iris123

Talk about a round of the Ivan mauger farewell in Bremen brought back memories of the old place. Not that i ever went there. But a nice stadium in a big city with some top meetings held there. The Bremen Golden Key was i think their annual top event, and Mauger won it a few times i seem t recall. Anyway, someone has posted a nice history on Wiki The Hansastadion (also spelled Hansa-Stadion) was a motorsport racetrack in the northwest German city of Bremen. It had a sand track, was mainly used for the speedway and, with seating for up to 15,000, was one of the largest sports facilities in Bremen. A total of 70 racing days were held here between September 1953 and May 1988. The Hansastadion was located in the Bremen district of Kattenturm, which is part of the Obervieland district and, above all, the southern district. It was between the street Arsterdamm - a large northwest-southeast tangent of the district - in the southwest and the Mühlendamm in the northeast, opposite the confluence of the street Im Arster Felde in the Arsterdamm. The Mühlendamm was expanded to the western section of the Arsten motorway feeder in the mid-1970s. Speedway races were held in Bremen immediately after the end of the Second World War. For example, in front of several thousand spectators, they drove on a dirt track near the Zum Kuhhirten restaurant on Stadtwerder. A grass track race in the Vahr district remained unsuccessful. In May 1952 the Motorsport Club (MSC) Hansa was entered in the association register as a local club of the ADAC. It emerged from the Bremen motorcycle club and initially had just under 40 members. The club initially carried out its races mainly at the Zum Kuhhirten, but soon there was a desire for its own racetrack. The 28,000 square meter area of the former Potthast brickworks at Arsterdamm 70 was leased and the residents there signed that they agreed to the construction of a sports and racing track. The construction work - financed without any state or municipal subsidies - began in December 1952, but was interrupted soon afterwards due to the winter frost. The association members filled the disused loam and clay pit on the property with rubble, debris from the New Town and soil. A construction company gave them a bulldozer free of charge to level the site. A layer of red debris was then layed At the time of opening, the Hansastadion had the largest and most modern sand racing track for motorbikes in northern Germany. The track was 398 meters long, ten meters on the straights and 15 meters wide in the bends, making it the only North German sand track to meet international regulations at the time of opening. In the interior of the stadium there was at times a football pitch for VfB Komet Bremen. Any further considerations to open the track for the training of racing cyclists, however, were rejected. The first race in the new Hansastadion was held on September 20, 1953 and, with 8,000 spectators, it already attracted significantly more audiences than had been expected. In the following 36 years there was lively racing and the dirt track in Kattenturm developed into one of the most famous speedway tracks in Europe. There were up to four meetings per year, on each of which several races were held. The main prize was always the "Golden Bremen Key". From 1974 there were also runs for the various world championships in the Hansastadion. The most important events of this kind were: May 1, 1974: Qualifying round of the continental championship of the individual World Championship June 29, 1975: Continental semi-finals of the Team World Cup May 1, 1977: Quarter-finals of the continental round of the individual World Championship July 13, 1980: Continental team World Cup final June 5, 1983: Semi-finals of the Pairs World Cup May 1, 1985: Quarter-finals of the continental round of the individual World Championship In peak times, more than 10,000 spectators attended the races - in some cases they even came from abroad, for example from the Netherlands or Denmark. From 1973 onwards, MSC Hansa and VfB Komet Bremen took part in the then new Speedway Bundesliga. A comprehensive renovation of the stadium took place in the spring of 1978. Not only were modern track fences installed, but the capacity of the stands was also increased to 14,000 or 15,000 spectators by backfilling the ramparts. The racetrack itself was renewed by a British specialist company. 1500 tons of dump and 300 tons of fine slag were used; a very hard, almost dust-free coating was created. After the reopening, the "Master of Speedway" competition took place for the first time on May 1st of the same year, and from then on the world elite of sport regularly competed in Bremen. For example, Zoltán Adorján, Kenny Carter, Peter Collins, Sam Ermolenko, Erik Gundersen, Michael Andrew Lee, Ivan Mauger, Chris Morton, Hans Nielsen, Ole Olsen, Bobby Schwartz and Dennis Sigalos drove in the Hansastadion The decline of the MSC Hansa - and with it the Hansastadion - began in the early 1980s. Fuel and motorcycle prices rose sharply while audience interest fell. An average of 3,000 to 4,000 visitors per day of the race came to Arsterdamm, which meant that the events were hardly profitable