July 25 Newcastle
July 30 Plymouth
August 3 Isle of Wight
August 6 Coventry
August 7 Berwick
August 8 Buxton
August 9 Wolves
August 16 Belle Vue
August 25 Somerset
August 26 Ipswich
August 29 Birmingham
August 30 Scunthorpe
September 1 King's Lynn
September 5 Glasgow
More pictures from Arnie Gibbons' recent trip to Norway, this time of the Lunner circuit in Oslo.
There's a mini-track on the centre green and Glen Moi can be seen leading an 85cc race.
"I'm sorry that I missed a line in the
Tom Black story. Tom won back to back South Island Titles. After his win in 1969, he won again in 1970 from Roger Wright and Merv Salt. Then in
1971, he was 3rd... Sorry Tom!!!"
"I went to the Shay quite a few times, mostly for the Dukes v
Aces matches. I saw some great racing there, and the banking certainly added to the thrill. I was in the crowd when Eric Boocock parked his bike across
the start line because he disagreed with the ref's decision ! Great days."
"I watched my first speedway at Barrow Bombers,
moved to Glasgow area in 75 and went to Paisley and saw half my old team there. I also helped out with the track staff either raking the track
between races and even getting to push start Ivan Mauger when he raced there."
"Boy, I bet this book that Micheal Lee
put out really gets down to the dirt. Should be a real good read not like all the other stars that keep everything quiet to make themselves look good.
I don't think there is another book like it on the market as far as controversy goes. "
"Any chance of a excerpt? I know other
books on Chris Morton, Kenny Carter, Simmo etc have appeared on this web site, it would be interesting to read about Mike, perhaps both positive and
negative views. I look forward to reading it hopefully in the near future."
Tracy Holmes tells the story of Kiwi rider Tom Black. Tom endured a miserable run of
luck in his short British career but enjoyed a lengthy career on the tracks in his homeland.
Graham Cooke from The Blunsdon Blog was part of the track staff
at Cardiff last weekend. Here are some of his pictures from the event and pre-event preparations.
This former Paisley Lion still enjoys the sport, but now from the safer side of the fence. Here he shares some memories from
his career and his thoughts on the sport.
Dublin based historian George P. Kearns has just published "Speedway History Revisted...The Early Years 1896-1928". Sounds like one that
will generate great debate amongst the speedway researchers out there! More details can be found
at georgepkearns.com
"What a SUPERB article by Jeff Scott.
I have been talking about this for years both on this Site and on the British Speedway Forum. Qualification for the SGP is an absolute disgrace. I will
say only this - once upon a time EVERY Rider from the LOWEST National League Team through the Premier League to the Top Elite League Team would have
started a Season looking forward to HIS chance to claim the ultimate prize in Speedway. I have mentioned many times Jack Young winning the Title as
a second Division Rider. He could not do this now - instead we have to watch the so called, HAND PICKED BEST Riders in the World Race for a Prize for
which a number did not even QUALIFY. Nothing to do with ability now - it's all about QUOTAS - if it wasn't - I doubt we would have a British Rider
anywhere near the Grand Prix. If we didn' t have any representation - how many people would go to Cardiff. Ergo the SELECTION process. "
"My first visit to Blackbird Road was as a youngster of
13 when The Hunters were the team. Fantastic racing with Harwood Pike, Lionel Benson, Jock Grierson, and many more, not forgetting Ron Wilson, the
father of Ray. A fantastic racing strip which was so fair that the home team had virtually no advantage. I went back regularly in the 1960 s when the
name had changed to the Lions. It was still a great circuit, and such a pity that CO sold it out to fund Brandon."
"Great site! Nice shot of
Old Meadowbank, a real track with a great promoter Ian Hoskins. Tremendous provincial league clashes between Monarchs and Newcastle Diamonds.
Phrases in programmes, such as get in early [Brough Park] before the Monarchs fans pinch your places! [500 plus of them!] Most surprising "find"
was discovering speedway at Cloverdale (British Columbia) in 1984, run by ex Cradley supporters. I noticed one 15 year old kid looked as if he knew what
he was doing, and was glad he made it over here a few years later. Anyone remember shawn venables? Pity speedway couldn't get a regular hold in B.C. "
"Thank you this has brought home many
happy memories for me. My dad took me to see the Tigers from the age of two and i was hooked! As a teenaager Colin was one of my favourites, never a
dull moment when he was riding. As you said it was not unknown for Colin and Steve to clinch the race at the last minute with us in the stands going
mad screaming. We didn't need fancy staduims we had Blantyre, we had faithful fans and we had riders who gave their all every week, not for money but
because the loved their sport! Great times!"
An insight into the new biography of the 1980 World Champion, undeniably one of the sport's most talented
(and complex) competitors of all time. The book - Back from the Brink - will be available at Cardiff on
Saturday and is also available to order online.
Just a couple of days to go until the big night out at Cardiff. Brian Longman has given us a couple
of pictures from previous years - one with the roof open and one with it shut.
Jeff is a Poole fan but is now based in Northern Ireland. He's not happy with the current qualifying system for the Grand Prix series.
The Sunderland Speedway website has recently been revamped
but they're on the lookout for more photos from either home or away meetings. They'd also be interested in purchasing programmes or
other memorabilia. Please contact info@sunderlandspeedway.co.uk if you can help.
Jeff Scott is back on the road promoting his new Shale Trek book. See the left hand side of this
page for his planned tour dates in July.
"My take on the Gordon Parkin free transfer
of Peter Craven to the Aces, its my own speculation.
The Gordon Parkin 'free transfer' of Peter Craven to Belle Vue in 1952 could be called into question, based on Craven's history of speedway achievements;
however Parkins actions might be viewed in context of the prevailing times.
Peter Craven rode for Liverpool, primarily as a reserve and sometimes team rider in 1951, unfortunately he failed to produce team points. Quite possibly,
Gordon Parkin recognized young Cravens potential was not on the big Stanley track, but his balanced racing style, being more suitable, to a smaller
wider track such as the Hyde Road facility.
In 1952, the Belle Vue Aces a division one team included riders such as Jack Parker, Dent Oliver, Louis Lawson, Ken Sharples, Henry Long, etc.
Additionally, competing for a reserve position on the Aces, were experienced riders such as Val Morton, Dennis Parker, Ron Mason, Bob Fletcher,
Norman Hargreaves, Bob Duckworth etc.
It’s quite possible the team management at Belle Vue at the time, might question 'paying a transfer fee', for a rider unproven from a second division
track, while already experienced race ready, talented riders were on the Belle Vue reserve books.
Eventually in 1954, Peter Craven became one of the top riders on the Belle Vue Aces, and the rest is speedway history.."
"Mike Parkins on...Gordon Parkins I am always keen
to read of lost tracks and speedway history. I found Mike's recollections on Liverpool very interested in those days at Liverpool. As my heart will always
be at 'The Firs' at Norwich I very much hope that Mike will do an article on his dad Gordon. Gordon was very successful at Norwich and I would love to
hear more insights into this period and his later involvements. Also his early introduction to the sport, I believe I read somewhere that he first
saw speedway at Barnet. There were a number of names from the past management of speedway who must have had interesting stories. Fred Mockford,
Ronnie Green, etc."
"Oh how I agree with Matt Jackson especially with the 'doubling up'
rules and the double point tactical rule. Racers like Si Walker getting left out in the cold while other riders have two teams or the management bring
in foreigners. As for the B/W tactical rule it undermines the work of the team who have got themselves a decent lead and it could be wiped out with one
ride all because some riders of the opposing team are not doing so well. Let's get back to the days when two teams raced equally and happiness was 40-38."
"I only went to Fleetwood once, and watched them paste
the Leicester Hunters. I thought the track surface was like a bomb site compared to Blackbird Rd. Still, it was a decent day out."
Bob Ferry brings us details of an upcoming social event of particular interest to those in the
North-East of England.
John Chaplin is arranging a memorial event for Tom Farndon on Monday 30th August at 3pm. It will take place at
Tom's graveside in Foleshill cemetery, Coventry. Mike Whawell, official chaplain to the World Speedway Riders Association, will
conduct the service and a number of speedway personalities are likely to attend.
"Erik Gundersen was a real racer and a
true gentleman. I remember racing at Cradley for Wolves at No.6 and I out gated him and could hear him all around me trying to get by. I crossed the
line in front of him and after the race he came up to me and shook my hand and said what a fine ride. I have never had a rider of his calibre do that
ever. Just to see his smiling face is a moment in time I will never forget. He had a beautiful attitude. Not many men would be that gracious in defeat
and that showed his character."
"'Roy Williams' rode against Middlesbrough and
appeared at Cleveland Park on a regular basis between 1968 and 1970. I was only a child back then but didn't discover it wasn't his real name until a
few years later. I was fascinated by this as Berwick had fielded another rider known as 'Mark Hall' (in real life a bank clerk called Walter Elliott
whom changed his name just in case his employers found out he was a speedway rider!). One night the Boro Bears juniors were appearing in a match up
at Shielfield Park around 2004 and I suddenly realised that I was stood next to 'Roy Williams', who was visiting the UK for the first time since he
had left in 1970. I was suddenly transported back to those wonderful matches we had against Berwick Bandits in the league and the Teesside
Tweedside Trophy. I exchanged a few words with him and was grateful I did as he sadly died not long after returning to New Zealand.
I often wonder
what happened to many of those riders who rode in the harem scarem days of Second Division speedway 1969/1971. One of my favourite away riders
was Geoff Ambrose of Crayford who always rode Cleveland Park very well. Does anyone know whatever happened to Geoff? I sometimes wish
I could be transported in a speedway time machine back to the days of when we raced the likes of the Crewe Kings, Doncaster Dragons, Nelson Admirals,
Rochdale Hornets & the Sunderland Stars. Speedway racing back then seemed much more simpler and far more exciting. It would be 1977 before
I managed to make it to an away meeting watching Teesside in action at Stoke as it happens."
"Brilliant and a dream come true! Only
dissapointment for me was in the photo section. It was World Finals I wanted to see, not British League or test matches or other Finals mixed in.
The one thing I wanted to highlight was the 1973 Final, my favourite theme. Concerning the run-off; there was no mention as to why there was a run-off
in the first place! That both riders had dropped 2 points. After being unbeaten at half time, Jerzy Szczakiel goes down to Grigori Chlinovski and
then to Ole Olsen. Only that race is mentioned. Ivan Mauger, the defending Champion had won 4 heats but had been beaten in round 2 by Szczakiel
and Pawel Waloszek. Ivan says that he wasnt surprised by Jerzy winning his first couple of heats.
I wanted more from Ivan on how he made such a hash
of their race. It was heat 8 and you can see it on You-tube. Ivan bunnyhops out of the gate and is last into the first corner. It takes him over a
lap to pass Valeri Gordeev and then he gets on level terms with the two Poles. But he cant pass them! Jerzy beats him by 8 lengths and Waloszek 6!
A great snap of this is found in the book World Speedway Final a history from 1929 by Maurice Jones, on pages 88 & 89. The caption for this is wrong
as it says heat 14. Its not! Its heat 8 and you will see Ivan outside the two Poles on the Pits bend. Look closely and you will see Ole Olsen in
the background watching from the Pits. For this race to be ignored is a shame because it takes away from the fact that Jerzy won the World Final
by beating Ivan TWICE! How good was that? Brilliant and I'm so glad that Ivan acknowleged just how good is opponent really was. And not just on that day."
In this extract from Ian Gill's Trackin' Down 2, Gary O'Hare talks about the end
of his time at Long Eaton and his involvement in the early days of the Conference League.
Dean has been a Belle Vue fan since the eighties and names Shooey Moran as his favourite rider of all time.
SpeedwayScorecards.net aim to provide printable racecards for all
Elite League meetings. Quite an undertaking to keep the site up to date, so we wish them well.
"Just been reading Richard Austin's account of
Liverpool Chads. I never knew that Gordon Parkins allowed Peter Craven to go on a free transfer, if Mr Parkins was here now I would have something to say
to him...unfortunately my Dad passed away several years ago.
