The Swindon Robins in 2000 - the "Crazy Gang"

Claus Kristensen who averaged 7.18 in 2000 and was a most personable and pleasant young man. Claus was always willing to meet the crowd and sign autographs. A good chap!	Dave Walsh guested for the Robins on a number of occasion at the end of 2000 and gained a more than creditable 9.23 average in the Premier League for the Robins.	Dave and the Knock Out Cup, our first piece of silverware for 33 years. Swindon beat Hull 59 - 31 in the first leg at The Abbey and held the Humbersiders to a 6 point defeat in the 2nd leg.	Moggo turned out for two league matches as a guest for Swindon, recording an 8 point average and securing a full time berth with the 2001 Robins.	Olly Allen was back for his second season at Swindon. Although very young, he displayed a maturity far beyond his years and ended the season with a 6.57 average.	Paul Fry had an outstanding year for the Robins in 2000. One of the truly nice guys of the sport, he became a cult hero with the fans both on and off the track.
But the Robins were always more than just a set of riders. One man, David Prowse, worked tirelessly during the season as Commercial Manager for the benefit of riders and fans alike.	Nathan Murray stepped in to fill the shoes of the injured Mark Steel mid season and thrilled the fans with his never say die attitude. His 4.31 average did not accurately reflect his skill nor his...	1999 proved to be an outstanding season for Neil Collins, and he was never able to match that in 2000 but he led the Robins manfully and provided many of the racing highlights in the season.	I must admit that I was taken aback when the Robins signed Martin Dixon but how wrong I was. He provided tremendous support to the heat leaders as well as being a thoroughly nice chap!	A poignant photograph. Mark Steel was such a talented young man. Tremendous riding efforts and a mature head on his shoulders. That he was lost to the sport was tragic; that he should die so...	Olly and Mark Steel forged what was the youngest and perhaps the most potent reserve pairing in the league and were largely responsible for our Cup successes during the 2000 season.
Fryer enjoys the banter with the crowd at the end of a meeting. Resplendent in his red kevlars, Fryer would often spend up to an hour chatting and signing autographs after a meeting.	And who could ignore Mr Toogood. Pete brought a happy professionalism to Swindon and subsequently the whole sport.	Olly, Mark and Claus celebrate on the parade at the end of the season, a season which brought back the smiles to the faces of Swindon fans. "The Crazy Gamg" were back in town.	The injury to Neil Collins preveneted him from joining the Crazy Gang on their end of season celebrations. What a year.	Swindon had started the season with Frank Smart as the number 1 but a random drugs test showed up a positive sample and Frank was handed a 12 month ban.

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