Post by administrator on Jul 15, 2013 12:04:41 GMT 1
On 13 May 2007 4.03am speedway legend Geoge Tatnell lost a battle with pancreatic cancer. This tribute to him appeared later. With acknowledgments to editor Peter White of Australian Speedway World and the late Jim Sheppard.
:::::::::::::::::
May 2007.
by Jim Sheppard for Australian Speedway World
GEORGE TATNELL will be remembered for as long as Australian speedway racing exists. Not simply for everything he achieved in his competition career, but for his ceaseless contribution to the sport he loved with a passion.George achieved so much. He was the first driver to win the Australian speedcar AND sprintcar championship, he won major races in stock cars, sedans and hot rods before the term sprint car became fashionable.
He raced and won literally everywhere in Australia and New Zealand – and he raced almost non-stop for the best part of 40 years.
He took self promotion to a new level, was a driving force behind opening the floodgates of corporate sponsorship for the sport and involved himself in the front line and behind the scenes of speedway politics. He pursued sponsorship and developed into a slick salesman who ensured his backers were always well rewarded – and not only with on track results. George developed his own media network and plugged his backers – most notably the Winfield cigarette brand manufactured by Rothmans.So good a job did he do that in following years, Winfield/Rothmans extended their driver and track sponsorships on a national level and became the biggest backer of the sport
To describe him as speedway’s human dynamo is probably an injustice. George was far more than that. He was an inspirational force who deserves an exalted place in speedway’s Hall of Fame.Promoters and especially Kym Bonython, when he was running Adelaide’s old Rowley Park track, simply could not get enough of G.T.Kym always ranked George second only to America’s Bob Tattersall as his greatest drawcard.
Forgotten now is how George was nicknamed ‘Gorgeous George’, a tag which the media loved. The name was obviously ‘borrowed’ from an American professional wrestler who made several tours of Australia and used ‘Gorgeous George as his ring name. It may even have been G.T. himself who came up with the name, but whatever the background to the story, George Tatnell used the name as yet another promotional tool, wowing the fans with some outrageous racing uniforms and many outrageous public address speeches which matched even the controversial American Garry Patterson who was to tour Australia in later years.
From the time he discovered stock car racing at Sydney’s old Windsor RSL Speedway in the 1960s he became addicted to helping raise the image of the sport and invariably at great personal financial cost. George never regarded stock car racing as simple Sunday afternoon fun. To him, it was an open door to higher ambitions. His humble debut behind the wheel of an old Ford stockie worked as the catalyst.
One car became Team Tatnell, with brothers Tony, Joe and John joining him in three more cars and wherever there was a meeting, they raced, bashed and smashed their way to whatever glory it was possible to extract from that humble base level of the sport.
In the fairly early days of hot rod racing, George was an instant star as his brothers retired to pursue more comfortable lives. He won a New South Wales Championship at the Sydney Showground and became an almost instant celebrity with his ability to win feature races from the last row of massed fields.
A move into speedcars was inevitable and when the ex-Aub Cherry, Johnny Stewart Holden Trackburner came onto the market, George knew he had to buy it. And not only race what was then one of Australia’s best speedcars, but to race it all over Australia and test himself against the best drivers in the country.
He reached the top so quickly, he posted his first Sydney Showground feature race win in October, 1966 – barely six months after his first open cockpit drive. From that night onwards, he ranked in the top five or six speedcar drivers until he left the ranks to pursue sprint car honours.
George won his first Australian speedcar championship in the 1971-72 season, by then driving an Offenhauser and he won the title again in 1972-73 and 1975-76 and was runner-up twice. He was a super star who delighted in taking everything to extremes, once designing and building a highly controversial, Offenhauser midget he christened the ‘Winfield Wedge’ It looked unlike any other speedcar in Australia, with chunky bodywork and a built-in rear ‘wing’. It worked – especially on pavement tracks – and inevitably it was outlawed by zealous officials.
He then switched to sprint cars, was third behind Garry Rush in the 1976-77 national title, runner-up to Rush in the title final at Rockhampton and then burst through to win the national title at Adelaide’s Speedway City in 1987-88, becoming the first driver to win the national speedcar-sprint car championship double.
With son Brooke even then emerging from the ranks as a top flight sprint car driver, George finally and very quietly retired to help with Brooke’s career. The rest of the racing side of the story is now well enough known. Brooke went on to emulate his famous father and win the national title and eventually emerge as a major force in the World of Outlaws circuit in the United States.
George ensured Brooke worked in the family workshop and garage businesses because he didn’t want it to appear that Brooke was getting everything handed over on a silver platter.
That he poured loads of cash into Brooke’s career is public knowledge, but do not believe for a moment that George raised money and simply handed it over. Brooke worked for every cent.
George had his share of dumps and injuries on speedway, once actually breaking his back in a hot rod flip at Westmead and on another occasion surviving one of the wildest end-for-enders in a speedcar ever seen on the old banked asphalt track at Sydney’s Liverpool City Raceway. That crash resulted in the only ambulance ride George ever had in his many years in speedway. The broken back sustained at Westmead was not detected until weeks after the accident!
Everything in the Tatnell family looked rosy until that terrible day in early June, 2006 when George was stricken with a massive stroke
There were no warnings. George looked and acted exactly as he had during his working life. He had always been a non-smoker, a very moderate drinker, never carried any excess weight and at 66 had the vitality of a twenty-year-old.
He was making a slow recovery when a cancer was detected.
George had accepted every imaginable challenge during his speedway and businesses careers. Fought and won.
He fought valiantly again, but this time, the odds were simply too great.