I was only seven or eight when he moved us to Liverpool...following a short spell with Plymouth which I don't think was any more successful than Liverpool
turned out to be. Whilst he was in charge at Stanley Stadium I had a season as the club mascot and used to ride a specially made bike round the
track before each meeting. I have a photo of myself on the bike alongside Fred Wills, a Chads riders at the time who I believe came from South Africa.
We left Liverpool in 1952/3 just after I had passed my 11 plus, I had a couple of terms at the Holt High School before we were whisked away again,
times must have been hard because we ended up in a cottage near to his parents in Buckinghamshire, no electricity and a toilet at the bottom of the
garden. Gordon (Dad) got a job as a butcher's assistant.
1954 and a small miracle must have happened, I was 12 then and all I know is that we were on the move again, this time to Norwich...back to Speedway...
and me to my third Grammar school in two years, hopelessly lost as they all had different curriculums...the story continues but I'm getting away from the
Chads so let's go back to Stanley Stadium.
I can remember that just inside the main gate was an office of some sort, dead opposite was a cafe which we often
visited, alongside the car park was a railway line, behind a fence...one day Dad was trying to teach my Mum to drive in the car park, she managed to go
straight through the fence and ended up on the railway line, it's all a bit hazy but I know the trains had to be stopped whilst the car was recovered,
presumably by the speedway tractor. Mum gave up learning to drive after that."
"Steve thanks for the pictures
brought back the memories, David Gagen what ever happened to him? Remember he was very good at Boston. There was a pub quite near the ground we spent
a bit of time there ( and money ) weekend millionaires, pauper house on Tuesday, enjoyed the craic with the locals, all very friendly."
"Nice to read Glenn Doyle is
doing well. Glenn started his English speedway career down at Long Eaton, were he came up through the ranks and made heat leader. One of his best
meetings was in 1986 at Stoke in a junior G.P. qualifying round he totally destroyed the opposition and won with a 15 point maximum. I think
he would have won the final (which was at his home track at Station Road) but couldn't ride due to injury. "
"Come on Speedway fans. It's the cost of a couple
of pints and the money could not be for a better cause. Dig deep and invest in a copy even if your not a big reader. You can always give it to a friend
as a present. Ian has spent so much time for the love of the sport so please support him. Thank you."
"Fantastic to read about
Roger Mills who had two seasons at Teesside in 1969/1970. Even better to see a photograph of him as he is now. Many of us have never seen him since
he retired at Long Eaton in 1973, 37 years ago. He was quite a character when he rode at Middlesbrough's Cleveland Park - he would often either win a
race, fall off or have an engine failure! "
It's a Long Eaton special this week, starting with details of Ian Gill's second edition
of Trackin' Down. The first issue of this interview based book was well received and this one follows a
similar format. Under the spotlight this time around are Gary O'Hare, Roger Mills, Alan Molyneux and Chris Pidcock.
Neil Burrows reports from this recent reunion of former Station Road riders. The
event attracted over 100 people, not bad at all when you consider the track has been shut for more than a decade.
In this extract from Ian Gill's new book we hear about some of Roger Mills' earliest rides. Like many
others the famous training grounds of Rye House and Ainsdale Sands both had a part to play.
Lukas Hromadka is looking for manuals for speedway bikes, he's also in the market for bikes and bike parts - Can You Help?
"Our track looks fine indeed, it is capacious enough to host
any event of Grand Prix level. All we need are: some investment to improve the facilities, proper management and direct rule from any stable European
capital :-)Just like Ulster. As to that building, it is an office block, former HQ of Voluntary Society of Assist ance to the Army, the Air Force
and the Navy. It is occupied by Society of Assistance to Defense of Ukraine by now."
"My big cousin Bernie, as a young boy
growing up in Heathcote I used to look forward to his home comings and telling stories of his adventures of far away places. As I was only very
young at the time, I looked up to him as someone very special to me (which he was). When I heard he was at home I would race around to Uncle Gib and
Aunty Pats place (Bernie's parents) to meet my famous (in my eyes) cousin. RIP my big cousin."
"What a great guy Freddie is. I used to go
out with Spencer (about 20 odd years ago) and got to know Freddie really well. Always a true gentleman, Spence had the ability to go somewhere too."
A few words on Jeff Scott's latest entertaining speedway travelogue. This is the fifth consecutive year
that Jeff has published a book of this type, suggesting that there remains sufficient demand for his particular style
of writing.
'Handy Andy' takes his turn under the spotlight and recalls the first meeting he ever saw - a test match at Romford.
Ann Griggs is open to offers for a record by Canadian rider Eric Chitty. The vinyl has "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" on one
side and "A Door Will Open" on the other. The record is labelled "The Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund-A1001 and A1002". Ann can be contacted
via email at CURGRIG@aol.com
USA National Speedway is back on Motors TV this month - showing action from the 2009 season. The first programme was shown on Tuesday
evening and will be repeated at the following times:
Thursday 10th June 2010 at 23:25:00
Friday 11th June 2010 at 16:00:00
Sunday 13th June 2010 at 00:05:00
Monday 14th June 2010 at 13:00:00
Geoff Gale is looking for photographs from Reading in 1968/69 - Can You Help?
"I found Arnie's comments on war time speedway at
Dagenham very interesting. The last meeting before the War for which I have the result is the meeting held on 27 August 1939 when Stan
Greatrex's Rangers beat Arthur Warwick's Hawks 47-36. In that programme a "Great Four-Team Match Race" was advertised for 31 August but I
have never seen any results for this meeting. There is no reason why it should not have taken place as it was before war was declared. I
wonder if Arnie, or anyone else, can confirm (or otherwise) if the meeting took place and what the result was if it did?"
"We had some canny fun at Sheffield,
mind how they got away with out any ambulance cover I dot not know. The track fence would never pass for safety today. Solid steel gerders to keep the
boards up, but many thanks to old man Roy for keeping things going."
"It was good to see Wal Morton get a mention
in this review - I actually put Mike Parker in touch with Morton. While Liverpool failed to gain any honours in 1960, there was recognition for
the feats of Morton in the 1961 Speedway Star Digest - they gave him the honour of being the 'outstanding veteran in the 1960 Provincial League.'
And wasn't as far back as 1936 when he was a Bristol rider that Morton set a track record at Stanley Stadium."
"John Potter was absolutely right,
it was Edinburgh at Boston after the 1981 world final. I still have the original programme. The teams were ----- Boston ---- Dave Gagen 8 (points);
Steve Regeling 9; Steve Lomas 7; Michael Holding 7; Rob Hollingworth 9; Dennis Mallett; 3 Chris Cole 4 ---- Edinburgh ---- Neil Collins 8; George Hunter 1;
Ivan Blacka 3; Chris Turner 10; Dave Trownson 5; Ian Westwell 2; Roger Lambert 1. I don't remember the 2 drunken scotsmen, but me and my mate were
feeling pretty hung over from the night before and just lay on the grass watching the racing (it was a lovely sunny afternoon and we didn't really fancy going home that much)
I've scanned a couple of photos from the meeting to see if they can be posted on the website."
Cradley Heath were Adrian's first love but he still finds pleasure in watching the sport as a neutral. Dave Perks, one of the
real National League legends, made an immediate impression when Adrian first visited the speedways.
Jeff Scott's latest book - Shale Trek - is now available from methanolpress.com
"Liverpool..... Last of the Leg
Trailers. I beleive the last leg trailer to ride for the Liverpool Chads was George Newton. George rode for Liverpool 1951-1952. George started
his speedway career riding for Crystal Palace in 1932. "
"Dagenham was one of several amateur tracks that staged
meetings AFTER the start of World War 2. (Others include Oxford and California.) I have a programme for Dagenham v London dated 1 October 1939. It
is partially filled in - the home team won convincingly with Frank Hodgson scoring a maximum. Other riders in the Dagenham team include Nobby Stock,
Bill Gilbert and Benny King. From the editorial it is clear that this is the first meeting since war was declared. The editorial also contains a
most interesting suggestion for the cause of World War 2 - apparently Hitler was in a bad mood because he didn't have a speedway track as fine as
Dagenham! The programme advertises Dagenham v Rye House the following Sunday. Did it take place - Who knows? "
"I'm glad the writer of this article is not
a member of the press. I'll conceived comments like these with totally weak statistics could do a lot of harm to the sport. How many one off World
finals were classics? I can tell you some that were most definately not eg; 1983, 84, 87 both days, 89, 91, 92 just in that short period. Sure some GPs
are not the best but the great thing about that is there is another along soon unlike waiting 12 more months. THE ONE OFF KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE
THE SGP KING......If you are a true fan of Speedway spread the gospel, because we sure know no one else will..........................."
"What a FANTASTIC idea Bobby, these sort of
meeting really appeal to me and I'm sure to dozens of other FANS in the UK. Any thought of bringing it over here? I'm sure it would be a GREAT SUCCESS,
I for one used to ENJOY BRIGGO'S GOLDEN GREATS MEETINGS and it's been to long since this type of meeting as been seen in this country. Pure NOSTALGIA.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU."
Another article looking back fifty years to the first season of the Provincial League. Richard Austin
shares his memories of the Liverpool side who operated as the Pirates in that inaugural season.
Bobby Hack is trying to arrange a veterans tour of South Africa for later this year and is looking for former riders
who fancy what will be an all-expenses paid trip.
Richard's love of speedway shines through in this article, probably the most positive one we've featured so far.
Robert Griffin is looking for some big meeting programmes - Can You Help?
The Long Eaton Speedway Reunion Group are holding their 3rd annual reunion on 4th June 2010 at The Westgate Suite, Westgate, Long Eaton,
Nottingham, NG10 1EF at 7.30pm, just five minutes walk from the site of the former Long Eaton Stadium on Station Road.
The evening will consist of interviews with former Long Eaton riders, a display of speedway memorabilia, an auction, a dvd show, a raffle and the
opportunity for fans to talk to former riders. Also available to buy, priced at £5, will be issue 2 of Ian Gill's book Trackin' Down, which
has interviews with former Long Eaton riders Chris Pidcock, Alan Molyneux, Roger Mills and Gary O'Hare.
Everyone is welcome to come along and share in an evening of nostalgia.
Tickets are priced at £3 in advance and £4 on the night (reduced from 2009 prices). Food will be available on the night but is not included in
the ticket price.
All proceeds will go to an injured rider.
Tickets or more information available from: Peter Wrathall
"Great story on Youngie. I was one of the
fortunate people to witness the phenomenon of his arrival at Edinburgh if I remember correctly it was maximum points and track record on his debut.
I would like to have seen him up against some of today's supposed "stars" alas we can only dream but he will always be the greatest in my eyes."
"From the Leicester Hunter days to the Scunthorpe days he was my idol.
Fortunately, through Norman Hunter I was able to meet Ken on many occasions including a visit to his house in Leicester.
He must have thought that the young guest was a little distant as I scanned his cabinet looking at the many awards he had won over the years.
Ken was an utter gentleman and always acknowledged the star struck youngster in his midst.
I remember with sorrow running onto the greyhound track during the 1962 World Final to help Ken after his throttle had jammed when chasing Barry Briggs. Had he retained that second place he would have finished third that year.
Great, great memories of a great man."
"Hi Ivan, Thanks for the reply,
BUT, it seems that you must have been a really bad boy and had TWO similar incidents. I was at a Speedway meeting at Edinburgh when you rode for the
Monarchs. I have since spoken to some-one else who was at that meeting when you were banned from the remainder if the meeting. We cannot now recall
who Edinburgh's opponents were. My friend recalls that , yes, it was a first bend incident for which you were excluded. From what he recalls, after
it was was announced that you were excluded...you went to the refs box which was on the top of the stand. You were then excluded
from the remainder of the match. It is guessed that the ref might have been Easton or Freeland. Can any Edinburgh fan recall the incident?"
