steve roberts

I've enjoyed reading the latest edition (No.33) of the 'Classic Speedway' Magazine. Particularly enjoyed looking at he photo referring to the 'Save Oxford Stadium' campaign sponsored by Spencer Timmo's Car Sales Ltd. Dates from 1950 and the road I lived in (Spring Lane) appears just above the caption 'This is Oxford Stadium'! How it's changed I must say...and not for the better! Good articles as usual by the way.

Sounds sensible to me. Rather than remain on the track far better that the bike be removed to the relative safety of the centre green (as was always the case) than leave it parked somewhere on the track. Like any legislation common sense needs to prevail.

Yes Peter was a national name back in the seventies when the mass media took a keen interest in the sport.

Great to see Hans back in speedway. A true great and a real gentleman!

Sad news. I remember him riding for Sunderland (1972?) and for Halifax occasionally. RIP

I don't think that the marshall enjoyed the experience because, if I recall, he ended up with a broken leg! Poor old Trevor was very distressed by the event but wasn't to blame...it was just a racing accident when he lost control (I think that the starting gate got a clobbering as well!)

Remember when Trevor Geer, during a second half race at Oxford, lost control and ended up taking out a marshal on the centre green.

Remember 'Joe' Gooddy riding for Oxford and according to the late Malc Simmons a great guy! Once had a good look at his bike and it appeared to be held together by bits of string and tape but, boy, could he gate when the mood took him!

Actually, thinking about it, I think that Jan Davidsson was the father of Jonas and another son who rode for Poole (can't remember his name) which would have made Eddie an uncle. Eddie never settled at Cowley as he always seemed to be drawn to the fence as if by a magnet! I seem to remember the Bristol Speedway Supporters Club making regular trips to Cowley before the advent of Eastville in 1977?

Recall the time when the sadly deceased Wiggy went out and rode around Reading with a torch attached to his helmet when there was a power cut!

Yes they were very competitive meetings. I went to many and they were always keenly contested. I have on DVD the 1974 British Final and the line up would have done any World Final justice as they also included the Aussies and Kiwis in the line up! Remember watching highlights of the 1975 Final on, I believe, BBC (Sportsnight), later the same Wednesday evening (?) which is of course when the earlier Finals were held before moving to Sundays.

Your near neighbours over at 'The Wick' would also have had interesting second halves with sister clubs Rayleigh, later Rye House and Crayford. Allen Emmett, Geoff Maloney, Tiger Beech, Bobby Garrad, Marvyn Cox etc etc performing their talents (including Peter Purvis and John Noakes!) As I've stated elsewhere I used to stay on after the main meeting to watch what ever was on offer and a chance to wind down and talk to my mates enjoying a relaxing bag of chips!

Good grief! There's a name form the past Wayne Muddle! Remember him vaguely. Helgi Langli (brother of Tormod) was introduced to replace Eddie Davidsson (father, I think, of Jonas?) and started promisingly. It was reported that he had had a knee cap removed from a crash previous to joining Oxford (had previously ridden for Newcastle in 1969?) and his real claim whilst a 'Rebel' was defeating Ray Wilson at Cowley. Super race in that he used all of the track to keep Ray behind him! His career ended at Oxford when I believed he injured himself falling thru' a loft! If I recall Eddie's brother, Jan, rode for Eastbourne during the late seventies early eighties. There was something about Bank Holiday meetings and we, as a family, would holiday down on the south coast and once popped along to Eastbourne who ran meetings on one particular Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

...and of course Peter Collins' sensational exit from the World Championship when it was claimed that a substance (sugar?) had been added to his fuel causing him to pull up on a couple of occasions during said same meeting.

Yes I remember the 'cut and thrust' of the British Finals in the 70s and 80s in particular. The 1978 final when one of my heroes, Gordon Kennett, qualified for the World Final after a run-off. Great stuff! Trouble is I missed his subsequent appearance at Wembley due to a pre-booked holiday in Jersey...groan!

Yes I remember friends of mine gaining access after the main meeting. At least it gave potential new fans an opportunity of seeing what speedway was all about. I was also thrilled at presenting Dag Lovass (one of my early heroes) a bottle of bubbly after the second half Grand Final at 'The Rebels' very last Cowley meeting in 1975!

Remember Chris Shears (promoter at Oxford in 1995) instigating a second half with the participation of the senior riders but was 'rapped over the knuckles' by the BSPA for doing so! Guilty of setting a precedence maybe? I know that the fans present at that meeting appreciated the gesture.

My brother once attempted three meeting on a Bank Holiday. Ipswich in the morning, Rye House in the afternoon and Hackney the evening...I think that one of them was rained-off but can't remember which?

If robert72 had a go at riding speedway...good luck to him! I gave it a go and it increased my admiration for those who do it professionally so as to entertain us.

When I first attended speedway Oxford would regularly run a meeting consisting of 20-21 heats with a start time of 7-45 and generally be over by 10. I remember this as I had to be in bed by 10-15 (I only lived around the corner) to get up for school in the morning! As a matter of interest I always remember Barry Briggs commenting that he used to enjoy his trips to Poole because if you had a poor night in the main match you could make up for it during the second half. They used to run a full second half with qualifying heats, semi-finals and a grand final! PS Sorry Tsunami I quickly amended my post and you may not have 'liked' my second paragraph which I added later?

It's usual that a thread wanders off course and then needs someone to pull it back again! I'm just happy to go with the flow generally.

Personally I think that those tracks who had a 'sister' track operating in the old Second Division had more to offer in the way of a meaningful second half. Belle Vue, King's Lynn, Oxford (for reasons given above) and Ipswich (amongst others) had a thriving youth policy and it was good to see these riders develop against the main body of the team in the second half. I for one enjoyed the old style second half but the emphasis on bringing on and developing ones own talent was lost years ago.

My memory isn't what it once was but I recall Oxford running flying lap races prior to the commencement of the main meeting involving those same riders? Was this a national initiative or just a Cowley thing? Perhaps Rob can clarify?

I was particularly impressed with 'The Aces' side of 1972. Trouble is it's difficult to judge the best ever because different regulations determined how teams could be assembled under the varying points limits legislation etc. For example the Oxford team of 1986 competed during an era when teams had to declare a junior in their line up. At the end of the day one has to judge on results achieved during any particular season and 'The Cheetahs' remained unbeaten in British League matches in 1986 and would have swept the board if the weather had't intervened (although they were moral victors in my opinion!)

As I've stated many times before we were fortunate at Cowley in that we got to see the kids of Eastbourne and Peterborough due to the promotional tie up during 'The Rebels' era and later at White City. Oxford even introduced grass trackers to compete in the second half and we got to see the likes of Julian Wigg, Ken Matthews, Chris Drewett (who used to service my car), Paul Tapp, Kevin Hawkins etc who all progressed in some measure. They were exciting times at Cowley and one that I'm glad I experienced. Remember a young Ashley Pullen plying his trade down at Weymouth as an unknown and Simon Wigg at Reading. A great platform for youngsters to progress riding against the senior riders. Also saw Michael Lee start out as a fifteen year old back in 1974 during a second half at Cowley and somebody called Tony Brooklister...who turned out to be Colin Mededith under a pseudonym!