steve roberts

I used to frequent the toilets down the bank on the exit of the fourth bend!

I've just checked out 'Smart New Homes' which is the development in Blunsdon and it clearly states in one of the current property's details under local facilities that Abbey Stadium, popular for Speedway and Greyhounds, is due to have a 5 million pound revamp!

In 1978 when White City were beaten at home by Ipswich in the 2nd leg of the KO Cup 23-54! Although White City's away record that season still stood up well their home record was showing signs of impending doom...and so it proved with the imminent closure of speedway at Wood Lane. Sad occasion for me as I used to enjoy my visits to White City.

Shame that they got rid of the snooker as I used to play there quite often.

If I recall it was a BSPA u-turn regarding this particular fixture?

Sid if I recall it was the Second Leg (?) of the Knock-out Cup Final (remember those?) and as usual was being run at the back end of the season (usual nonsense...Oxford suffered same in 1986) when available dates were becoming scarce.

...incidentally on a track that was initially passed un-fit but due to an administrative u-turn the meeting went ahead resulting in PC receiving a badly broken arm!

One of my favourite riders from that era. Very under-rated in my view as he was instrumental in helping 'The Rebels' win the League title in 1977 with some striking performances whilst covering for the injured Paul Gachet.

George Hunter rode at Number One for Oxford during the 1978 & 79 seasons carrying very healthy averages. Les Rumsey however scored more points for Oxford in 1979 than George but rode more races therefore his average, although very good, was slightly less than George. David Shields was an inspirational addition to the Oxford cause in 1978 but didn't return the following year...in fact he didn't compete in Britain again for a number of years when he later rode for Cradley in the British League.

PC had the clutch lever and throttle on the same handlebar during the race at Hyde Road if I recall. Also that famous run-off at Wembley...did Anders cause PC to fall? Forever debated and the race at Sheffield between England and Sweden when PC passed Mich and Eric Boocock passed Tommy Jansson to secure a match winning 4-2. Super days! The race at Hyde Road was never filmed unfortunately...or certainly none hasn't come to light. There's an audio recording somewhere I believe?

I was there...he was also riding for 'The Cheetahs' that season!

My first was Oxford v Coventry when 'Cassius' Middleton relieved Nigel Boocock of the Golden Helmet in 1972!

Used to enjoy my trip to the 'smoke' every Wednesday/Tuesday up the M40 to watch 'The Rebels' at Wood Lane. Nightmare journey on a Friday evening travelling around the North Circular to Hackney...South Circular not so bad to Wimbledon. Great days and I grew up fast driving as many people of my age hadn't a clue about navigating around London...especially round Marble Arch!

Remember the White City promotion talking about how a West Indian rider may have attracted a largely West Indian community (Shepherd's Bush) from attending the speedway...of course nothing came of it and I believe that West Indians and Asians don't see watching sport (other than cricket) as high on their radar must do!

Never got to the Shay...although I visited a few years ago out of interest but there were no remnants of the track.

I was surprised to read many years ago that Cradley resembled Wembley in shape and size...having been to Wembley the track seemed so much bigger but I guess that the surroundings influenced that observation. Always thought that the early heats at Dudley Wood gave reasonable racing but once the dirt moved out it became very much an outside line track...certainly during my visits there. Hyde Road had so many racing lines and there was nowhere to hide when up against the likes of Collins and Morton! Chris Morton would have a line of dirt placed on the exit of one of the bends and would only use it if absolutely necessary in making a passing manoeuvre. Superb track and I guess any one could have a go there...only that the Belle Vue riders did it better!

Super image!

Some great images!

I guess it begs the question does one prefer watching a pure stylist or someone who rides all 'hair and teeth!'. John Berry had been quoted as suggesting that Billy Sanders had the perfect speedway style. Tommy Jansson, for me was just poetry in motion on a bike. Malcolm Simmons and Martin Ashby had classic styles...no thrills but which proved very successful. However throw in the likes of Collins, Morton, Sjosten, Lofqvist, Moran etc etc who added an extra element to speedway who can say which was best? I guess for pure entertainment the latter would get the most votes but for me, personally, the stylist attracted my admiration.

A good example Sid! I remember seeing him when he first came over to Britain in 1977 and saw his style develop over time...obviously by the time he came to Oxford he had an established 'throw out the back wheel' style whilst adopting a crouching stance which enabled him to create gaps where perhaps there wasn't one!

Thinking about when riders started to change styles and adopt a trailing leg rather than foot forward I guess that the new wave of Americans during the early eighties speeded up the progression (the likes of Penhall, Sigalos and Cook for example). I remember when I went to the 1987 World Final in Amsterdam and noticing how odd Henny Kroeze looked compared to the rest of the field when he rode very upright with his foot forward rather than adopting the new method. However I do recall someone saying that riders couldn't have adopted the 'new' style riding on the old JAPS as the bike would have just thrown you off! Not sure about the 2 valve Jawa but perhaps when bikes supposedly became easier to ride riders adopted a more cavalier style on tracks that were somewhat slicker than they once used to be. Certainly food for thought!

Always remember when I went on one of Olle Nygren's Training Schools at King's Lynn he told us "Now I don't want to see any of you trailing your leg head down like Gordon Kennett!"

Agree...nigh impossible to compare as track surfaces were very different and required a different technique. Nowadays riders tend to enter a bend with the left foot down momentarily before lifting it and relying on balance more than anything. When I gave speedway a go many moons ago boy did I make sure that I kept my left boot on the track...no way I was going to lift it at any point as I went round the bend!

Ivan Mauger suggested that Dickie Greer should change his style...how about Andrew Silver and Alun Rossiter?

When I first went to speedway (early seventies) the foot forward was the chosen style. The left leg trailing was rare (recall Richard Greer adopting same) but came along, I guess, during the late seventies/early eighties?