"Good on ya Zorro! Don't tell anyone, but the
old buggers can still mix it......... ;) A very, very classy rider who slayed me back in '07 at Ashfield when he rode for Somerset. Nobody likes
to see their team beaten at home, but Magnus was in a class of his own that night, even against King of Ashfield, Shane Parker. Keep proving
them wrong Magnus, at last a reason to keep an eye on the GP's....."
Andy is an Ipswich Witches fan but always enjoyed his trips to Leicester in the company of Colin Cook.
The 2010 California Reunion will take place on Sunday, October 17, at the Country Park (Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham, Berks) where the
speedway took place. The organisers are still looking for any cine film that was taken there - especially of the racing. Everyone welcome. More
details from Stuart Towner 020 8397 6599.
"I have known Fred my whole life and
raced against his son Spencer for many years. In NZ Freddie was always known as just that Fred or Freddie but in England chose to use the more 'racy' name
of Rick. He is still fit and well and has been running Timmo's Motorcycles for over 35 years in his native NZ."
"I was taken to Knowle Speedway by my Dad,
Jimmie Morris who was the announcer at the meetings. The excitement of Speedway, the bravery of the riders and the smell of Castrol R havenever left me.
I did frequent Eastville Stadium in the Seventies for a speedway fix. As Robert says Friday nights where never the same. "
"I remember Cribby at Brough (although
I'd seen him ride at Halifax and Belle Vue before). The occasion was (I think) the Tyne Tees Trophy, or failing that some sort of Pairs match. I guess
1984. Anyway, it was raining stair rods; I think we had got through the 6th heat, then it was called off. Typical! especially as I'd brought friends
along for a first time visit. Everyone was pretty cheesed off. I think Cribby caught the sense of the crowd, and so, after a bit of build up,
came out on his ice bike, and in the mud, rain, plague of frogs etc. produced a faultless few laps, really leaning over proper ice-style, thrilling stuff,
by way of compensation for us sodden punters. What a nice gesture! Things like that don't get forgotten."
"I re-checked the article in the Newspaper, and that is
certainly what it said `According to Biking expert Norman Jacobs who penned the 2003 Book, Speedway in the South-east, Hodgson was Stock`s Teenage
Hero. Jacobs cleaned his mentors bike and later Hodgson encourage him to join the Daggers`. I see now it should have said STOCK cleaned his bike,
sorry Norman, blame the B&D post!"
Norman Parker:
"It is interesting to recall names of the past. One that came to mind was that of Ivan Blacka who rode
for Edinburgh Monarchs in the eighties. I remember him being banned from the remainer of a meeting by the referee but can't recall why. After that I don't
think that Blacka rode Speedway again. Does anyone remember why he was banned and who was the referee."
We asked Ivan directly and he said:
"The facts are as follows from the book Ian Gill put together called Trackin'Down Vol. 1.
I think the final straw was when I had the £50 fine
for confronting the referee in his box at the Exeter match and he'd also also banned me for the rest of the meeting. I had been wrongly excluded
in a first bend melee with Bob Coles and when I was told I was excluded. I stormed across the track, climbed the steps into the referee's box
and told him what I thought. He obviously didn't agree and gave me a £50 fine on the spot. That probably was the last straw and even though I rode
at Newcastle a few days later (enduring another poor match with just a point to show) I decided that was it and was finished with Speedway
Tell Mr. Parker that he can purchase a book for £6.80 and read the book to get all the gossip from the glory days from 4 different riders."
Tracy Holmes and Bill Elliot are based on different sides of the world but
both were appreciative of the efforts of Mike Fullerton. In this collaborative piece they tell his story.
The 37th edition of the Voice, produced by Friends of Speedway, a non-profit making organisation whose profits all go towards sponsoring the
Under-15's speedway, is now available. In this edition read the exciting possibilities from Indiana, USA, concerning scientific research on spinal
injuries, an interesting and extensive insight into Australian speedway, (a trifle different to the British version), and an 'encounter' with
Smiling Jim Kempster.
Plus, amongst other interesting items, the best televised meeting of the season so far and an extended look at how
British speedway may be better served by lower noise limits, a little less dust on the tracks and once a fortnight racing, which might of course mean
no GP stars in our Elite League.
To join Friends of Speedway, and help to support British youngsters and to receive your four quarterly copies of the Voice please send a cheque for
£10, made payable to Friends of Speedway, to Stuart Towner at 117 Church Lane, Chessington Surrey KT9 2DP.
"Your sister sent me the link to your
article and I just loved it, especially the english accent. My brother used to do auto cross which was just as bad, but what a lot of fun we had, I
like the good ol days. Thanks for a very good memory."
"Phillip Dalling asks if the crowd singing On
Ilkla Moor Baht 'at were Odsal fans. Probably not is the answer. Community singing was popular in those days. I remember my Dad teaching us songs like
Green Grow The Rushes Oh and I've Got Sixpence when we were little in the 1960s, songs that he'd learned as a boy. We would sing them in the car going
on holidays. The traditional singing of Abide With Me at the FA Cup final harks back to those days."
"Thanks for this trip down memory lane. I recall all these
riders and many others. Whenever I pass near where the Chads rode, I seem to smell the shale, hear the bikes, and see vendors selling "Speedway Echo"
or "Speedway Gazette". A long time ago, but the activities of youth stay in the mind."
"The guy is young. Let
this be a learning curve for him. Not everybody is a star on the first day. look at Ivan Mauger he started slow but came on like a freight train.
Forget about it and move on. If starting is the problem he better work on that real quick unless your a Peter Collins and can come from the back.
Coming out the box never mattered to him. Let the hard work start. Good luck Tai."
"Jacobs cleaned his mentor's bike and later Hodgson encouraged
him to join the Daggers and Stock apparently took his word for it, spending all his £70 savings on an bike owned by 1938 London Riders' Champion
Eric Chitty." I don't remember doing this. I must be older than I think!!! "
That does appear to be an error in the article which is fixed now - apologies Norman!
Leandra Graves reports on Zorro's excellent endeavours in Gothenburg on Saturday night. The
veteran Swede was a surprise qualifier for this year's series but has made it clear that he's not there just
to make up the numbers.
Glasgow fan Nicky Nicolson looks back fifty years to the birth of the Provincial League
and reckons the sport as we know it today would be very different without it.
Robert Rowe was a regular at Bristol during the Provincial League era. Here he shares some
fond recollections of those times and the riders he watched.
Andrew first watched speedway at Belle Vue in 1978 and has now returned to the sport thanks to Sky's television coverage.
The rider he most wishes he'd been able to see is Soren Sjosten.
Speedway Champions is an excellent resource that records
title winners across the globe - for both individual and team events.
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook is the full colour must-have handily glove compartment sized guide to British Speedway for fans
everywhere - edited by well travelled speedway author, Jeff Scott.
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook provides the definitive information resource on every British speedway track and last word
on everything you’ll need to know to get there to enjoy your speedway!
It’s comprehensive, definitive, packed with useful information and 90 colour photographs
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook covers all British Leagues - the Elite, Premier & national - as well as the Cardiff Speedway
Grand Prix plus selected Training Tracks too.
The entry for each speedway club includes such information as:
Address
How to get there by road, rail, sea and foot
Stadium Facilities
Admission Prices
Comprehensive Club Information & History
Disabled Access
Pet Policy
Top 10s
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook also includes club address, phone number, hotline, website, track record, track length, club honours and
operational years.
ORDER INFORMATION
Available at all good track shops and also can be safely ordered by credit card at the new look www.methanolpress.com
ABOUT THE BOOK
The British Speedway Track Directory & Guidebook
Editor: Jeff Scott
80 pages
90 colour photographs
£4.99
Paperback
Published: 4th May 2010
"Excellent article. Took
me back to my youth. Harry Welsh was my favourite but we did not stand a chance when Arthur Forrest visited. With reference to some of the feedbacks,
I always thought Charlie Oates was classed as "The last of the Leg Trailers". When I am messing about on my mountain bike (age 72) and remark to my
son-in-law. "Look at me, the last of the leg trailers". Needless to say he hasn't a clue what I'm talking about."
"I have just read Jeff Scott's article on
the grand prix's. If you carry on writing harmful articles like this you will soon be putting a lot of people connected to speedway out of work. It's
about time you started writing about the good things speedway has to offer. As regards the slick tracks I'm afraid their here to stay and the riders
will adapt to them. The young riders coming through today only know how to ride slick tracks. If you put more dirt on them it would ruin their style
of riding. It is something we have all got to accept, which ever way you look at it [its called progress]."
"This is a very interesting article
by Jeff Scott, but I am very wary of anyone (sorry, Jeff) who starts quoting statistics. The first point to note on the BARB viewing statistics is
that they are based on the viewing habits of about eleven thousand people then multilied by about five thousand to get the UK figure. So for example,
there were just around 53 of the panel who viewed the Cardiff GP in 2008 and 33 in 2009. The fall sounds a lot less impressive when you say it like that.
The next thing to consider is whether these figures included recordings (which they may or may not have done). Finally, there is the impact of other
factors such as changing the start time of the Cardiff GP or programmes disappearing beneath the red button (which proportionally reduces the
delayed viewing figures). I think that the GP Series is stale. I don't know whether Philip Rising's comment is true regarding the low quality of
racing in the one-off world finals, but the problem that I see now is that there are umpteen meetings of such a standard. I'd go one better than you
though Jeff and say I struggle to remember the winner of any particular GP. Of course I remember Chris Harris'win, but was that in 2006 or 2007.....
now, let me see. "
"Let's hope that Jeff Scott's letter is, like
his favourite subject, a ONE OFF! I tried to follow this poison pen rant and glean some unbiased information but fell asleep. It is obvious that he
is passionate about the subject but loses credibility when he suggests that everything is rosy with one system and rotten with the other. I am sure
that he would not have lowered himself to watch the Leszno GP and will not believe anyone who tells him that it was a very watchable meeting
with some excellent racing (admittedly not always as exciting as the tv pundits made out but much better than many of the one off finals I have
witnessed). As I have said before there have been some very memorable one-offs and GP - equally both types of event have had boring disasters.
Generally the culprit has been poor track preparation. To allow Ole Olsen to continually reduce good tracks to being unracable for 10 years is the
biggest crime committed by SGB. They have probably lost many viewers by this failing and certainly give encouragement to people like Mr Scott
to assasinate the series. The GP series is not perfect but has potential to be a decent shopfront for the sport provided the organisers try harder
to listen to the fans and fine tune to suit - not to ignore constant criticism for 10 years. I hope Tony Olssen can continue to prepare tracks
fit for the world's best to perform on. I am sure that there will still be problems with temporary tracks but am eagerly awaiting Cardiff 2010
in the hope that a decent racing strip can be achieved."
"Sadly to say. All these articles you read
every week. It very depressing to read all the negativity about the future of Speedway. I hope Speeedway Plus has something to publish in about
10 years time. And I hope Speedway Plus is around to publish future comments being the best Speedway web-site of all time. From what you read
week in week out I would say Speedway is on it's way out. Let's hope not. Wake up promoters and take notice to all these articles and stand together
before it's to late. All these people writing these articles surely can't be wrong. Can they??"
"I must say I agree in principle with Matt's comments. His
idea of a squad system does on the face of it sound reasonable and would certainly have avoided the embarrassment recently of Belle Vue tuning up at
Coventry with only 3 of their own riders. However, isn't this only an extension of the double up rule he wants of abolish? Would these squad riders
only be used in the event of injury or could the squad be rotated?...if so the riders dropped would be frozen out in exactly the same way as today.
As for the retention of the previous years points limit. That seems to have some merit too, but as we have seen over the last few seasons actually
attracting enough quality riders to the league has been difficult and raising the lower placed clubs to some kind of parity might be unachievable.
Certainly worthy of debate though that's for sure."
