Murray Burt

Murray came to the UK in 1967 after a few seasons riding in his native New Zealand. He signed for Wimbledon and got an extensive run with them but found the points hard to come by. When he subsequently lost his team place to Garry Middleton, he moved on to Newcastle for the final months of the season. Mike Parker kept him in his stable by signing him up for his Nelson team in the inaugural Second Division while also turning out for the Diamonds in the top tier. With his greater experience, he quickly became a top man in the new division. He finished runner up to Ken Eyre in the Second Division Riders Championship at Hackney, ruing a second ride fall which may well have cost him the title. A badly broken leg sustained in a track crash in July 1969 ended his career. On returning home he took up speed car racing with some success.

 

James Bond

James was a notable cycle speedway rider with Sutton Coldfield Stars and also rode in grass track events before getting into speedway following his national service, during which he performed with the Royal Signals Display team. He second halved at  Monmore Green for a couple of years before breaking into the team in 1963, playing his part in the Wolves PL title win that year. He progressed steadily and coped with the leagues amalgamating in 1965. By 1968 he was the second heat leader for the Wolves and finished third in the Midland Riders Championship at Coventry. 1969 was to prove to be his highwater mark in the sport, riding for England against Australia but he struggled the following year. An early season accident in 1971 – he suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung – meant he missed a chunk of that season. He joined Swindon on his recovery but never found his old form, retiring at the end of 1972. He tried again in 1974, riding for Long Eaton in the Second Division but retired for good at the end of the year.

His name attracted a lot of attention, given the popularity of his fictional namesake at the time, all of which he took in good part.