for the club. In the course of the emerging environmental movement, high-emission motorsport was also seen as a contributor to environmental problems. The requirements for carrying out the noisy events were increasingly tightened: In the end, it was only allowed to drive four hours per month - and that only in westerly winds below Beaufort 4. That made regular training impossible. After VfB Komet Bremen had also moved to the Arsten district, MSC Hansa pulled its team from the Bundesliga in the spring of 1983 In addition, after the death of the farmer Wilhelm Bredehöft (1896–1980), who had leased the stadium grounds to the club, there was a dispute about its continued use. The 16-strong community of heirs favored commercial use. After a conversation with Building Senator Bernd Meyer, the heirs agreed in the spring of 1985 to allow the MSC Hansa to continue to use it until December 30, 1986. Their application to rededicate the site from green to commercial space, however, was not approved and the Senator did not want to continue the development plan procedure. At the beginning of December 1986, the club received verbal confirmation that it would also be able to host speedway races in the following two years. In April 1987, the Obervieland Advisory Board, MSC Hansa and the Afghanan-Greyhound Club Nord agreed on temporary use of the stadium by the dog club. He wanted to use the facility twice a week to run the animals and organize a race with up to 300 spectators once a year. However, the plans stalled and in October of the same year the advisory board discussed again whether the stadium could actually be made available for greyhound races. When it finally became clear that the lease would not be extended beyond 1988, the city authorities intervened again The group of heirs offered the property for sale for 2.2 million Deutschmarks - a sum that the association was unable to raise. The economic development agency of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen stood out as an interested party and wanted to open up the area for industrial settlements. Corresponding negotiations began on May 17, 1988. The MSC Hansa then turned to the Senator for Economic Affairs and the Sports Department. Senator for Economic Affairs Uwe Beckmeyer stopped the request of the business development agency and pointed out that one wanted to try first to use the stadium for other sporting activities. At the end of June 1988, the Bremen Equestrian Federation considered using the stadium for tournament purposes, but withdrew when it was realized that it was right in the approach lane of Bremen airport. At the same time, western riders from Bremen-Nord also expressed their interest if a sand area was built in the stadium. From October 1988, the members of the MSC Hansa were banned from entering the stadium.The advisory board and local office of Obervieland emphatically demanded the preservation of the sports facility. Ultimately, however, the property was not bought by the public sector, although the city would have liked to keep the site for sport. As a result, the community of heirs officially offered the property for commercial purposes, because there were no binding provisions of a development plan that would have excluded commercial activity at the time. In the discussion, the settlement of two forwarding companies was planned, which the residents rejected because of the announced size of the companies As a result, the deputation for urban development dealt with the problem and passed a plan drawing up resolution, which called on the city planning office to stipulate bindingly what and in what form may be built on the site of the Hansastadion. It was decided to draw up a development plan that should correspond to the interests of all those involved. This decision had suspensive effect for commercial building applications. At Christmas 1988 it became known that the community of heirs was definitely not extending the lease agreement with the association. This meant the end of the speedway races in the Hansastadion. As part of the considerations for possible re-use options, it was considered, among other things, to host the German junior equestrian championships (jumping, dressage, vaulting, pony riding) in the Hansastadion in August 1989. In the end, however, it did not materialize. On November 30, 1990, the empty, wooden clubhouse at the stadium burned down completely. The cause was determined to be arson by young people. In March 1991, Bremer Gewerbebau GmbH offered the site to commercial users for sale. After the stadium was demolished in the 1990s, the site lay fallow for a long time, apart from the establishment of a furniture store. It was not until 2004 that a Christian free church congregation erected its new church building on a plot of land measuring around 7700 square meters. Finally, in March of the same year, the Obervieland Advisory Board decided to name a short - just over 100 meters long - connecting road in the Am Mohrenshof industrial park - at the location of the former sports facility - as Am Hansastadion https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansastadion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFIiSPZCqog

Some pics of the Neuenknick meeting 07.04.1985 https://www.speedway-yesterday.de/html/body_neuenknick-85.html#Neuenknick1985

Yes, but looks like a fence is still there for the speedway track at least

Fingers crossed of course, for some real ice speedway in western Europe. But you have to be doubtful that the Austrian government will allow anything, added to the weather problems. Although it is in the minus in the night, for the next week or so it is up to 8 + during the day The hope i Omicron means it will all calm down. There is even a discussion now that the Vaccine mandate planned for February won't happen, with the new PM and situation At the moment airplanes from the UK and the Netherlands aren't even allowed to land it seems Einstufung von vier zusätzlichen Ländern als Virusvariantengebiete (Anlage 1 der Einreiseverordnung): Dänemark, Niederlande, Norwegen und Vereinigtes Königreich. Für Flüge aus diesen Ländern besteht kein Landeverbot! And of course at the moment anyway, Football is being played without crowds, and the measures are fairly tough, which would probably mean in the near future it would be hard to plan Outdoor ohne zugewiesene Sitzplätze: Zutritt nur mit 2-G FFP2-Maskenpflicht Höchstgrenze: max. 25 Personen Outdoor mit zugewiesenen Sitzplätzen: Zutritt nur mit 2-G FFP2-Maskenpflicht Höchstgrenze: max. 500 Personen nur mit 2-G max. 1000 Personen bei 2-G+ max. 2000 Personen bei Booster + PCR

Don't suppose we will ever see these days again.....Egon Müller taking all the trophies home

Good news for North German long track fans, is the return of Jübek Billed as the fastest Long track in the world, disappered from the calendar some years ago after a short attempt by a Danish group to run meetings there. Seems the guy who was boss at local speedway track Nordhastedt has got a group together to start the track up again. He is involved in Flat Track and it looks like that will also be on the calendar. Did see some video on Facebook that they have already done some training. One of the tracks i wanted to get to, but never did. Maybe a chance in the future.....also a couple of months back went through to town of Hechthausen, which was another that i always wanted to get to, but never did https://www.bahnsport-info.de/2021/12/08/msg-juebek-ein-anfang-ist-gemacht/

Seems every year on the Danish island of Romo they host a vintage motor and motorbike rally. Ernst Bogh was there with a speedway bike

I don't know the answer to that, but apparently Wilbur Lamoreaux worked for Crocker for a short period after returning to the States from England

One of the problems is a lot, if not most meeting reports don't really mention the bikes much. Think the early Australian and UK reports generally mention what make of bike a rider was on. Not so much in the States Here is a report from 1933 Two match races will be offered motorcycle racing fans at Long Beach Motospeedway tonight in addition to the usual program of events. One pairs rival club captains, Bo Lisman of Long Beach and Cordy Milne of Loyola, while the other matches Miny Wain and Jack Milne. There are 18 events on the card, and with the close of the 1933 short track racing season drawing nearer, every effort is being made to provide the best of competition. Motors are going faster, and riders are becoming less careful in the.bid for final purses. The long winter has inoculated riders with a new sense of recklessness, and railbirds see in tonight’s show more than ordinary hazards. Byrd McKinney shattered the record for the flying start race on the Loyola motorbike program last night. He toured the distance in one minute and three seconds, clipping four-fifths second off the old mark. Jack Milne finished second and Wilbur Lamoreaux third. Bo Lisman won the final handicap with Lamoreaux second and McKinney third. In the match races, Cordy Milne defeated his brother, Jack, and “Rusty” Roberts won over Sid Chambers.