"Perhaps the Grand Prix Wild Card place has come
a little to early for Tai. And if the results, don't start coming, his inclusion in the Series, will do him more harm than good. Which is a shame,
because he his a first class rider and at 19, provided he can stay clear of injury, he could easily become the next top Englishman. This is where the
one off World Final, was so much better, simply because if Tai had got knocked out in an earlier round, ie the British Final, at least he could put
that dissapointment behind him and aim to improve next season. Where as now he's got to go to the remaining G.P's in hope he can gather enough
points to finish in the top eight to be seeded into next seasons competition, and if he continues to struggle it will only damage his confidence
even further."
"Which year was this photo? Looks
like Bernie Persson in the white top (3rd). Is that Dougie Templeton on outside? If its the year I think 66 or 67 then I am one of men at starting gate."
Fred has a number of interesting suggestions that seem well worth considering. He can count both 'The Wick' and 'The Lough' amongst a number
of regular stomping grounds over the years.
Graham Tattersall is looking for pictures from Shelbourne Park (Dublin) in the seventies - Can You Help?
"A spectacularly well thought and erudite
article. I have to confess to little interest in SGP, to me it is almost as Rugby Union is to Rugby League, same basis but a different product. I see
the conceived need for a season long World Championship as in other motor sports but feel we were better with the old qualifying to regional finals
to World Final system. Every supporter at evry track felt involved. As for TV (Sky) involvement, has it not been considered that, whilst, in
football, everyone wants the FA Cup Final and both semis, not all earlier round matches need be shown to all the TV public; why not show the World Final
and the major rounds plus a representative selection of qualifiers.
As Jeff Scott says, would be fans "can be sold bright shiny, well-packaged tat
so long as it looks like the real thing and we can claim it's a 'World Championship'". In other words, if it is a qualifier, make sure it is the
"Speedway Championship of the World" before mentioning it is a "British Qualifying Round" and from, say, Belle Vue. No lies, just a shift in emphasis.
This does not mean all racing shown should be British, a well considered and joined up system, packaged to fit into TV schedules but not for
them would include all real speedway nations. I believe Jeff has left us much food for thought, I just hope the powers that be accept the
thinking challenge. Great that this article made it from the Newcastle programme to a national forum too. "
"Another belter of an article outlining
exactly why the Grand Prix sytem is a total turn off for so many fans. Forget the paying punter who shells out a heckuva lot of money to
watch his favourite sport each year (including going to a Grand Prix where a mortgage is required to get to the venue, get in, and eat), the
people in charge of running the Grands Prix are more interested in the money from Sky TV and presenting a largely inaccurate image of what the sport
is supposed to be about (eg entertaining racing, etc). When you can have a system in place which allows a rider to be crowned "World Champion" without
him actually having had to beat all the other riders in even one round, then good luck to him, but for me it just ain't a World Championship.
Some of the peopl e saying you can't return to a one off type of event, either in place of/in parallel to the existing monotonous rounds of
"same old, same old" do so, I suspect, because they possibly have a vested interest in keeping it that way. "
"Watched Once a Jolly Swagman again recently.
Is there anyone out there who knows why, during the scenes filmed at New Cross circa 1948, the crowd signs in unison `On Ilka Moor Bah't At'.
They couldn't all have been Odsal fans!"
"Still one or two of us around. I followed the Knights in
the 80's supporting them home and away all over the country and even to Germany for the World Long Track final, which prompted an article in the
Speedwat Star "Trevor Banks on his army". So many happy memories of the Groveway and some of the great meetings that took place there.
A Group of us sponsored Steve Mildoon, Knights Junior, and everytime Kevin Smart won his last race, including that great win at Mildenhall,
it would cost me a large Bacardi and Coke. It would be good to know where the others are so come on down; Knibbsy, Tank, Timmo, Div,
Bouff, Speedy, Jane, Lesley and so many others"
"Just a quickie on the Rick/Freddie
Timmo question - presumably, his given name was Frederick, so he might opt for either Rick or Freddie as a diminutive, like an Albert
might choose to be called either Al or Bert. I don't think there is any name "change" involved."
Leandra Graves catches up with Tai Woffinden after Saturday night's Grand Prix in Leszno.
It wasn't a debut to remember but the young Brit takes some positives from the evening. We hope to bring you
more of Leandra's GP reports throughout the season.
All eyes will be on the first Grand Prix of the season on Saturday night. Jeff Scott from
Methanol Press looks at the current state of
the sport's pinnacle event and back over what we've watched in recent seasons.
The former Rye House and Wolverhampton rider is the latest to share his thoughts on the sport. As someone who saw his
first meeting over 65 years ago, he's well qualified to comment.
Igor Sokolovsky is looking for Speedway Star magazines from the 60s and 70s that mention riders from the U.S.S.R - Can You Help?
Robert Elsam wants to know more about Kjell Samsing - Can You Help?
The Long Eaton Speedway Reunion Group are holding their 3rd annual reunion on 4th June 2010 at The Westgate Suite, Westgate, Long Eaton,
Nottingham, NG10 1EF at 7.30pm, just five minutes walk from the site of the former Long Eaton Stadium on Station Road.
The evening will consist of interviews with former Long Eaton riders, a display of speedway memorabilia, an auction, a dvd show, a raffle and the
opportunity for fans to talk to former riders. Also available to buy, priced at £5, will be issue 2 of Ian Gill's book Trackin' Down, which
has interviews with former Long Eaton riders Chris Pidcock, Alan Molyneux, Roger Mills and Gary O'Hare.
Everyone is welcome to come along and share in an evening of nostalgia.
Tickets are priced at £3 in advance and £4 on the night (reduced from 2009 prices). Food will be available on the night but is not included in
the ticket price.
All proceeds will go to an injured rider.
Tickets or more information available from: Peter Wrathall
"Cribby - the Black Country Maori! What a
hero, he was hard as nails too. My best memories of Cradley are from the late 70s when the likes of Cribby, Dave Perks and Arfur Price were there.
In later years he had an engine tuning business not far from Dudley Wood stadium, he may still be there, (I haven't been home for 15 years so I don't know)
and his ice exploits with Paul Evitts, (another Black Country hardman) were the stuff of ledgend in the Cradley pubs. Nice one Tracy, thanks for
bringing back some bostin memories."
"Have read some of the comments about
a dual World Championship/Grand Prix season not working and I completely disagree-fact is, if it's financially viable to do both, it can and
will happen. Too many of the regular Grand Prix troupe don't deserve to be there each season (one of the best 16 in the world in any given year? I don't
think so!) and there is no meaningful way of replacing them. If a rider is having the season of his life and makes it through the qualifying
rounds all the way to the final then he has every right to be there and deserves the chance to make it happen-in a person's chosen sport,
surely in any given year they must have the right to get as far as they can in the level of competition they are in and if that means competing
in the "World Final" that year then so be it. You can't always talk about "average performances", you must also be able to talk about people
performing outside the norm and that is what a "one off" annual World Championship allows for."
"Sandor was one of my childhood
heroes and I was so upset when he left Belle Vue. He was very popular with the fans and always had time to sign an autograph and a pleasant hello. I
always followed his career after he left and loved it when he came back to ride against us and hoping he would still do well."
"It would be great to have a more in-depth article. I would
try and repeat the interview and use someone with a bit more knowledge of what Jimmy Mac achieved or someone who had actually watched him ride for
many years that would improve the content greatly. His sweeping from the back passess around the 3rd and 4th bends at Hampden, his performances at
Kings Lynn, Poole, Belle Vue, Halifax and Cradley to name but a few tracks when riding for Glasgow. I believe part of the reason he did not achieve
higher world honours was the British final always being held at Coventry. It was no passing track and Jimmy was no gater. From a viewing perspective
this was great to watch but not at Coventry against the worlds best."
"Loved Matt Jackson's article "If I Were King", even if
I didn't necessarily agree with all the suggestions. The comments about riders' averages is a case in point-if riders like Joe Screen might be ruled
out of speedway because of a daft and patently unrealistic rule, when there are clubs wanting to include them, then the rule should be changed or
dumped. The article has far too much commonsense in it to have any chance of being heeded by the people in charge of our sport-sometimes
think BSPA stands for Ban Sensible People's Advice. The rules of the sport have to be simple so as to attract new supporters and retain
(rather than *&$@ off) an ever decreasing base of loyal fans. Can only suggest that in the interests of self preservation Matt doesn't
hold his breath waiting for the phone to ring, otherwise the band of loyal speedway supporters will have been reduced yet again. Speedway continues to
survive (just) in spite of the rules, rather than because of them. "
"FANTASTIC'BRILLIANT IDEAS. But they will be totally
IGNORED by the POWERS THAT BE. Because of the MONEY THAT SKY puts into the Sport, they will DICTATE to the B.S.P.A and the B.S.P.A haven't the
BACKBONE to say NO!! and FINALLY when this wonderful sport of OURS is DEAD AND BURIED, the likes of SKY will move on, and all we'll be left with is
MEMORIES. Dear old Roaring Johnnie Hoskin's must be looking down, and wondering "Why, have they allowed this to happen?" SPEEDWAY,R.I.P?"
We received a terrific response to Burt Tyrell's memories from his racing career.
We're delighted to say that he's taken time out from sitting in the Thailand sun to put together
another article. This time he tells us about prying eyes at Rye House and a late night adventure on Dartmoor.
Bob has been fortunate enough to work in the greyhound industry over the years, allowing him to see plenty of
speedway at the same stadia along the way.
"Good to read the article from
Mike Sheldrick. Mick ( as known then on the terraces ) and brother Sid were very popular at Barrow and even now thirty odd years later I
have often wondered what happened to them. Other members of the Barrow team have been in the speedway press over the years but not Sid & Mick to
my knowledge. And yes a belated congratulations on the Champion of Strathclyde win all these years later. Shame Barrow closed - square track
and remote - but it started a love affair with speedway that carries on.... "
"I lived in Church Road and could see parts of the
track from my bedroom window, although the hill obscured most of it. The noise was deafening and the red dust would, on a windy evening ensure all
washing was taken in long before the racing began, as it covered everything. We had to lock our sidedoor as punters would try to use our garden as a
shortcut and free access. The stadium also had a magnificent football pitch, one of the biggest in England and Liverpool Schoolboys played on it. I
remember the fatal stock car night. I used to play with the son of the driver who ran a milk bar in Prescot Road."
"Great to get feedback from Bert Harkins on my Wembley Dream team,
seems he is still very active in the "World Speedway Riders Association", and he must have a treasure trove of memories and anecdotes to share,
would love to read a few on here. The Lions were only around for 2 years in the 70s, but as a 14/15 year old I loved going. Went to a number of
World Finals, World Team Cups etc at the Stadium too, they were fantastic nights, what a fantastic venue it was for speedway. In later years
Wimbledon was always enjoyable, good racing, a couple of pints at "Nosher" Powels pub after the meting, then Fish & Chips at Molly's Fish Shop, great."
"I think the GP's are the best way to
decide whos the world's best rider, although I did enjoy the one finals, but they definitely need tweaking! The number of GP rounds is excessive and
can lead to it getting repetitive if like most season one rider builds up a huge lead. Also Ole Olsen's tracks are too slick and therefore not conducive
to good racing a lot of the time. The qualification system is ludicrous. Riders go through qualifying rounds for the next season, how crazy is that?
I've also never been a fan of seeding riders through. Surely the best way to decide who rides in the GP's is on the track then theres no argument.
I believe that every rider competing in League speedway should have the opportunity to try and be world champion.
My blueprint for the
qualifying rounds and the GP's are as follows: Only 6 GP's. Featuring the top 6 from last years GP, 2 World semi final winners, 1 permanant seed
from the riders who don't qualify, one wildcard per round and 6 from a resurrected GP challenge which was a great do or die meeting that
was scrapped for some crazy reason.
The Qualifying rounds would go as follows: 4 World Quarter finals all on the same weekend, featuring 16 riders in each round. Top 8 qualify for
the semi final. 2 World semi finals on the same weekend featuring the top 8 qualifiers from the Q finals. The 2 winners of the
world semi finals go straight into the GP. The next 7 go into the GP challenge. The GP challenge would feature the riders who came 2nd to
8th in both semi finals + the 7th placed rider from last years GP and the current World under 21 champion. The 6 round GP would start after the
qualifying rounds have been completed in July and run to the end of October or November if a round was to be staged in America or the far
East/Australia.
