Comets boss is the man who sold ice speedway to the Middle East

Workington Comets’ new boss was born in the small village of Chirk, in North Wales and has remained there for all of his 52 years, except when he was travelling the world doing what he does best - speedway.

But he does have one educational feat of which he is proud. He went to St Martin’s School where renowned golfer Ian Woosnam was educated.

He left school to go to college but that was less than successful.

“I was doing an engineering apprenticeship and being put through college by my employer. I was also just starting out as a speedway professional.

“I asked him for a day off because I had an important speedway event. I was told I couldn’t attend so I took the day off.”

When he came back to work his employer asked him why he was off and he said he had been sick.

The employer produced a copy of that day’s Daily Mirror - with an article about Graham’s ride the previous day.

“He told me I had to decide whether I wanted to be an engineer or a speedway rider. I left.”

He spent the next few years with various clubs, including Belle Vue, Rochdale, Ellesmere Port, Crewe and Hull.

He represented England and was the only Englishman to ever win the German league championship medal during three years riding for Hamburg.

However, he says he was really a journeyman - a steady rider who was happy to abide by his contract and ride to the best of his ability.

He has managed to make a living from speedway but said he was not in the top league where riders became rich.

New Zealander Ivan Mauger became a multi-millionaire, for instance, while the Polish speedway champion is also that country’s highest paid sportsman.

He was a rider, but Graham Drury has always been a bit of a promoter at heart and he has not always looked to the obvious.

He devised a completely new sport, speedway racing on ice.

“You have to give the fans something when there is no racing on. We decided to try ice racing.

“I developed special wheels with spikes to grip the ice and it took off. In February we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of speedway on ice.”

The sport has taken him all over the world including to the most unlikely place for ice events of any kind - the Middle East.

It was while he was involved in this new sport that he was approached by Tony Mole, Workington Comets’ owner, who invited him to become promoter for his club in Nottingham.

He spent three years at Nottingham until the land was sold for redevelopment. He then moved to another Mole club, Mildenhall, which became the most successful in the Conference League.

He has come to Workington from Mildenhall and said he would not be here if he did not think the future was bright for the Comets and that the league championship was achievable.

“It will not happen overnight. We are trying to build the foundation now but what I am aiming to ensure is that when families come to Derwent Park they will be entertained from the time they come in until the time they leave. They will feel they have had value for money.”

Graham Drury is not doing all this on his own, though.

His wife, Denise, has been co-promoter with him since the beginning and supported him throughout his career.

She has been the one who has stayed home and manned the office and looked after the children while he was abroad ensuring that events were being promoted and running smoothly.

Denise has had plenty of time to get used to speedway and to develop her own love and understanding of the sport.

The couple have been going together since they were 13 and will have been married for 30 years in February.

As Graham has stayed close to home, so have his children. The couple have a son and a daughter, both living within 100 yards of their parents.

Their son, Kevin, was a champion athlete at school until he damaged his ankle. As a young child he showed an interest in motorbikes but it was one his father was not keen to encourage.

“I was around bikes all the time and I really would have preferred that Kevin did not want to follow in my footsteps, even though I love the job.

“We bought him a little bike when he was five. He loved it but he then decided he wanted a canoe.

“He came from school one day and I told him I had bad news - I had sold the bike - and good news - I’d bought him a canoe. He was quite happy.”

Kevin now works as a tree surgeon and left school with slightly more qualifications than his father.

Their daughter Helen was a secretary but is now happily married and mother to two of the couple’s three grandchildren.

And the grandchildren are even more important that speedway.

“They are my hobby now.”

Golf is up there too, though and he is also kept busy as chairman of the Oswestry magistrates.

He became a magistrate in the early 1980s when he developed an interest in the law by suing the club for which he was working at the time.

“I had just returned from Germany in 1981 and began riding for Oxford.

“I had signed a two-year contract but was dropped by the new manager at the end of 12 months.”

He said when he asked about his contract he was told that the club would not abide by it so he sued.

He said: “I was quite successful and got a fair bit of money but, more than that, I became really interested in the law and the way it worked.”

Not long afterwards, a local solicitor asked if he would be interested in becoming a magistrate.

He said he loves the work which has earned him the name “The Judge” in speedway circles.

His focus now, however, is on the Comets and discovering how far he can take them.

Those involved in the sport understand his role but to those on the outside, it probably comes as something of a surprise to know what is involved in managing a speedway team.

Choosing riders, planning tactics and setting goals is only part of his work.

A speedway manager is called a promoter because that is a big part of his job. It is up to him to ensure that there is a venue and that people come. He must promote the sport and keep it viable.

That is not a hard job for a man who managed to sell speedway on ice to the hottest part of the world - especially not when his childhood sweetheart is there to help him.