source material : The Star (Johannesburg), Rand Daily Mail, Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant, Stenners Annual 1952, Rhodesia Herald, Speedway News
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The author of this article, Ken MacLeod, was for many years the South African correspondant of the U.K speedway magazines Speedway Star and Speedway Mail.
e-mail Ken MacLeod

© Ken MacLeod 2005-08