Having 6 rounds would ensure the GP's didn't get to drawn out and riders would be closer in terms of points. In the UK, qualifying rounds could
start at NL level leading up to British Quarter final, semi and then the British final which would be the qualifier for the World Quarter finals.
I used to enjoy the old premliminary rounds before they were finally phased out by the start of the 21st century. You could certainly
say that there's been a distinct lack of variety in recent years particularly in the EL. Restoring Qualifying rounds as well as test matches
would go a long way to aleviate this!"
"Some interesting comments, firstly on
Scott Nicholls. Sure he has {or had} the ability to get a rostrum placing but also would he have qualified each year as his form has always
been up and down on the international stage. Remember there wasn't seeding as there is now so he possibly wouldn't have had as many years in the
finals. I also doubt Tony Rickardsson would have won 6 one off finals but he made the most of the system available and was, like Ivan the best and
it is really impossible to compare the 2 formats. I do however feel because of the professionalism of the modern rider there is much more chance
for different winners in the GP rounds. If you look at the world finals it is a select few who won and while the same can be said for the
SGP winner the beauty of the series is that it throws up varied round winners { ie in the same vain as those shock merchants who grabbed a
World Final rostrum }. Even when the series has been decided before the last round has it diminished the appeal of the final round. NO we still
all look forward to it to see who grabs which final placing and also of course the round winner. I loved the one off Final but as I have said
before the SGP has saved World Championship Speedway and we should embrace it and it's champion.......Go Greg Hancock....2010 World Champion............"
Andy started watching speedway at Canterbury in the first season of Division Two. He still has many fond
memories of the nights he spent at Kingsmead.
John Marshall got in touch with the following commnent/request:
"It is fifty years since the first matches in the Provincial League got under way.
Perhaps we can hear from Speedway Plus' correspondents of their memories of this exciting initiative - how the formation of the league came about,
its aims and the riders who rode in it. The years of the league 1960-1964, in my opinion were a momentous time for speedway. What do others think?"
We'd be delighted to receive contributions on this theme.
Robert Griffin is clearing out his speedway DVD collection. Drop him an email at sparrowhawk3@ntlworld.com for lists.
Brett Tinkley has been hard at work producing new websites for Mark Jones of the
Newport Hornets and Kozza Smith of the King's Lynn Stars.
Somerset Rebels' Sam Masters is another with a new website.
Pictures from Spencer Oliver's photographic archive are available from Richard Nicholson's
website.
"I was sat looking at the pics of Hyde Rd with a million images
and memories running through my brain remembering all the greats riding the track in BLRC, Pairs Finals, test matches and of course Aces matches and
magical place gone forever but entrenched in our memories. If only I could go back in time for one meeting watching Ivan, Soren, PC, Pusey, Wilkie, Eric,
Ken Eyre and Tyrer etc battling against Briggo, Ole, the Booey bros, Anders, Ray Wilson, Simmo etc under the lights. Me and my mates sat at the pits
bend with shale in our hair and dusty faces."
"Pure nostalgia in black and white. Speedway has
moved on since this film was made but the racing and style is much the same. For those who witnessed the early days of the sport and for ex
'New Cross Rangers' supporters this is a must."
"Hello I Saw your web site and it
brought back a lot of good memories. I was born in 1947 and my parents would take me to see the poppies regularly. I always remember Jimmy Gleed
as being the best rider even better than Gil Goldfinch. As I remember there was a race against Rye House and I think it was at Rye House. A rider
called Vic Ridgeon (I think) rode for Rye House, it was an important race and Jimmy Gleed had to win, his bike never seemed so reliable. He came
out to the start grid on Gil Goldfinch's bike and I think he won. They were good days for me as a boy. Thank you for your web site."
"Nice story. One thing about the photo that
prompts a question. I always recall Mr Timmo as 'Rick' and do not recall his name being Freddie. By coincidence, I had a visit from some long
lost relatives from Napier, NZ a few months ago. The talk got around to speedway. Wayne was not a big fan but had been a few times during his life.
He rhymed off a few names which he remembered including Freddie Timmo who he knows slightly. He reckoned that he had raced in Britain with a
fair amount of success. I mentioned the name Rick but he had never heard him called that. Is there a story behind the name change?"
"Super recollections here of Stanley Racetrack.
I'm from Liverpool and currently have a website on Old Swan, taking in "Stanley".
I'm about to do a piece on the Racetrack and would be grateful
for any personal stories / pics to show, I would of course credit the source. Its a completely non commercial site, purely out of interest in
the local history."
"Have read the comments about my late uncle Jack and
obviously this guy Dave Gifford didnt know my uncle at all!...true he was a hard man and hard rider but he also had a heart of gold and this has
been backed up by people that knew him! Shame on you Dave for slagging a dead man who is not here to defend himself..if he were here today he would
probably show you what a good right hook is...go back to raking the track....thank you Bob for sticking up for my uncle!"
"I don't believe I even
said "Dark age" but if you think logically the '50's were down......yes there were great riders, some of the best ever but tracks? Way down
on '30's & '40's level and in most cases attendances. So yes, when I say decline to '50's levels I do not think it is a "Myth". My guess
is, if tracks fell off once again to the '50's level you would still have the same hard core fans going to those tracks that survive
to maybe even equalling the '50's level of attendance. BUT is that what we want for Speedway in future.....I don't think so."
Peter is delighted to once again have a team to support with the (relatively) recent return of the Birmingham
Brummies. Despite not following a particular side for over 20 years he never lost touch with the sport.
The Ben Fund Bonanza meeting at Rye House was a tremendous success a couple of weeks back. The double DVD of the event
is now available and runs to 2 hours and 30 minutes. It's only £16 (including p&p) and all proceeds go to the fund. Cheques should
be made payable to "SRBF" and orders sent to:
K.Burnett
23 Eastbourne Road
WESTHAM
Pevensey
East Sussex
BN24 5NE
Kelvin and Sarah Lapworth have started a new team to complement the "Team Viking" squad that toured UK tracks last summer. The new
"UK Vikings" will give opportunities to British based riders seeking to make an impact on the sport. Their campaign started at Sheffield
last Thursday with a second hand challenge fixture. There will be further meetings throughout the season and a training camp in Denmark is
also planned. The team are looking for any interested riders or any one willing to sponsor the new project. This would be greatly appreciated
as all of the riders are self funding everything and this can become very expensive. If you'd like to help then call Kelvin on 07854 325 271.
The team also has a Facebook page and would welcome your messages.
Maria Gordeeva is looking for books that mention Vladimir Gordeev - Can You Help?
"Couldn't agree more with Dudley Jones'
piece about having a Grand Prix Series as well as an old style World Championship. Even when we were at Cardiff last year we were surrounded by empty
seats and I just don't think the current format does the sport justice. It's stale and repetitive and by all means keep it if there is enough demand,
but on this site alone over the past few months there seems to have been an overwhelming desire for a return to the "old" format-maybe too, if we got a
return to the "old" format, another innovation might be to (re) introduce shale to the tracks! 30 years and more ago we relied on occasional
pieces in the speedway press to keep us advised of who was coming through the local rounds, surely now, with the facility for global coverage,
there is an opportunity for Sky to transmit some of these rounds?"
"Dudley's suggestion would be brilliant
if it was workable - the main problem being how to fit in all of the meetings (qualifiers and British Final are already held but higher level qualifiers
(Overseas / European Finals etc) which would involve the top guys who will already have the GPs, World Cup and league championships
(in various countries) on their minds. Also, from a financial perspective, one system would attract the already scarce sponsorship at the cost
of the other. Most fans would only go to only one due to the cost of travel, hotels and admission so you could end up with two poorly attended
meetings Like Dudley, I saw quite a number of world finals - some fabulous, some a complete waste of money. Unlike Dudley, although initially
sceptical, I was prepared to give the GPs a chance and, oddly enough, have found that some have been fabulous and some a complete waste of money.
His point regarding riders not getting a chance is valid and, possibly, the qualification process should be re-examined in that regard.
Too often riders who have not 'cut the mustard' at the GPs have been given chance after chance without any qualifying requirement being met.
Overall, the main attraction of the GP at Cardiff is that British fans are guaranteed a major meeting every year. If we were to revert to the
'one off' system we may only have the meeting once every 8 or 10 years. On the fairness point, many talented riders missed their chance
of glory due to having an unfortunately timed injury and being unable to compete in qualifying rounds. At least in the GP series missing
one meeting through injury need not end a rider's chances for the whole year."
"The Aces pub used to have a free standing painted sign of
Chris Morton in action. The pub featured in Shameless 'The Jockey' was filmed in the Wellington pub a couple of minutes walk across the estate.
The aces pub was near the Gallaghers house and behind the Shopping parade in the show until they rebuilt an exact replica set in Wythenshaw
several miles away. For a number of years the Aces pub was frequented by a lot of speedway fans but dwindled away when Hyde road closed
and fans relocated to the 'Longsight' pub on Kirkmanshulme Lane near the new track. The Moran brothers were often in the pub socialising with
supporters after meetings. "
Thanks to Graeme Coleman for these pictures of the Opole circuit in Poland.
We're always looking for track pictures - even additional or updated pictures from the tracks we already have
on the site. If you're heading for a track this summer, why not take your camera and send us a few snaps?
Andy followed the sport in the seventies and rediscovered it during the decade just ended. He's a fan of the Swindon Robins.
Richard Austin reports that all bids for the Orange County Fairgrounds have been far below expectations. As such, Costa Mesa's
future seems a little more secure at the moment. The new season will open in April.
Barry Dalton is looking for a programme from a meeting that Peterborough raced in Germany in 1977 - Can You Help?
D.W.Withams has pointed out that our popular Programme Generator had not been updated to reflect
the re-introduction of the white helmet colour. Should be rectified now.
"I remember that night very well
but it was Geoff Snider who Tom Owen knocked off first and then me after his exclusion light had been put on, going into the third turn. I remember
everyone going mad at Tom and the Paisley crowd wanted to lynch him.
Tom Owens tactics that night was a bit unsporting and I believe its because I was beating him and he didnt like that due to the fact we didn't get on
at Barrow. Neil McFarlane was also complaining I think he is the only rider to be banned
from a meeting? On the subject of Brian "Pogo" Collins he was never beaten around Paisley till the Champion of Strathcylde beat him in that meeting
and that was ME!!! Great times and the Paisley people were great."
"Totally agree you have 4 of the greatest riders Fundin, Harrfeldt,
Bertola, but most of all REIDAR EIDE. Wonderful rider, great with supporters. Pity norway has stopped producing the like of those two and Dag and Ulf Lovaas,
Oyvind S Berg. Remember Sverre at Meadowbank - invincible and brilliant. He and Hurri-Ken tore us apart."
"Had
to comment on the claim in the latest `all about' feature that speedway could `decline to the 1950s level! Speedway is full of myths and one of the
greatest is the claim that the mid to late fifties was a dark age. Yes, the number of tracks declined steeply, many of which had been rocky for many
years. In addition the fact that all the big London circuits except Wimbledon had disappeared by 1957 has always prompted the very London-biased
speedway media to write off the period. completely. The truth is that the hard core of speedway that remained in the years 57, 58 and 59 was generally
healthy and the promoters that had survived laid the foundations that the Provincial League revival could be built on. I doubt that anyone who
watched speedway under Ronnie Greene at Wimbledon or Charles Ochiltree at Coventry in that era considered failure. Norwich too was very successful
and well-supported at the period. Consider one or two points about the mid to late 50s. The crowds at the surviving tracks were far higher
than anything we see today. It was the era that saw arguably some of the best years of Briggs, Fundin, Moore and Peter Craven - how could that
possibly be a dark age? "
"My heart is very much with Dudley
Jones thoughts on a single meeting World Final along with the GP's, but my head says no. Firstly, how are all these Qualifying rounds going to be
fitted in with an already busy GP and WTC schedule? Secondly is a British round going to excite the crowds? Not if the British Championship of recent
is anything to go by, with Premier League riders there to make the number up. The riders that brought the British Final alive in the old days were
the likes of Briggs, Mauger and Moore. The only way to spice up a British Final would be to re-open it to Commonwealth riders like Holder, Crump and
Adam Shields, then you get people complaining that its not a "British" final. And where is this single meeting World Final going to be held?
