iris123

Of course the Polish armed forces wouldn't do that?Oh wait......

Never went to the Shay,but i did go to both Cradley and Belle Vue.Saw Gundersen v Nielsen in the golden helmet at Cradley.Two legends of the sport

One of the most exciting legtrailers of the past decade.Nikolai Krasnikov On the dirt though was there a more exciting rider than Gollob.Great man in action here

Not really a mystery at all as it has all been documented on this forum at the time.But i guess gustix was too busy on the Hot Rod forum to have noticed Here is one old thread http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=70211&hl=%2Boxford+%2Bflat+%2Btrack

Did post a link on here a few years back with phtos of Tom Farndon in i think his only overseas tour.But gone back and there are some great photos of the early 1930s here with riders i have never heard of like Clarrie Tonks,Alf Mattson etc as well as some well known names like Farndon,Huxley and Kempster Well worth a look https://natlib.govt.nz/items?i%5Bcollection%5D=Crown+Studios+Ltd+%3ANegatives+and+prints&i%5Bprimary_collection%5D=TAPUHI&i%5Bsubject%5D=Speedway+motorcycle+racing

Australian newspaper clipping on the death of Tom Farndon http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40072491

Yes,i remember the first few years i visited Stamford Bridge there was still the remnants of the track around the pitch. Also remember when visiting Sportspages,the sport book shop in the 80s that they had a history of Stamford Bridge there.Mostly of course about Chelsea football club,but there was a section in the book about speedway.Didn't buy it because of my dislike of Chelsea though

Of course i am not a neutral,so for me Plough Lane is the best.Would have loved to have seen speedway at some of the other famous tracks through the years.In fact i would rather have seen speedway than football at Stamford Bridge *spit*

Dare i mention the great idea of taking the world U21s to Argentina and the very successful world league.Both coming from the FIM chief Armando himself.We just can't wait for his next super idea.......can we?

I went from Salzburg by train to Bad Reichenhall and then from there by bus to Inzell.Not sure if it is best or cheaper,but it worked for me and was quite scenic

Have to wonder about the wc for young Bauer.He wasn't really in much form this season so far.Busch looked a better bet

I could always ask my cousin,Martin Elliot,if he knows more,though i am not sure why it is very urgent for you to know.Are you planning on taking a last trip to the track?I'll ask him to get his skates on with an answer if so

If you want to get a feel of what it was like in London in the 1930s and also enjoy a bit of speedway at Lea Bridge with Gus Kuhn,Tom Farndon and Ron Johnson then have a butchers at this...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCoJpvyb4eU

Quite uncanny realy looking at this photo of Mark Loram.If it was b&w and a bit grainy,you could think it was taken at the old Frying pan in the 1930s

Thanks Henry

What happened to Marmande on the 18th?Thought we might have had an update by now.And an definite answer to how the 250cc riders fit into the scheme of things

Agree with most of that Steve.Not so sure on Sanders,but who am i to disagree with the likes of John Berry.Got to respect his opinion.Loved Tommy,he wa my favourite rider,without doubt,Of course second favourite was PC.Think what was great abut those days was just the mix of stylish and exciting riders.But even later i loved Silver or Galvin or Loram and Dugard and Andy Smith.You have to take your hat off to the likes of Gollob and Sayfutdinov.Speedway right on the edge of the safety barrier in more than one aspect.And give him his dues Chris Harris at his best was/is great to watch

Peter Collins.Or even Gollob.Great riders and as exciting as anyone in the sports history i would say

Of course standing in a stadium with 55,000 watching a test with some of the best in the world is straight away better than standing with 1,000 watching 1 or 2 good riders and some run of the mill......without even talking about the racing.Which could be better or worse,but just due to the atmosphere seems better. I know from experience having been to a number of big meetings at Vojens that both i and most around me have enjoyed the meeting,then got back home and looked here and all thse at home watching on tv have thought it boring

Far be it for me to say what TWK meant,but i took it as being due to the lack of footage we can't compare. Of coure when we look at footage we can compare.We can see whether it is less,more or as exciting as todays meetings.As i pointed out with the 1933 test,that is i guess the highlights of the meeting and nothing there to compare with Emil v Darcy or Lee v Eddie.But maybe the best races were cut short and maybe it just wasn't a typical good meeting.I am open minded about it.Some don't seem to be.Not you mind

Unfortunately we look at the original footage of the first meeting at High Beech and it is nothing like the race between Emil and Darcy.It is in fact very tame.But i do agree it would be wonderful to see some of those old meetings to really judge. This is the 1933 test England v Australia and not very exciting apart from one or two incidents.I would put todays speedway in front of this tbh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zykyrxhJaL4 Hard of course to say if this was as good as it gets,an average or a poor meeting for the time.If the track was too deep.Guess a report from the meeting would be good,but looking at the scores a number of riders weren't able to complete the meeting.The spectacular Farndon only managed 3 rides for 1 pt.Claude Rye was out after a fall in his first ride as was Max Gross kreutz of Australia and a few others had falls like Dicky Case,Vic Huxley,Bluey Wilkinson and Wal Phillips http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/engvaus1a.htm

Trouble is a photo is just a split second.We don't really know if that race was agreat or just a split second near each other and that was it.But we can look at modern video and see that speedway today can hold itself against any period of the past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wsSo5Ei2g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nXDDK8POS4 At many stages of these two races we could have a photo that looks more spectacular than the old one as the riders are far closer

You mean Real speedway thrills like this duel between Richardson and Kennett.Legtrailing a bit as well.Labelled as one of the best speedway races ever.Not quite sure if it is right up there though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyukusgs-CI

Yes,Silver really was a modern spectacular rider,hanging on to his bike around Rye House or Plough Lane.He was one of my 80s favourites Probably better clips out there,but this does show his style https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geChQHLaEOw

I was wondering Steve.Have to admit that i am not sure i ever saw Colquhoun and even Greer doesn't stick out for me.Guess i might have seen him riiding for Oxford or White City?Think he was linked to the promotion.Can't even recall Bisson,though i guess i did see him when Poole were the Wildcats.Even Kelly Moran burst on the scene just as i was taking a break for studies from the sport and only went to the NNL Championships,although i did go to an England v USA test in the early 80s.Then when i came back Wimbledon were quickly down in the second division etc.So i think i only ever saw him half a dozen times