Speedway star dies
Mauger remembered as legend and role model
TRIBUTES are pouring in for speedway legend Ivan Mauger, who died yesterday at Labrador Gardens care home, aged 78.
A Gold Coast resident for more than 30 years, he had been suffering from cognitive aphasia, a communication disorder.
After a storied racing career Mauger was prominent as a promoter of speedway events across Australia and his native New Zealand, as well as Europe and Malaysia.
Winner of 15 world titles and hundreds of international events and voted New Zealand sportsman of the year in 1977 and 1979, Speedway New Zealand chief executive John McCallum called him “the Pele of speedway”.
In the ’60s and ’70s, Mauger won the world solo title an unsurpassed six times, was three times world long track champion, four times a World Team Cup winner and twice world pairs champion.
Mauger’s children, Julie, Kym and Debbie, said they had been blessed to have had such a wonderful example of hard work, determination and tenacity.
“His love and respect for our mother, his care and concern for the three of us and for all our family and friends far and wide, his sense of humour and particularly his ever-present loyalty to his childhood roots, will be his greatest legacy for us,” they said.
“We consider ourselves lucky to have had a fortunate life as a result of his determination and success.”
Recently retired race star and Gold Coast resident Jason Crump, winner of three world speedway titles, paid tribute to Mauger.
“He was a role model for a whole generation of riders and set the standard,” he said.
“Then he came to Australia and did a great job as a promoter. I will always remember how he and the Mauger family were so good to me when I was a young rider.”
He is survived by Raye, his wife of 61 years, his three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.