If the complaint about the GP's is processional racing on slick tracks what reason is there to believe the track would be any different at World Final?
It would probably be in one of the very stadiums that now stage a GP. Assuming interested countries staged the World Final in rotation it means that
we would get one at Cardiff perhaps once every 5 years if we were lucky. Is that really what people want? And when we had one in England would
it be sufficient to fill Cardiff as well as the GP or would economics mean that fans would have to chose one or the other? Nobody loved the old style
World Final more than I did and I would give anything to go back to the days of Briggo winning his six Britsh Finals at West Ham and Wimbledon
but we have to accept that times have changed. Its still speedway and I still love it, but it is different now and we cannot turn the clock
back however much we would like to."
"I read this article with great
interest, and I must agree with Dudley, I much prefer the one off World Final, am very anti GP as this totally destroyed the excitment of the World
Championship. I am also convinced that the loss of the one off World Final has greatly hurt the chance of this country producing an Individual
World Champion. As Dudley states certain riders could produce a brilliant performance on one night, one rider who springs instantly to mind is
SCOTT NICHOLLS, time and again SCOTT has proved he can mix it and beat the best in Individual Meetings. I'm also sure that if the one off World Final
was still being staged Tony Rickardsson, wouldn't have got within sniffing distance of IVAN MAUGER'S SIX WORLD TITLES."
Tracy Holmes with another interesting picture from the archives. This time it's the
New Zealand test team and one of the key assumptions you'd draw from this picture would probably be quite wrong!
John Wheeler is trying to track down information and photographs relating to former rider Les Wheeler. Les was John's uncle
and the family would love to know more about his shale career.
Jack is a Belle Vue fan of long-standing and narrowly missed out on seeing the great Jack Parker in action around Hyde Road.
Brett Tinkley from Bright Star Designs has produced a new website
for young Aussie Nick Morris. Nick has signed for the Glasgow Tigers but will start the season on loan to Buxton Hitmen. You can find out
more about him at nickmorrisracing.co.uk
"Good to see Rob picking a team of riders who rode for
Wembley in the '70s, and good to see that the Lions are not forgotten. Losing that prestigeous stadium was a big blow for all of Speedway. Thanks
for your comments, Rob, but as I was reading it, I blushed so much that my glasses steamed up!!"
"Re Mike Wilson's feedback about Mike Fullerton,
ex Bradford Baron, Berwick Bandit, and Paisley Lion claiming to hold the track re cord at Paisley Love St-he's perfectly entitled to do so because
it's true-I was a trainee referee at the time, and as part of the hands on training you sometimes did 2nd half timekeeper-it was on one of those nights
that Fully did his track record (an unusual occurrence for a second half) and as I was also club statistician I could verify it with my other hat
on-no mean feat as the likes of Ivan Mauger also rode there. Fully was one of the fastest starters in the league at the time and if first out
of the gate at Love St was virtually unbeatable. "
"I was a big fan of Belle Vue in the late seventies and early
eighties and I had some fantastic nights in the Aces pub. I think the pub was built for the fans because the Hyde Road stadium didn't have a bar.
The fans and also the riders would head over to the Aces after the meeting and it was always a great night. The pub had photos all over the walls and
also a speedway bike near the bar. I think this belonged to Peter Collins. Fantastic memories."
" Re: comments on the Aces pub there were indeed many pictures
of the Aces riders behind the bar as well race jackets from various clubs mounted on the walls in lounge bar also Jap bikes. Monday night was our
main night after the training school which members of the Glossop & District supporters Club of which I was a member used run on Monday nights in
the season and Saturday mornings in the winter, and believe after 3 hours helping the the pushing off, sorting mechanical troubles and picking
them up when they fell off a refreshing beer was very very welcome indeed."
"Have to agree that 1981 was one
of the best world finals ever. I also went to Boston on sunday, seem to recall it was Edinburgh, vaguely remember Rob Hollingsworth and Tony Featherstone
riding, did you see two tipsy scotsmen? We drove up to Scunthorpe for a meeting on monday, that was against Edinburgh."
Dudley Jones proposes running two world championships in parallel - one to satisfy the
need for a GP circus and one to provide a big night out at the end of the season.
Our former photographer Matt Davis has launched his own business providing branded leisure wear.
We're pleased to bring his quality merchandise to your attention.
Roger now lives in Canada but started watching speedway in the UK. He's a familiar face around British tracks on his
periodical tours in the company of 'Tiger Tom' Marriott.
Mark Dell's friend has a programme from a meeting at Zamalek Speedway in Egypt from 22 December 1928. He's looking for more information
on the meeting - Can You Help?
Andy Davidson wonders whatever happened to Steve Clark the former Rye House Rocket - Can You Help?
"This young man, perhaps only
twice as old as me at the time, was the best ever rider that I have ever seen. He really did know what balance was all about, as he very rarely touched
his foot in the dirt. He didnt need to. "
"Reading the Peter Craven article
brought back many memories of the Hyde Road track and Peter himself. I was born next to the old stadium and my early years were infused with the
noise and smell of those Saturday nights. I started watching the Aces on a serious basis in 1963 and of course Peter's death overshadowed a
wonderful season. What a team that was. Fond memories indeed!!"
"Ivan Blacka, nice to see you still take an interest
in speedway, my connection? I worked as a bar manager in Dalkeith, when you rode for Monarchs, talked the owner into coming along one night, then sponsoring
you. "
"I would just like to say that I
agree 100% with this article. I think Speedway would take a tremendous step forward if the points raised by Mick Clargo were addressed. I too
have been arguing for a long time against the Grand?? Prix, Play Offs, Double Points (this one is a disgrace and VERY unfair). Speedway is a
FABULOUS spectacle and in having four Riders going round a Track to claim points is a VERY simple Formula. How complicated do you have to make it?
It is not the Supporters who will ultimately be responsible for the demise of Speedway, it will be the "Rules, the Damned Rules and the Statistics"
(to paraphrase a famous expression) brought in by the Promotors. I would love to see Speedway survive for many, many years to come - However -
I am not overly optimistic. Speedway MUST present itself as, most of all, a FAIR Sport - at the moment it cannot claim to be that. (Double Points)
There is too much meddling with the Rules - Supporters aren't sure about some of them because they are changed that often. I cannot claim the
longevity of Mick Clargo - I never saw Peter Craven (sadly) but I have been attending Speedway since 1964. I honestly believe that MOST of the
changes since those days have been to the DETRIMENT of our Sport rather than the BENEFIT. "
"I loved the "Good Old Days" article by Burt Tyrrell.
Can Burt be pusuaded to tell us something about these old-time riders that most of have only read about in history books-Jack and Norman Parker,
Tommy Price, Bill Kitchen,Split Waterman and the rest. What were they like as personalities, what were they like as riders, who were the good
mechanics and who was slapdash with their bikes, who were the hard men amongst them. Love to hear more on this."
"Barry your recollections were fantastic, I am researching
the old Davies park speedway where Dicky Case started riding in 1929, actually he started in Toowoomba his home town. As an ex Rye house hopeful
myself circa 1962 I found the article great, tell us more!"
"Re Jim Henry's comments on push bars -
Tai Woffibnden and some others rode a similar machine at Armadale in 2008 so perhaps the design is not quite so new. I agree with JH that they
were/are a pain to push and without wishing to mention the H and S words, potentially hazardous (also more difficult to lift in and out of vans)."
Steve is based in Yorkshire and watched the Dukes at both Halifax and Bradford. Not too surprising then that Kenny Carter
is his all-time fave.
Thanks to David for the above picture he took at The Shay in Halifax in the late 70s or early 80s. David is now
based in Canada but has fond memories of watching at Odsal in the fifties.
"Mike Fullerton the old dog, he hasn't changed
much except for no trace of hair whatsoever. I know him well and even late into his career was a hard charger { vastly experienced }. He insists he
is still the Paisley track record even now as the track sadly closed not long after. Mike raced in the first NZ over 40's championship a couple of
years ago and was lightning quick from the tapes despite being well into his 50's."
"I agree entirely with the comment by
"Anonymous" that perception is everything when it comes to the World Championship-trouble is, I genuinely feel the perception these days is that it
is not a true World Championship because in essence not everybody is given the same opportunity to reach that status-as I think I suggested in
my original article, it is perceived these days as an event run by a few people for effectively an elite group of riders, give or take a small
number of qualifying rounds of sorts raced here and there, in which event while it certainly deserves some sort of an Elite status, by effectively
excluding most of the practitioners of the sport it somehow is much less of a "World" event. I'm not arguing about the inclusion of the likes of Tai
Woffinden, a very gifted rider and world class performer of the future, but if you were to look at the criteria for his inclusion I suspect you
might find they were not quite the same as those by which other riders in the UK and abroad were effectively excluded from the chance to ride. "
"I've seen pictures of the inside of the pub in my speedway star
collection! It had drawings of riders hanging up behind the bar! Collins, Wilkinson, Morton - I'll search it out!"
"Sorry but the new cover design for the bike shown
in this week's edition may look wonderful but is fundamentally flawed and dangerous as it has been designed by someone who has never tried to push
off a rider. The push handle bar immediately behind the seat is too far forward. The push bar above the rear spindle allows a safer push off with the
pusher clear of the rear wheel. With the push bar behind the seat the pusher has to push at an angle and run beside the wheel. "
Long time Oxford fan Mick Clargo shares his views on the current state of the sport, taking in
the play-offs, points limits and tactical rides along the way.
Thanks for Ken Nicholson for his assistance with this article.
Regular contributor Bill shares his memories and thoughts on the sport. His favourite rider of all time is his old mate
'Caff'.
Dave Curtis is working with Mark Woods of Race Bitz on new fairing designs.
The illustration above show how bikes could look in the near future. The picture on the left is an original photograph of Jason Crump
taken by Michal Szmyd and the picture on the right is Dave's artist's
impression of the way forward. The theme is a Red Bull sponsored rider and machine. You can click on either picture to see a larger version.
Graham Bates is looking for logos of defunct clubs - Can You Help?
"A minor Point, Tony `the Tooth` Clarke,
left the Hammers at the end of the 1970 season, going to Wembley, and as both they and the Hammers did not ride agin in 1972, Tony was no longer
a West Ham second string!"
"To continue the Briggo 1972 discussion
further, firstly thanks to Chris Stockwell but not my clip, I just pointed out where it was. Secondly, If you look again at the footage Briggo
loses speed and straightens up. He's already off the white line and Bernt Persson is still going at full racing speed. Persson simply races
into the gap that Briggs has left. If he causes Briggs to fall it's not because he somehow speeds up (surely as a racer he's already going as
fast as he can) it's because Briggs slows. Barry Briggs was a pretty uncompromising rider himself, and often used the expression
"leaving the door open". Have a look at this film from the 1958 final about a minute from the start - YouTube clip"
"A lot of very happy memories came flooding
back when I saw Bill's photos. I was a 13 year old spotty youth when the Lions raced in my home town and my Dad took me down to Love Street
as often as possible. Last year, 2009, I met up with former Lion Mike Fullerton when I was in New Zealand and I must say he was an absolute gentleman.
We talked about the old days as we sat in my hotel at Auckland Airport and we laughed until the tears were just about streaming down. Considering
we had never met and the fact that it was some 33 years since I had last seen him race in Paisley, we hit it off straight away. A great guy and a
top bloke who I will be meeting up with again at the end of October this year, 2010, as I stop over in his home town of Auckland for
a couple of days. "
"What a shame that speedway has left London. I think
we should all get a petition going to bring back speedway to London after all we have lost major venues like New Cross, West Ham and Hackney to name a few.