Just watching Hans Nielsen, he really did, as dave Lanning say's, make it look so easy

Can only go on what i guess HE wrote to me. Unfortunately i lost the password to my email account back then that i had contact with him through Also know that he told me, he was less than enthusiastic about the return of the Dons venture. So maybe it was more, lack of enthusiasm for modern speedway

Met Brian once. Not sure if he messaged me or i read it, that he had lost interest in the sport Didn't know about his health, and hope he is doing well. Very nice guy, and as i said, an essential website he put together

Crocker, like a few other vintage bikes have made a comeback https://crocker.la/home

America’s First World Champion Jack Milne has a place in motorcycle-racing history that will never be erased. Milne was the first American motorcycle racer to win a World Championship. In 1937, Milne won the Speedway World Championship at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of 85,000 fans, securing a position of permanence that few racers could hope to achieve. Milne also won the American Speedway title in 1936 and his younger brother, Cordy, was also a world-class speedway rider. Jack Milne was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1907. After childhood in Detroit, his family moved to Pasadena, California, when Jack was 15, and that’s where he attended high school. On leaving school, both Milnes brothers went to work for Western Union as messenger delivery boys. Cordy saved his money and bought a motorcycle. Jack bought a small gas station. It would be later that he would join his younger brother as a motorcyclist. “I worked my way onto an Indian Scout, a 37-inch V-Twin,” Jack said in a 1995 interview with Street Bike magazine. “I just liked to go fast. I cut off the long bars that forced you to sit upright, and I was able to lean into the wind and go for it. There were few speed limits and fewer cops then.” The more adventurous Cordy converted his street bike into a speedway racer. The modifications didn’t work very well, but Cordy didn’t care—he was into racing. And he was soon to bring his big brother into the sport with him. In 1933, a pair of Comerford-JAPs arrived from England for Jack and Cordy. Jack was impressed by his little brother’s earnings and decided they could make a living from racing. He sold his service station and bought the speedway bikes for $300 each. With their new speedway racing bikes—featuring 500cc single-cylinder motors with a 16:1 compression ratio, methanol-fueled and weighing just 200 pounds while producing some 40 horsepower—both Milne brothers began winning a lot of races on little short tracks and high-school cinder tracks, running tracks up and down the West Coast. And they were making $15 to $30 per night each. “There were six or seven stadium tracks in Southern California and an equal number up north,” Jack said. “Gilmore Stadium, at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles held 18,000. Sacramento’s stadium held 15,000, and they were regularly filled. California didn’t have other pro sports and motorcycle racing was big time.” Gilmore Oil became the brothers’ sponsor and the company picked up the tab for a trailer, gas, oil, tires and other expenses. In 1934 Jack was involved in a hard crash with Putt Mossman, which resulted in crushed vertebrae for Jack—an injury that nearly ended his racing career. Jack recovered from his injuries and returned to racing to finish runner-up to his brother in the 1935 American Speedway National Championship. That winter, the Milnes went to San Francisco and hopped on a ship to Australia, having accepted an offer to race Down Under. “In those days, there weren’t any jets, so it took a good two months just to travel to Australia and England,” Milne said. “You could buy an around-the-world ticket for $350. We paid our own way to Australia, so if we didn’t win, we didn’t get home.” There, the brothers found the Aussie tracks were of a much higher standard than what they were used to in America. Jack had a solid foreign racing debut by finishing third in the 1936 Australian Speedway Championship, despite having to learn to do standing starts (American races at the time were down with rolling starts). In 1936, Jack finally bested his little brother and won the U.S. title. Again, they went to Australia for the off-season and it started what would become a historic year for Jack. He won the Australian title that year over fellow American Wilbur Lamoreaux. From there, he moved to England to contest the popular and lucrative-paying British League. Six weeks by ship from Australia to England through the Suez Canal gave Jack and Cordy plenty of