SEPTUAGENARIAN speed demon Peter White has been writing about legends of the race track for almost half a century.
Now the 70-year-old speedway racing identity has been hailed as a legend himself, after being inducted into the Speedway Hall of Fame.
The past competitor, Australian and NSW team manager, journalist and author from the western Sydney suburb of Sefton said being inducted into the hall of fame was the highlight of his speedway career.
“I’m so proud of this award. It is a fabulous honour,” he said.
Mr White raced a solo motor-cycle at Kembla Grange near Wollongong in the early 1960s and was a sidecar rider at the Sydney Showground for five years in the mid-’60s with former Australian champion Geoff Grocott.
He is also a former referee, official, tour organiser, promoter and track photographer at Valvoline Raceway (the old Parramatta Speedway) in Granville.
However, his most significant contribution to the sport has been as a journalist.
Mr White has been the UK Speedway Star’s Australian correspondent for the past 47 years and has published his own newspaper, Speedway World, for 30 years – a record in the sport.
A retired teacher, he has published two books about the legends of Australian speedway racing and is now preparing his autobiography.
Mr White was one of five inductees to join the previous 41 members of the Speedway Hall of Fame, who include past world champions Lionel Van Praag, Bluey Wilkinson and Jack Young.