I miss them. RIP speedway, that will be the future if we don't do something."
"In the latest Speedway Plus Plus Points you have a
photograph of Peter Craven in New Cross colours holding the Tom Farndon Trophy sent in by Robert J. Rogers. The caption underneath says "Craven
won the trophy at New Cross in 1959 - hence him wearing the New Cross racejacket in this snap." While this is indeed the case, it should also
be pointed out that in 1959 New Cross ran a short season of open meetings including a few challenge matches. The New Cross team was
a scratch team which differed each week and was made up from riders from other teams. Peter Craven in fact rode at least three times for the
Rangers that season, so he wore the orange and black at a number of meetings other than the Tom Farndon Trophy meeting."
One of Olly's favourite speedway memories was being involved in track construction for the 1981 World Final.
Robert J. Rogers has sent in this photograph that ties together two of our recent topics - Peter Craven
holding the Tom Farndon trophy. Craven won the trophy at New Cross in 1959 - hence him wearing the New Cross
racejacket in this snap.
The Speedway Researcher magazine are still looking for some details to complete comprehensive records of
all meetings. They have provided PDFs of the information they are lacking for the 1946,
1947 and 1948 seasons. If you can
fill any of the gaps then contact them via their website.
Derek Jol is trying to complete a collection of Coventry programmes - Can You Help?
Stephen Chambers wants to know if there's a train station close to the Slany track from which it's possible to catch a train to Prague
- Can You Help?
The Redcar Bears Supporters group have recently revamped their website. The
group generate funds for the club and individual riders.
"Is not the real point about the one off
World Final that it was the focal point of the speedway year. All the arguments that a one off does not allow for the exceptions do not overide
this. I also remember a comment on the commentary to the 1981 World Final DVD about Dave Jessup's machine failure to the effect that riders should
have everything perfect for such a night, and, is anyone saying Bruce Penhall was not the "real" champion that year? Would Bruce or anyone else
have been held in such high esteem if they won on the basis of GP points? The fact is that GP champion has the same status as the old one off
champions and whilst that holds good there is little point in saying it should not be so. In our sport as in anything it is perception more than
fact that is the final judgement."
"When the Danes do well it's
80cc two strokes, the Aussies we all should be on 125cc four strokes and the Americans in the 80's British Speedway should have gone out and
built 3/4 scale 200cc or is it 250cc bikes. British speedway has every opportunity to create talent, truth is British speedway has the best
system to bring up new talent it just abuses it instead of embracing it. You want to learn to powerslide a bike ride a grasstrack bike in the wet.
A huge number of talented riders have come out of the ranks of junior grasstrack. Several times the whole English speedway team have been grasstrackers.
Speedway teams should join forces with their local grasstrack clubs. British speedway should kick down some of that Sky money to help pay for field
rental etc. What British speedway needs is a strong grasstrack scene closely aligned with good speedway training schools. The talent will rise
to the top, it always does. A Ton of riders came out of the L.G.T.J.R. combo with Belle Vue Monday Nights, Ellesmere Saturday morning plus Crewe and
Stoke training schools too. Malcolm Roe former 1970's L.G.T.J.R. member."
"What a scream, well written and surely the
voice of most supporters, certainly mine. I reckon you could help fill these blank pages you speak of -please- Got me remembering an occasion when
Tigers were at Coatbridge, many years ago (not being more specific) the metal pulley from the starting gate broke and required a welding repair. This
happened about two hours before the meeting started. Jimmy Beaton, the promoter was doing 'handstands', Jimmy was well known for his antics,
Alun Rossiter has no chance when compared to Jimmy and referees. Anyway I digress, I volunteered (as in the Army) to take the pulley to a
friend, some ten miles away in Glasgow who had the necessary welding gear. I was driving a Morris minor (remember them!) at what then was breakneck
speed. The reason that I can remember the incident so well was because during my return with repaired item the brakes on my car failed. No time for
RAC, AA or any type of repair, so I drove to the stadium for about six miles traffic lights and all, using only the handbrake. Nothing
else mattered. The meeting started on time leaving me with a lifelong experience of how speedway riders feel when grasping for non existing brakes.
I now travel some 200 miles round trip to support 'The Tigers' hopefully in a car with working brakes. "
"This track was demolished a few years back. It was used between
1994-2006. It seems unlikely that a new track will be built at this point but who knows."
"I have great memories of Linlithgow
training track. I used to race with Blair Scott, Barry Campbell and a few others at Shawfield and remember doing the Les Collins junior testimonial at
Linlithgow in the 90's. I miss racing very much and got distracted with other things in life that were happening at the time and would love for a
second chance to try it again. I remember having a bad crash that day in the race with Barry Campbell and Stuart Coleman and have been trying for years
to source a video on this meeting, if there is one i would love to find it. I still return to Ashfield now and again but it brings back memories of what
I could have been so tend not to go a lot."
We know from our 'All About You' feature that many of you wish you'd seen Peter Craven in action. Dudley Jones was
lucky enough to see him ride a number of times around the long-lost Firs Stadium in Norwich. Here he shares his memories of those
nights from his youth.
Jim Henry has asked us to correct a commonly repeated myth that appeared in the first version of this article. Peter Craven did not
start off a handicap in his final race.
Bill Elliot was going through his collection of Paisley Lions programmes and decided to send us some of the pictures
featured within. Martin Mauger has also sent us photographic evidence of the night the track had to be widened mid-match
to meet the minimum size requirements.
Gavin first saw the sport at Poole and his favourite rider of all time is another famous P.C.
THE VOICE, No.36 The 36th edition of the Voice, the official journal of Friends of Speedway, is now available. Editor Stuart Towner and
Treasurer Sue Towner preside over 24 pages packed with articles from various writers concerning speedway matters past and present. Sometimes
controversial, sometimes blunt, but always interesting and guaranteed to brighten up a dreary winter's afternoon. By joining Friends
of Speedway you will also be making a vital contribution to the development of under 15's speedway racing to which FoS were proud to have
contributed £500 in season 2009. Every new member is another step forward so come and join us and do your bit to help maintain the
future of British speedway racing. To join Friends of Speedway and receive your four quarterly copies of the Voice please send a cheque
for £10, made payable to Friends of Speedway, to Stuart Towner at 117 Church Lane, Chessington Surrey KT9 2DP.
Vladislavs Bikovskis is a scarf collector looking to extend his collection - Can You Help?
My introduction to speedway was in 1948 when staying in London at a family friend's prefab (that was a thrill for a start!). My father had seen speedway
pre-war, and took my brother and me to New Cross. The stadium was packed, and the match was against Bradford. I was convinced that the riders had
overdone it as they hurtled into the first bend, and would all finish up on the ground! When I opened my eyes they were half way up the back
straight! I loved the smell, the noise, the sight of those skeletal bikes with no mudguards, crash helmets (remember we never saw a motorcyclist
on the road wearing one then), sparks flying from the steel shoes, and the plumes of black cinders from the back wheels. My brother and
I demanded to be taken back the following week when Wimbledon were the opposition.
I've since realised that the film "Once a jolly swagman"
was filmed at New Cross that very summer, and the first race shown on that film was shot from just about where we stood in the main stand, so it
very much captures for me my first impressions. I must say though, that entry to the first bend looks much tamer now compared with modern day
racers who throw the bikes in sideways with the throttle on. Returning home to Chelmsford we made a few visits to Rayleigh over the next
two seasons, and in 1950 when Tippy and Arthur Atkinson took over at the Weir, we became regulars. My brother and I are still Rye House
Rockets supporters and our children and grandchildren are also speedway fans."
"From the looks of your
article Great Britain does not have a chance at ever competing with the likes of the Danes, Swedes, etc. once the only few British
riders left retire. Everybody is too worried about making money than joining forces for the good of the sport. That article raps it up in a nutshell."
"Very informative comment from Tracy Holmes linking it
to Briggo's crash in the 1972 World Final at Wembley where he lost a finger. Just one small correction. The bike that was launched over the fence
was MINE, not Ronnie Moore's and it sustained quite a lot of damage. (but not as bad as Barry's hand!). That afternoon, my car, with my best
Jawa strapped on the back, had been parked nehind the Wembley pits and, when I came back to the pits, I saw a couple of burly suspicious-looking
characters removing my bike from the carrier. The Scottish-Russian translations didn't go too well but eventually I found out that the Russian
bikes had been stolen and that they needed something to ride that night. I agreed that they could use my Jawa but unfortunatly that was the bike
involved in costing Briggo his injuries that night. Sorry, Barry!"
"Thanks to Ian Harwood for his youtube clip, of Briggo's
1972 World Final crash. Watching it again after all these years you can see that Persson just kept on going and it seemed all he wanted to do was
NAIL BRIGGO. The clip also shows the need for professonal referees, German ref that night, Ge orge Transpurger was a total amature, any ref worth
his salt (ie Frank Ebdon, David Hughes, Tony Steel etc) would have Kicked Persson out. At least Ivan beat Persson in the run off and got Briggo some
sort of revenge."
"My old mate Nick is famous! I met
Nick way back in 1989 when he was an honourary "Pit Bend Loonie" and we have been mates ever since and attended many a meeting together over
the years. He has some very good ideas about this great sport of ours, maybe more people should listen to him!"
"100% agree Roger Johns (Mr Wimbledon).
Tommy Janssons appeal you just had to see the way he rode at plough lane and elsewhere to understand his ability and the reason why people felt
he would have been World champion. Get the book Tommy Jansson (Legend who died young) by Magnus Nystrom. If nothing else it will explain his place
in the hearts of all Dons supporters."
A series of short extracts from the new book by Norman Jacobs and John Chaplin. The book
will be officially launched on 21 February at the Celebration of Speedway at the Speedway Museum, Paradise Wildlife Park.
This one seems sure to be a best seller, so get those orders in early.
David is a Belle Vue fan and was present at the greatest match-race of all time - no guesses as to which classic encounter he means!
Apologies to those waiting for their 'All About You', 'Dream Team' or other articles to appear. We do get round to everything
eventually. As always, all contributions are welcome - see Contact Us page for how to get in touch.
Mark Brighty wants to know about parade music at King's Lynn in years gone by - Can You Help?
Richard Austin reports that speedway is set to continue at Costa Mesa for 2010 at least. Let's hope the venue proves to have a
long term future.
Jeff Scott has put together an interesting article on GP attendance figures - check out his
blog to read it.
"I thought the response by Geoff Langley on this article was excellent however there are a couple more points that he could have touched on. The present GP system does allow fans in many parts of Europe to see some of the best riders in the world each year, under the old one off night this would not be the case. It also must generate a lot more money for the fortunate riders who have qualified, kissed the right backsides, or just got lucky.It might be worth mentioning that back around 1970 that Kings Lynn rider Howard Cole had a superb season capped off with a deserved place at a Wembley Final. I don't think he scored many, if any, points and all he got out of being one of the top sixteen riders in the world was his start money and travel money which didn't even cover the cost of the tyres he used! The old way was brilliant for the fans but it was not as rewarding for the riders as it should have been. I guess the bottom line is that there are just too many ways to look at this topic but until we come up with a system that allows every licenced rider in the world an even chance couldn't we just call it a Grand Prix Championship? "
"Addendum to Tracy Holmes comments.
Tony Clarke (West Ham second string) got a 'free transfer' to Wandsworth (or some 'bird' centre) for his part in removing the Russian bikes."
"My misinformation regarding Chris Bailey's nationality came from a photo caption in the 1971 Webster's Speedway Mirror that says "Not many riders who compete in Division 2 can claim to have won a national title. Chris Bailey is one however taking the New Zealand Championship in 1969-1970". So I'd been under the impression since then that he was a New Zealander. Of course nationalities have never counted for a great deal in speedway. This was the era when Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs rode for Great Britain in the World Team Cup."
"I agree with my pal Ian Martin, it would be nice to see Scotland represented at international level once more. I well remember the two England v Scotland meetings at Sunderland in 1973 and 1974. Scotland were indeed captained by Doug Templeton, but the England captain was our old friend Bruce Forrester, not Russ Dent as Ian stated."