time to work on their bikes below deck. British League Speedway was a team sport, and even though less than a decade old, it was hugely popular. The tracks were larger than in America and crowds of 60,000 were not uncommon. Jack and Cordy tried to get on the same team, but the ACU denied the request. Jack raced for New Cross, while Cordy was allocated to Hackney. Jack was amazed at how popular he became in British Speedway, as he was much loved by the Brits for his determination. Not long after coming to race in England, he lost his left thumb in an accident when sportingly trying to avoid a downed rider. His picture was on John Player Tobacco trading cards that scores of British boys cherished. Jack said the money was good, but the demands were that of true professional athletes. “The London area alone had eight major tracks ranging from a 10th to a third of a mile,” Milne recalled. “During the late 1930s, speedway was Britain’s major spectator sport. We normally ran six-man teams and raced as much as five or six nights a week. It was a grueling schedule.” On September 2, 1937, America had one of its proudest moments in motorcycle-racing history: In front of 85,000 cheering fans at Wembley Stadium, Milne won the Speedway World Championship. If that wasn’t enough, Wilbur Lamoreaux finished second and Cordy third, giving America the top three spots in what was arguably the most important motorcycle-racing championship of the era. Jack and Cordy lived and raced two more years in England. They were heroes, being photographed everywhere they went, but they were seemingly unaffected by their status. Jack narrowly missed defending his world title in 1938, but soon after, World War II put an end to the Milne’s life in England. “The tracks went dark overnight,” Jack said. “The whole country closed down when the war started. Cordy and I bummed around from port to port trying to book passage back to the States. We finally boarded a ship that was lit up like a Christmas tree and covered with American flags in hopes that the Germans wouldn’t sink a neutral ship.” Back in Pasadena, the brothers took $4000 of their earnings and opened a bicycle shop that evolved into a motorcycle shop. Later they opened car dealerships and a thriving grandstand business. The seats people sat in at the Rose Bowl Parade and the Long Beach Grand Prix were the Milne’s. They started in that business after buying the old grandstands from a track that closed down. Jack and Cordy continued racing speedway in California into the early 1950s, but Jack said the advent of television caused the crowds to dwindle and the sport eventually died off for nearly 20 years. It was Jack, along with Harry Oxley, who helped revive speedway racing in the late 1960s bringing over speedway World Champions Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs, both of New Zealand, for a series of exhibitions that re-lit the spark in America. Jack lived long enough to see Bruce Penhall and Sam Ermolenko follow in his footsteps as American riders to win World Speedway Championships. The grand old champ died in December of 1995. He still owned the bike he won the World Championship on until his passing. He left a legacy in American Speedway that reverberates yet today. https://www.cyclenews.com/2021/10/article/archives-column-jack-milne/

Glad this is back up One of the two essential sites to look at for me, along with Brian Collins International speedway

A little discussion on the bike here http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/89006-mexico/&tab=comments#comment-3388113

Some info here

Joel, Tommy's father Then Bo, Tommy's brother. Then i think Jimmy is Bo's son and then Jimmy nw has a son riding...

Moore maybe ? Ronnie, Peter and Chun, all made the final. Although Chun was in the pre-world final, star riders championship. Not sure if there are enough, as all i can think of other than those is Ronnies father Les

Could only remember Peter and Les in the final. My bad

Guess that was an answer to the question of 'others worthy of mention ' Jansson could also be worthy of mention, and would guess they could field a team. 3 of that surname having made a world final, so better than Collins ?

Used to be quite isolated back in Fundins day (sure he said that in his biog). But now i can't see it happening with other tracks running pretty close by

Think it is a matter of taste and not having a favourite etc. I understand your point of view, but actually thought some of the racing yesterday was pretty decent. I am not one who thinks everything is great, and will say so if it isn't

Dennis Newton rode for Oxford, and was South African. But unfortunately, only after he left Oxford