Your question jogged my memory.
In 1972 I was unfortunate enough to spend a number of days in hospital having my tonsils removed (not to be recommended when you reach adulthood). I was in a ward with mainly children. I saw three lots come and go because I was quite poorly for a few days. However, also in my ward for some of that time was a chap called Garry Middleton. He was an Australian speedway rider who had come to the UK to ply his trade. We shared a few laughs and cheered each other up ( I believe Garry was in for some throat problem as well).
I don't know if this was your time in the sport, thesecondlaw. Just looking him up I note that Garry rode for both Wimbledon Dons and Hackney Hawks . I wasn't into speedway but Garry told me quite a bit about his sport (mainly in a very croaky voice as neither of us could speak all that well at the time!). I also note sadly that he died in 1994 aged just 46:
http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Garry_Middleton?lang=en