"Unfortunately due to the current growth in nimbys ie the residents in the area of the Long Eaton speedway circuit this great local institution remains closed as of this day. I do not know if plans are afoot to revive this once great addition to our local history and entertainment, one can only hope that someone has the money and the sense to re-open what would be a lucrative and enthralling attraction to the East Midlands."
"I first saw Mike Lee at Newcastle motordrone 1977 riding for England against Australia. He was 17 years old and he was great, I wanted to be a speeedway rider atfer seeing him race. I was 14 years old I did come to England to try my luck in 1990."
Bill Elliot considers what it might be like to run a speedway club and comes to the conclusion that he'd require
assistance from a huge cast of unsung heroes.
"Track looks typical of the big fast flat Eastern European scene. It
is a reasonably good stadium - is that a block of flats / offices holding up the ref's box?"
"I agree with most of the above points.
I haven't been to speedway for 6 years now having been a fan for 32 years! Those running the sport have big problems. At the time I anticipated the
effect the Grand Prix would have on the domestic scene and have been proved right. SKY TV have manipulated the sport for its own good. I don't
agree with Play-Offs and daft rules (double points) and a points limit which means that riders no longer become automatic choices at the start
of every season. Instead fans have to endure a system where they can no longer relate with their team and chosen favourites. Too many foreigners
with no loyalty to their teams causes disruption and race nights altering to accomodate Grand Prix fixtures. Lack of continuity doesn't help and
I fear for the sport. I grew up watching speedwau during the 70's, 80's and 90's and feel that those days have long gone. RIP"
"You look at these tracks that these poor countries produce
and they are brilliant. It is a real shame that Great Britain can't produce the same quality. I know there are some good tracks in Britain but overall
most of them don't compare to these poorer countries. Just look at that track it is fantastic. Shame on you Great Britain. It is no mystery that
Speedway is dwindling in Britain due to no interest in making quality tracks like these other poorer countries produce."
Nick remains a staunch supporter of the Wimbledon Dons, having first seen them race back in 1987 when 'Mark Doodar' made an immediate
impression. Roger Johns is his favourite all time Don.
Wimbledon Supporters Reunion 2010
Wimbledon Speedway Supporters Club are pleased to announce the staging of the 'First Great Reunion Bash' on Saturday March 13th 2010.
The venue will be The Quays, Coleford Bridge Road, Mytchett, nr Camberley, Surrey. From 7pm until late.
The evening will be hosted by former Plough Lane presenting legend Mike Bennett, and former riders from down the years are being invited. Food will be available and it is also hoped that there will be an auction of some Wimbledon memorabilia.
Tickets are now available at a cost of £10, and entrance will be strictly by ticket only, although these can be picked up on the day.
If there are any former Wimbledon riders out there that have yet to be contacted then please send an email to the same address.
Berwick are holding a speedway forum and video night in memory of former track photographer Graham Platten. Sam Ermolenko, Tony Steele,
Lee Complin and Michal Makovsky will all be present and profits will be split between Michal's testimonial fund and the Motor Neurone Disease
Association. It starts at 7pm on February 6th at the Black and Gold club. Admission is a just a fiver and tickets can be reserved via email
from admin@michalmakovsky.com, alternatively call 07955 211 618.
Geoff Gale is looking for photographs from the Lew Coffin training schools at Weymouth in 1968/69 and the 1969
Swindon Junior Championship - Can You Help?
"Interesting point in the Alf Common debate,
in February 1905 he moved from Sunderland to Middlesborough for the then HUGE fee of £1,000 which was the first ever four figure transfer. We
all know how daft football has gone with money since then. Aren't you glad speedway never got tainted with crazy transfers?"
"While the 'one off' World Final was
fantastic, Speedway needed to move forward. Far too often our great sport hangs on to traditions or past glories. Those days are gone and I beleive
without SGP the sport would be even smaller. As for saying a GP Champion who was seeded is not a real World Champion 'BOLLOCKS'. Crumpy was seeded
last year because he qualified from '08 so is he not really the rightfull champ.......I THINK SO.......Hope you all had a great Xmas and maybe
Santa brought the SGP organisers a big bag of dirt for the tracks......"
"I also agree. It is NOT a true World
championship. I stopped buying the speedway star after 40+ years when it turned into the grand prix weekly! The only speedway magazine still worth a
read is Classic Speedway magazine published by retro speedway, hardly a mention of the fake world championships. I also agree that on television it is
good, but it should be billed only as the grand prix championship not the world as it plainly is not."
"Thanks for the wonderful memories here. Very similar
to my own. My parents went to Belle Vue when Stanley stadium closed, I think money etc became an issue, and they tailed off going so we never went
back to Stanley and I don't even recall it reopening. I was an avid Gunners fan for many years. The Aces were really the only other team I could
follow ( when Thornton Road closed ) in close proximity but transport difficulties meant I didn't go often. Still go to an occasional match there
however. Hoping to become a regular at Workington for 2010 season as I live nearer there now. "
Former Stoke rider Bobby Duncan finds out about the British product that is helping the Danes
to being through a quality of rider that we Brits can only dream of.
Andy thinks he saw his first meeting way back in 1971. He nominates Michael Lee as his favourite rider of all time and has fond memories
of a long weekend at Peterborough.
Here's a recent gathering of some well known speedway personalities.
The back row is Scott Trigg, Roy Trigg, Colin Tucker, Bob Andrews, Tom Sweetman, Chris Sweetman and Joe Hicks.
The front row is Jean Stone, Tracy Trigg, Bob Duckworth and Rim Malskaitis (who we can't mention without linking to
Dave Gifford's brilliant article about him). Thanks to photographer Linda Andrews and
to Jim Henry for sending it on.
Richard Austin reports that Costa Mesa (part of the Orange County Fairgrounds) is still under threat. Astonishingly it seems that Arnie himself
may be the man that terminates the circuit. The following appeared in the Los Angeles times last week:
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is refusing to halt the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds, which covers 150 acres in Costa Mesa, CA.
Three city council members and the town's city manager traveled to Sacramento on Monday, to meet with Schwarzenegger in an effort to get him to change his mind on selling the land, home
to the annual county fair. Schwarzenegger, though decided to push forward with the sale, said Mike Naple, a governor's office spokesman."
David Hensby of Bones Websites has been busy over there in Canada. He's now produced websites for both Paul Cooper
and Hugh Skidmore
"The "new or old" World Championship
format all depends on whether you want to have a competition to find the best rider in the world or whether you just want a rider who can cause a
bit of an upset on the night, but who is not necessarily a genuine World Champion. You also have to remember that times change. Speedway has
always depended to some extent on gate positions and a slice of luck but from Jack Young down to Ole Olsen you could say that the
winner of the single meeting World Final was generally accepted as one of the best, if not the best in the World, by reason of their season-long
performances.
From 1973 onwards that was not necessarly true. It really came to a head with Egon Muller's win on home turf in 1983. Muller was basically a Longtrack
racer, and although he was of international standard at speedway he was by no means a rider that could seriously be raked amongst the real cream.
Apart from 1983 he never finished higher than 7th in a World Final. In 1983, with the World Final held in Germany he was given more practice time
than the standard practice the others had and the track was prepared more as a longtrack which gave him a great advatage. That was really the
final straw and the bottom of a slipery slope that was started by the Sczakiel episode.
In short the single meeting World Final was fantastic
in its time but times have changed. Speedway has changed. The single meeting format has become unreliable. Furthermore nobody can seriously compete
at international level without huge amounts of sponsorship and sponsors want season long exposure. There is another point that is missed by those
who object to the lack of a "proper" qualifying system. Speedway is much bigger geographically now than 40 years ago. There are more countries
involved and the qualifying rounds would not be equal. Poland for example would be more competitive than the British rounds. There is an enormous
amount of talent in Denmark, many of whom would knock each other out in the preliminary rounds. Undoubtedly some riders would get a
much easier qulifying route than others and this would demean the eventual Final.
I do agree that there should be more fairness
about qualifying for the GP's. It is, for example appalling that a rider like Tai Woffinden should be gifted a place in the GP's next year
just because he has a Britsh passport and a huge publicity machine despite fact he went out in the preliminary stages of qualifying, failing
to even reach the GP Challenge at Coventry, let alone reach the top three. Nevertheless the powers that be have decided they want two
British riders in so thats the end of it. Failure to qualify by the proper route becomes immaterial However it has to be accepted that there has to
be a certain mount of seeding to the GP's and it is no longer realistically or logistically possible to go back to the single meeting
World Final. Those old style finals were great in their time but their time is now gone."
"Who remembers the great training track
in Linlithgow? The fantastic "Linlithgow Lightning" It brought through the likes of Blair scott, Barry campbell, William Lawson, Derek sneddon
to name but a few. I spent the latter end of the nineties at the track helping out and had a bike myself "though was never any good" but enjoyed
the thrill of being involved in it all. Scottish speedway is surely crying out for a training track to help the youngsters come through!!
Not everyone can afford to travel down south every weekend for a good skid on the bike! At the time if it wasnt for the likes of the Alan Robertson's
or the Jimmy Smith's of this world I wouldn't of had the great experience of riding a speedway bike. If anyone can relate to this or has a spare field
(in Scotland) wanting to be turned into an oval shaped shale bedded track please let us know!! The old track in Berwick (Berrington lough) (
just over the border) came to mind, any thoughts on that one?"
"Great site! I came across it
recently and have enjoyed reading the articles and recollections of the many fans. The memories of Custom House and the Wick came flooding back to
my mind with great pleasure. I have a few stories to tell when I get the time that, hopefully,a lot of the older fans (including some who knew me back
then) will get pleasure from remembering like I have."
Stephen now supports the Redcar Bears but his happiest memories come from the Cleveland Park era when the Middlesbrough Tigers
were the only show in town. His all time favourite is the all-action Martin 'Mad Dog' Dixon.
Ian Graham wonders whatever happened to Geoff Maloney - Can You Help?
Congratulations to all involved in getting the new Dudley Heathens club off the ground. The club has a new website where you
can keep up to date with their 2010 campaign - dudleyspeedway.com
Mid-American Speedway in Indianapolis has a website. Find out more about this track at midamspeedway.com
"I agree totally with the sentiments
expressed in this well constructed piece. I would love to see Scotland back on the International stage. I seem to remember many years ago (too many)
watching an England .v. Scotland International at Sunderland. England were I believe captained by Russ Dent and Scotland by Dougie Templeton. It was a
super occasion and a very hard fought Match as I recall. I know that this was at the old Second Division level but could something like this not be
resurrected today at Premier League level. Even possibly involvement in an International Four Team Tournament. At least it would be start, as Bill Elliot
puts it, towards 2029. "
"Just looked at
your website and I found it very interesting as my father Lionel Watling used to ride in the Midlands and England.
Lionel took the name Watling from his father who was Robert Watling Goldingay. I think he preferred Watling to Goldingay. Lionel died in December 1991 but
always remembered his racing days."
"This painting really is a mystery, and one
could go on for a while. I've been on the ASKJeeves web site and the only Alfred Common, played football for Sunderland and other Tyne side clubs in the
late 1800's. Could the Artist be using a footballing hero's name instead of his own?"
"There was a footballer named Alfred Common
with very strong North East connections. As he died in 1946 could this be a relation, as it is not a common name (Oops sorry!)"
"I have trawled my 1972 World Final file
and yes, the painting could very well be heat 5. Bernt Persson in front, Briggo going down. The next rider on the inside is Grigori Chlinovski
who came underneath Briggs, made contact but got by. The rider at the back is Valeri Gordeev who famously hit Briggs and was launched into space with
the bike bouncing over the safety fence. The bike itself belonged to Ronnie Moore who had loaned it to Gordeev as the Russian bikes had been stolen
from the Wembley workshops. Fellow Wimbledon Stars Bert Harkins and Graeme Stapleton also helped with bikes I believe. "
