Steve Naylor (red) in action in the first meeting of the double header

July 15th 1980 was a dark day in the history of Workington Speedway. The Comets visited Crayford and failed to beat an opponent in any of the thirteen heats. To add to the ignominy they didn't even manage to achieve the 'minimum' score of thirteen from the meeting.

The Comets were a poor side in 1980, their promotion were honest enough to admit that they couldn't afford to attract quality riders, there was no points limit to ensure an even distribution of talent in those days, and as a result they had to form a side of kids and cast-offs. Throughout the entire season they won only two league matches, home clashes with Canterbury and Milton Keynes, and finished fourteen points adrift at the bottom of the National League table.

The trip to Crayford, who were nothing more than a mid-table side, was a catastrophe from start to finish. The Comets were missing both Ian Hindle and Mark Dickinson from their regular side and had to use their already thin resources to cover four rider replacement rides.

A predictable 5-1 loss in the first heat, to the powerful Alan Sage and Paul Woods combination, was followed by the fateful 5-0 deficit in heat two. The Comets pair of Greg Irving and Alan Armstrong, making his first and last appearance for the Comets, both fell and were excluded by the referee.

The remaining eleven heats saw the Kestrels finish in first and second place on each occasion. For the most part the Kestrels made the gate and stretched their lead as the races went on. The result was seven maximums for the Kestrels and complete humiliation for the Comets.

Workington promoter Eddie Thornborrow was, unsurprisingly, upset after the meeting and said: "Yes, I'm despondent. The way I have tried to do things is not going to crack it. All Crayford had to beat was a bunch of sixteen year olds, by 1981 most of them will be stars. At the moment we've got First Division teams in the National League riding against my juniors."

Peter Thorogood, general manager at Crayford, was jubilant: "I doubt whether that score will ever be equalled, let alone beaten and, as much as we are delighted to have set the record, I must admit it was somewhat nerve racking seeing my side line up for each heat, especially the nearer we were getting to it. Now that we have achieved it, I don't want another match like that again, the racing was so processional and going for the record was the only thing which kept the fans interested."

The night was an expensive one for the Crayford promotion. The Workington meeting was the second part of a double-header, the Comets following the Berwick Bandits onto the track. The promotion had to pay out one hundred and twenty two points worth of pay to the home riders on one evening. This expensive night was one of the key reasons for the promotion selling up at the end of the season, the other contributory factor was a spell of horrendous weather that forced numerous cancellations.

For the record the points scorers were:

CRAYFORD KESTRELS 65
Steve Naylor 12; Paul Woods 12; Les Rumsey 11+1; Alan Sage 9+3; Laurie Etheridge 8+4; Mike Pither 7+2; Alan Johns 6+3

WORKINGTON COMETS 12
Ian Robertson 4; Wayne Jackson 3; Des Wilson 3; Kevin Clapham 1; Tony Brooks 1; Alan Armstrong 0; Greg Irving 0

 

Bryn:

"As Max Boyce would say, "I was there!". Whilst, in hindsight, it was pretty dire, as the meeting progressed tension levels in the Crayford side of the pits rose to almost unbearable levels with none of the Kestrels wanting to be THE man to drop a point.

A further point to note is that Tony Brooks was, in fact, a Crayford junior loaned to Workington on the night as their No.8."

Chris Young:

"Little bit of trivia regarding this Crayford - Workington match is that Alan Armstrong who failed to score is my Uncle. He has no recollection of this particular meeting."

 

 

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