Chadster

My first meeting was Liverpool v Sheffield in 1960 as seen here; http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/liverpool1960.pdf Maybe someone might know if any of the riders are still with us. As I was only 6 when I went to that meeting I can't remember anything about it. The first meeting I can remember anything about was this one at Belle Vue in 1967; http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/bellevue1967.pdf Certainly Tommy Roper, Eric Broadbelt and Ove Fundin from the Aces side are still with us. Anyone know about any of the Wasps?

Nice tribute to the great man here and some good publicity for the memorial meeting next month. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/liverpools-world-champion-dad-remembered-23212909?fbclid=IwAR0fiZkbzPSQCdbA977bQFXojDptbKbIC2AQMSCfIpk6gQoa9Jgf6Xnhhy4

Dave Lanning used to do a commentary on the last lap at Wimbledon. I never minded it, but he was part of a very snappy presentation.

I think the trend for excitable commentary got a boost with the advent of subscription channels. I remember reading an interview with one of the pioneers on Sky who was presenting a pretty dire football match and at half-time apologised for the quality of the first half. he then got an angry producer in his ear reminding him the viewers were paying money to watch the match and wouldn't be pleased to be told they were watching rubbish. Even now Sky hype their football; it's not Sunday football, it's Super Sunday.

I only knew because I was looking at the Speedway Researcher's account of the 1965 season. I guess they had to keep more riders involved in the World Championship as there were probably no more than about 10 non-eligible riders in the BL ( people like Nygren, Harrfeldt etc) compared to previous years with a biggish Swedish contingent in the NL. They also needed to keep riders without team places interested as there were no guests and no R/R in 1965. I wonder whether there was a hope that tracks like Ipswich, Rayleigh and Kings Lynn might be a basis for a sort of revised SAL type operation?

They staged World Championship qualifying rounds? Weymouth also staged at least one open meeting in 1965.

Agree. His record in the first 4 seasons of the BL was top class and he reached the World Final in 1967. However he dropped about 2 points on his average in 1969 and was at about a similar standard when he went to Cradley in 1970. Sadly, Lokeren meant that we never found out if he could ride himself out of this dip in form.

Must be the case. I seem to recall reading in Backtrack that Betts said his own career improved after Colin Pratt was forced to retire and he then helped Betts to improve his engines and certainly the figures show that from about 1971 his average really took off.

According to the Speedway Researcher, the first season when Terry Betts rode regularly at number 1 for Kings Lynn was 1970, when his average was lower than 1969 when he started the season at 3 and ended it at 5. So much for number 1 being the easier position.

There was some talk of Brafield coming back a few years ago. Looking at it on the maps thread in Days Gone By it seems pretty remote. Odsal is another obvious one.

I always thought Todd Wiltshire looked very stylish on a bike. Wonder what he could have done if not for that bad injury that led to him taking a break in his career.

Glasgow Hampden Park https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.82824&lon=-4.24904&layers=10&b=1 Coatbridge https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=55.86140&lon=-4.01363&layers=10&b=1 Paisley? https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.85254&lon=-4.43212&layers=10&b=1

Brafield https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=52.19849&lon=-0.80204&layers=10&b=1

Crayford https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=51.44935&lon=0.17927&layers=193&b=1

This is where Ellesmere Port stadium would have been if it had been built at the time the map was published. You can see Thornton Road. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=53.27220&lon=-2.88282&layers=193&b=1

Seaforth https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=53.46194&lon=-3.01271&layers=193&b=1

Wouldn't be surprised, it was absolutely massive.

Liverpool https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=53.41258&lon=-2.92913&layers=193&b=1

Thse few seasons under Russell Lanning were immensely enjoyable. A proper promotion in the true sense of the word and a real sense of a meeting being properly presented. Dave Lanning was excellent.

I'd agree that every organisation needs to have a target for where they want to be and a plan for how they want to get there. I'd say that one of the biggest problems facing British speedway now is to bring through more British riders, or more riders who will commit to riding in this country. The Rising Star system is a start and, I think, has worked quite well, but it needs to be sustained over a period of times and not dropped as the Fast Track scheme was after a couple of years. Mike Tyson famously observed that everyone has a plan until they're punched in the mouth and British speedway has taken some brutal punches lately; Covid, Swindon, Somerset, Eastbourne, Kent and maybe Birmingham are all thing that might change the best laid plans. I'm not so sure about having supporter representation. Any survey of opinions expressed here will show a bewildering variety of views; one big league, two leagues, three leagues, regionalisation, second halves, tactical substitutes, aggregate bonus points and so on. You have to assume that the promoters know what works for them. If they don't, well there's no future for the sport.

Found this on You Tube. Brings back some happy memories.

Third meeting in a row at Owlerton that Harris has appeared for the opposition. Didn't there used to be laws to stop that happening?

I've seen Rowe, Brennan and Palin at Owlerton this season and been impressed by them. Flint has done well at Berwick and has had some moments for Wolves. I've not seen Kemp ride but he seems up and down, part and parcel of being a young rider, I suppose. I'd agree that these boys need to be riding more on the continent and, I think, there have been some positive developments in that respect in recent years. Riding in Poland would be good, but you don't get many meetings there and, at their age, these lads need to be riding as much as possible, so they ought to continue riding in the UK, where we generally ride more often. Maybe one of the things the BSPL could do is organise reciprocal test series against, say Sweden or Denmark, perhaps to be staged early in the season, with the proviso that youngsters get selected rather than old-timers like Harris or Nicholls, for example.

Roger Johns, Todd Wiltshire, Mark Burrows, Trevor O'Brien and Nigel Boocock.

I remember seeing sidecars at Rye House as a special second half attraction in the days of Ronnie Russell. I thought they were pretty entertaining. Is my memory deceiving me or did Sky not show a sidecar meeting from the Isle of Wight? I recall it as being a bit disappointing in racing quality.