Speedway has lost not only a great competitor, but a a great man who was blessed with an understanding wife, Val and children he adored.
It is unlikely we will ever see his like again.
:::::::::::::::::
May 2007.
by Jim Sheppard for Australian Speedway World
GEORGE TATNELL will be remembered for as long as Australian speedway racing exists. Not simply for everything he achieved in his competition career, but for his ceaseless contribution to the sport he loved with a passion.George achieved so much. He was the first driver to win the Australian speedcar AND sprintcar championship, he won major races in stock cars, sedans and hot rods before the term sprint car became fashionable.
He raced and won literally everywhere in Australia and New Zealand – and he raced almost non-stop for the best part of 40 years.
He took self promotion to a new level, was a driving force behind opening the floodgates of corporate sponsorship for the sport and involved himself in the front line and behind the scenes of speedway politics. He pursued sponsorship and developed into a slick salesman who ensured his backers were always well rewarded – and not only with on track results. George developed his own media network and plugged his backers – most notably the Winfield cigarette brand manufactured by Rothmans.So good a job did he do that in following years, Winfield/Rothmans extended their driver and track sponsorships on a national level and became the biggest backer of the sport
To describe him as speedway’s human dynamo is probably an injustice. George was far more than that. He was an inspirational force who deserves an exalted place in speedway’s Hall of Fame.Promoters and especially Kym Bonython, when he was running Adelaide’s old Rowley Park track, simply could not get enough of G.T.Kym always ranked George second only to America’s Bob Tattersall as his greatest drawcard.
Forgotten now is how George was nicknamed ‘Gorgeous George’, a tag which the media loved. The name was obviously ‘borrowed’ from an American professional wrestler who made several tours of Australia and used ‘Gorgeous George as his ring name. It may even have been G.T. himself who came up with the name, but whatever the background to the story, George Tatnell used the name as yet another promotional tool, wowing the fans with some outrageous racing uniforms and many outrageous public address speeches which matched even the controversial American Garry Patterson who was to tour Australia in later years.
From the time he discovered stock car racing at Sydney’s old Windsor RSL Speedway in the 1960s he became addicted to helping raise the image of the sport and invariably at great personal financial cost. George never regarded stock car racing as simple Sunday afternoon fun. To him, it was an open door to higher ambitions. His humble debut behind the wheel of an old Ford stockie worked as the catalyst.
One car became Team Tatnell, with brothers Tony, Joe and John joining him in three more cars and wherever there was a meeting, they raced, bashed and smashed their way to whatever glory it was possible to extract from that humble base level of the sport.
In the fairly early days of hot rod racing, George was an instant star as his brothers retired to pursue more comfortable lives. He won a New South Wales Championship at the Sydney Showground and became an almost instant celebrity with his ability to win feature races from the last row of massed fields.
A move into speedcars was inevitable and when the ex-Aub Cherry, Johnny Stewart Holden Trackburner came onto the market, George knew he had to buy it. And not only race what was then one of Australia’s best speedcars, but to race it all over Australia and test himself against the best drivers in the country.
He reached the top so quickly, he posted his first Sydney Showground feature race win in October, 1966 – barely six months after his first open cockpit drive. From that night onwards, he ranked in the top five or six speedcar drivers until he left the ranks to pursue sprint car honours.
George won his first Australian speedcar championship in the 1971-72 season, by then driving an Offenhauser and he won the title again in 1972-73 and 1975-76 and was runner-up twice. He was a super star who delighted in taking everything to extremes, once designing and building a highly controversial, Offenhauser midget he christened the ‘Winfield Wedge’ It looked unlike any other speedcar in Australia, with chunky bodywork and a built-in rear ‘wing’. It worked – especially on pavement tracks – and inevitably it was outlawed by zealous officials.
He then switched to sprint cars, was third behind Garry Rush in the 1976-77 national title, runner-up to Rush in the title final at Rockhampton and then burst through to win the national title at Adelaide’s Speedway City in 1987-88, becoming the first driver to win the national speedcar-sprint car championship double.
With son Brooke even then emerging from the ranks as a top flight sprint car driver, George finally and very quietly retired to help with Brooke’s career. The rest of the racing side of the story is now well enough known. Brooke went on to emulate his famous father and win the national title and eventually emerge as a major force in the World of Outlaws circuit in the United States.
George ensured Brooke worked in the family workshop and garage businesses because he didn’t want it to appear that Brooke was getting everything handed over on a silver platter.
That he poured loads of cash into Brooke’s career is public knowledge, but do not believe for a moment that George raised money and simply handed it over. Brooke worked for every cent.
George had his share of dumps and injuries on speedway, once actually breaking his back in a hot rod flip at Westmead and on another occasion surviving one of the wildest end-for-enders in a speedcar ever seen on the old banked asphalt track at Sydney’s Liverpool City Raceway. That crash resulted in the only ambulance ride George ever had in his many years in speedway. The broken back sustained at Westmead was not detected until weeks after the accident!
Everything in the Tatnell family looked rosy until that terrible day in early June, 2006 when George was stricken with a massive stroke
There were no warnings. George looked and acted exactly as he had during his working life. He had always been a non-smoker, a very moderate drinker, never carried any excess weight and at 66 had the vitality of a twenty-year-old.
He was making a slow recovery when a cancer was detected.
George had accepted every imaginable challenge during his speedway and businesses careers. Fought and won.
He fought valiantly again, but this time, the odds were simply too great.
Speedway has lost not only a great competitor, but a a great man who was blessed with an understanding wife, Val and children he adored.
It is unlikely we will ever see his like again.