madbiker

Glenn Doyle rode a GR500 very well too, I actually bought hm the engine, went far better when I then got him the wiggly diamond to go with it, it never suited the comet frame he had before.

Rolf Gramstad was a brilliant young rider who`s career was ended by a freak accident, he should never have got those green leathers !

Belle Vue V Leicester 197? classic mass punch up, match abandoned. quite a night !

the old maximum defeat / victory scoreline, Has anybody ever seen one ??

Good shout ! would love to see another Golden greats meeting, might be getting harder and harder for the old buggers to squeeze into their leathers though !

Well, if it is George Cole could the other rider be Dennis (split) waterman

Was`nt Howard Cole also known as Kid Brodie ? don`t know why I think this and maybe I`m way off beam, I do know however that he had an awful crash at Leicester very early in my speedway watching day`s it was the first bad one I had seen and happened right in front of me, I`ll alway`as remember it !

No Gemini I was`nt at the re union, wish I had been, I am far from the typical biker I`m arrraid, a fat old git with grey hair !! dread to think what Willy looks like now, Liontamer have you still got the leathers ??

Thanks for the picture of Willy in his Bostik leathers the one of his old chequred ones too, even though he aint waring em, some great memories brought back I can tell you, some of the old battles with Cov were classics indeed !

You may not have liked Willy`s Bostick leathers but he was one of, if not THE first riders to have sponsorship on his leathers a true pioneer in that field, he also had a great set in red with a black and white chequred pattern they good too, the worst ? did`nt Rick Miller have some Pufta pink ones at some time ?

Its funny how the years cloud your mind Gem, I seem to recall regular tonkings for the lions at the hands of the mighty Bees' And vice versa, I too also remember the Mighty Lions thrashing the Bees on many many occasions, Leicester had also got something Cov never had, and still in fact don`t have, a RACE track, the racing at Blackbird Road was fantastic week in week out, a pass PER SEASON was the best Brandon ever had to offer.

Ray Wilson (world cup willy) and Terry Betts !

Great memories Liontamer, have you still got the leathers, which ones were they, the blue ones with the stripes, those red ones with the chequred patern or the "BOSTIK" yellow ones ? do you know what Ray`s doing now ? Hey Grachan, The British final you mention, that was my favorate Willy memory, in those days only 4 riders qualified and Ray was knocked off in his first ride by Simmo, that meant he needed at least 11 from his remaining 4 rides, he rode like a demon only loosing to Tiger Louis, and tied on 11 with Crashby, the run off was fantastic Martin leading for most of the way but world cup Willy took the win, breathtaking ! H, I think Martin Rogers moved to Austrailias gold coast not long after Leicester closed, the most recent talk of a track in Leicester was the Saffron lane sports centre but we`ll belive it when it happens !

Gemini, yes I saw that tonight, very evocotive it was to, I was trying to remember Kens voice and any sayings he used, but to no avail ! I agree that the LM have never forgotten the speedway much to their credit, Liontamer, don`t worry I am not holding my breath for the return of the Lions ! Willy was also my hero, I have some fantastic memories of him, what`s your favorate ?

H, I think Blackbird Road had got to the stage where it needed investment and CO decided that an offer from Barretts was too good to refuse, Martin Rogers was ready to carry on promoting but had no choice, your dead right that CO was great for Coventry, the facilities there were, and probably still are, first class, the track however never came close to the quality of racing seen at Leicester, it was always a trappers paradise. thanks again for the pics, I will keep them as a reminder of some great nights !

Gemini, your dead right on that Lions team, an incredible thing to happen and I`m certain it will never be equaled, as for Willy boy I`m amazed how little his name is mentioned on this forum (apart from me ) he was a truly great rider !

HG, as far as I know Don Godden took over Weslake, and produced the magnificent GR500, an engine that many riders used with great success including Hans Niesson, I bought a GR for Glenn Doyle when I sponsored him, Don was brilliant to deal with and a great engineer too !

HG, thanks for those photo`s they brought back many memories, I did`nt miss a SINGLE meeting at Blackbird Road from 1969 till it closed in 1983, (god how I hated Charles Ochiltree !) it was a fantastic racetrack in a sadly neglected stadium C O put ALL his money into Brandon ! maybe one day the Lions will roar again !

:?: Hasn`t this thread strayed off the subject a little ??? The most naturally gifted rider was I belive the question, there have been many through the years but I have to concur with the Michael Lee choice, a breathtaking talent ! and to throw a couple more, Kenny carter and Hans Nielson the latter would have been world champion many more times in his hey day had GPs been around !!

Come on Gemini, I`m begining to doubt your Leicester heritage !!! an all time favorate 7 without, to name but a few, Ray Wilson, Johnny Boulger, Norm the storm, DJ, Malc Brown, Ila Teromaa, Les and Neil Collins, John Titman, Mark Courtney, Steve Regeling, Rolf Gramstad, Finn Rune Jensen, Andre Huszcza, Colin Cook, and many many more !

Ray Wilson, "world cup willy" simply the best EVER :!: :!: :!:

Have to agree with Hyde Road, fantastic atmosphere super track and the fun fair made the whole experience unforgetable, can anyone remember "shoot the rapids" the most incredible fairground ride EVER ? Other great TRACKS, the shay, Blackbird Road, Exeter and Kings Lynn.

A meeting at Brandon to show them what SPEEDWAY is all about !! they`ll come back and build a 30 yard straight that`s what it`s all about at Coventry

Kevin, I forgot, I was going to answer your question about Saffron Lane, It was a velodrome, an athletics track and also had football pitches, I think it`s dis used at the moment although I may be wrong about that, they once used the place for American football too !

Mick, I think you`ll be struggling to find video`s from that era, I am amazed that any machinery has survived too, especially Graham Plants ! as Gemini said his bikes were awful, I remember one of his being painted a horrible deep red, wheels and all ! hope your son does well, and I also hope your right about the possibility of the Lions roaring again, Hey Gemini what would you do if it did happen ? surely you`d turn your back on those Bees in order to follow the Lions again ! ;-)