Sotonian

Good to see speedway at Sydney Showground again. Is it a one-off or will there be more meetings staged there?

Pretty sure Ole Olsen won it in the 1970's.

Still living in the Southampton area the last I heard.

Ex-Berwick star Rob Grant was the tallest I can recall seeing.

I'll say. European champion in 1981- the highest honour in the sport in those days.

Anders Michanek in 1974. Commuting Swedes were banned from the British League that year.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ron Walton recently. He rode for California in 1956 and also 1957 when they raced at Aldershot. He has some photos from his racing days which he plans to make copies of. I hope to get some of these and will post them if and when I do.

The Vespas were ridden on the *athletics* track. See my earlier post.

There was a Cavalcade of Sport at White City on 20th May 1953 that featured 3 heats of speedway. The format was 2 heats and a final. Ht1 Aub Lawson, Bill Kitchen, Split Waterman Ht2 Jack Young, Fred Williams, Jeff Lloyd Fnl Young, Lawson, Kitchen Interestingly, the programme states that speedway bikes "would cut up the running track which will be needed this coming saturday". As a result, the riders raced on, wait for it, Vespas. It goes on to say "I don't think that you will be disappointed with their little bit of fun". Speak for yourself - I would have been! But it does raise the question of was this really speedway at all?

Mark Hall - Berwick Mark Cherry - Birmingham

1760 = yds in 1 mile 3600 = secs in 1 hr So, for the last Crewe record 436yds/lap x 4laps =1744yds / 1760 x 3600 / 70 = 50.96mph

Divide yards covered by 1760, multiply by 3600 then divide by time in secs.

Belle Vue opened in 1928 at Kirky Lane and, of course, race there now. Granted there was a gap between 1929 and 1987! Sheffield opened in 1929 and are still at Owlerton, closing during WW2 and, I think, most of the 50's.

Glasgow Carntyne Nelson Celtic Park White City Ashfield Hampden Park Blantyre Craighead Park Shawfield

Good topic. Halifax v ? (Odsal 1950's) Neath v Stoke (St Austell 17.7.62) Neath v Bradford (St Austell 31.7.62) Neath v Edinburgh (St Austell 1962) Norwich v Southampton (Ipswich 1951) but abandoned Rochdale double header v ? & ? (Belle Vue 1971) Tamworth v Rayleigh & Leicester (Birmingham 18.10.50) Wembley v Belle Vue (Newport 16.4.71)

Also White City Nottingham in the 1930's.

Chiswick Nomads (?) Dagenham Daggers (pre-war) High Beech Foresters/Rabbits (pre-war?) Rayleigh Rovers (1957?) Weymouth Scorchers (1954-5) Plymouth Drakes (1960) /Bulldogs (1961) Belle Vue Merseysiders (?) Liverpool Eagles (1957)

I agree about The Jam but the Clash were 100% punk in their early years.

I think you mean Hedon.

How about Ivan Blacka? I remember him riding for Edinburgh with some success. Didn't he also ride for Wolves, or at least double-up, rather less successfully?

An idea floated by, I think, Bob Dugard back in the late 1970's. I can't remember much debate about it so I'll try and start some here. Pros (in no particular order) No gardening Easy track preparation Little track maintenance during meetings (watering on very hot days) Fewer rain-offs Consistent surface - no ruts, holes and bumps More tracks - share with stock cars Cleaner for riders - keeps sponsors happy Cleaner for spectators - watch from the bends in comfort Fewer track staff required Cons (again, no particular order) Different riding technique required? How difficult is it to broadside on tarmac? Different starting technique required? The concrete starting areas of the 1950's were problematic. 'Blue-line' rubber deposits, especially in the wet. International adoption of the surface Fewer track staff required Fewer track staff appears in both lists since it's good for the promoter but bad if you happen to be one.

Reidar Eide won the first meeting, somewhat of a surprise victor given the quality of opposition.

We weren't - it was 'invented' in Australia by an Australian - Johnny Hoskins. No fluke - he scored the most points over the series. Had it been a one-off meeting your argument would be stronger (but I still wouldn't agree).

Yes, he's good, but, I feel, not as dominant day in, day out as Fundin and Mauger were. For example, Fundin finished on the rostrum in the World Final 10 years running. Mauger's record is something pretty similar. And they didn't have the luxury of sitting out British league racing to concentrate on the world championship.

Many older tracks were built within greyhound stadia or around football/rugby pitches. Those factors dictated track length. New, especially standalone tracks, are smaller due to price and availability of land (and maybe to minimise track maintenance too?).