scampispeedway

A Google Search just now reveals the owners of Newcastle Race course are ARC who currently own Brough Park, so I doubt if they would allowed a track to be built anywhere in the Parkland whilst Brough Park is still available for motor sport.

Hi John, thanks for keeping us up to date with things at Brough Park and if it is true about the rental it would mean you having to get at least 125 people through the turnstiles to start with just to cover the costs of hiring the stadium. If all the equipment is slowly being sold and as I see it no riders that the club owns, how can any new promoter make a go of outlaying a lot of capital before stating that they are willing to take part in a season long fixture list

Paul Starke I'm fairly certain is owned by Ipswich and doubled up with us.

HGould, the Vera episode you mention was staged at the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium.

Hi Steve, a look at the Sunderland Greyhound stadium site and returns the following information, the Greyhounds run every week on the Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that leaves only Friday and Saturday free and I'm sure BSPA would not want another track running on either of those days.

As Steve has stated it is just over 28 miles from Newcastle just south of Durham on the way to Teeside, the stadium was closed in 2019 after a fire and hasn't been re-opened since. Somebody mentioned the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium but that has been tried before in 1964 when it closed after a few matches and it was used from 1971 until 1974 but once again due to poor crowds closed the track and the licence was obtained by Ian Thomas, before this it was ran by Mrs Taylor who ran Berwick for many years, I'm sure that the present Greyhound people will not allow a track to be laid at the Stadium.

I've just used Google map to have a look at the disused Motocross circuit and quite honestly it would cost a fortune to level the site which has no easy road access as you have remove the huge soil embankment behind some concrete blocks blocking the way into the site. From the look at the general state of the site, no bikes have been on the circuit for quite a while and there is really one narrow road access off the main road to Sunderland.

I've done a Google search for the plot of land mentioned, whilst a look at a Google map shows that there are no buildings on the dry flat land, it is in a Green Belt Area and the business that want to use it must have planning permission and be one of the following Manufacturing, Distribution, Energy Storage and Storage, therefore I doubt if a sports stadium to run speedway would be welcomed Any prospective buyers have to ask the seller how much it is going for as it is not listed, I take from reading the advert that they are looking for buyers that can create regular employment for the area.

Steve, I remember Nick Brown saying on Look North that he first saw Speedway at Brough Park in 1985, the only problem with that statement, we were closed that year as you know after being in the top league the prevous year

Jenga, alright you are correct but you did say that you love the smell of Methanols but I'm correct when I say Methanol has no smell, as regards my job for over 20 years I was a Teaching Laboratory Technician after getting my Chemical Technician Certificate where I set up the Laboratory for students doing there higher Chemistry Degrees bdefore going on to becoming Science Doctors. The last 20 years I worked in the Chemistry Stores handling all the various solvents used in the Research Laboratories as well as ordering items for the Department that were also required. The University never employed Janitors like normal State Schools but did employ someone to look after the general needs of the Building and did not need qualifications to do their job

Adding to my previous post, the Chemical Formula for Methanol is CH3OH and when this is used as a fuel produces Methane CH4 gas and normal Water H2O, the latter can condense in the tail pipe of the exhaust or be ejected as steam vapour, neither of these compounds have any smell. I remember years ago adding a small amount of Castol R to my petrol for my motorcycle, just so as I passed by people could get a faint wiff of destinctive smell of the burnt oil, at no time could I smell it as I long since travelled down the road and after a while stopped doing this as it really wasn't worth the cost of adding it.

Jenga, you said quote I like to smell the Methanol, that is not the same as the smell that comes out of the exhaust pipe on a speedway bike which is from the oil not the fuel..

Jenga, as a former Chemistry Technician at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Methanol has no smell and can burn without a visible flame, if it catches alight. In the old days of Castrol R used in the engines did have a distinctive smell that people loved when the bikes went around but sadly those days have sadly gone with the present day oils are much cheaper and better suited to the needs of the modern day engines.

Looking at exactly where Seaton Burn resides, it is in the Tyne and Wear County Boundary so it would be possible to retain the name of Newcastle, Coventry Bees rode at a stadium in Brandon and it was outside the city boundaries I don't know why Redcar had to be called that name as to me Middlesbrough lost it Speedway team when it left the last stadium it used.

For information to Winditon saying that Brough Park is no longer fit for modern speedway bikes then how does he explain that Wolverhampton's Monmore Green Stadium was a straight copy of Brough Park and had exactly the same size track installed for speedway way back in the late 1920's. It has been altered to take the modern bikes and from what I've seen of matches on BT sport, the racing is typical of all the racing though out the sport and is certainly not what I would pay good money to watch. I also observed the match at the Ipswich track and I noticed the lack of crowds and probably only survives from the television sponsorship money, also Seaton Burn has been mooted as a possiblity to build a new track but yes it is easier to get to off the A1 but how do you get there using public transport if you don't have a car and would it have to be called the Seaton Diamonds because like Redcar they will no longer within the Newcastle City boundaries.

Looking at the latest Green Sheet figures, Max Clegg and Paul Starke are the only two riders who have marginally improved since the start of the Season and so overall we have a Team Average which is lower than first declared which was bad enough then.

Many years ago I said the same as Diamonds85 and would love to have a go a Promoting if I had the money, when Rod Hunter heard my comment in the bar he said that I would be a fool to do so and would be taken to the cleaners by the Riders. I replied that I knew this fact, but would pay to get in the one person who would help me get things done and he was the the late great Ian Thomas, sadly he has now died and unfortunately I would not have anything to do with sport as it is not the same as the 60's and 70's.

Can I just say a big thank you to the people who liked my post and it showed that there are other people who agree with my thoughts. I would like to add that when I did follow the sport, I went to all the matches home and away and this involved a lot of expense and particularly taking time off work using my holiday entitlement going to the away fixtures. I've noticed over the last few years the the number of fixture now cancelled due to the weather and yes we did have them in the past but not to the same extent as now. I remember going to the old Weymouth Track and the meeting started in the dry but continued despite it pouring with rain, Newcastle no doubt didn't want to have it postponed and everybody having to make the trip all over again

When Newcastle returned in 1975 and having a promoter who could find loop holes in the rules, Newcastle were the team to hate but the opposition always had the best crowd of their season because so many fans came along because they hoped to see us lose. Unfortunately this didn't happen very often and this is why prior to 1984 we were the most successful team the National League had seen for many years, yes I did want us to go back into the Premier League but the team was not strong enough and so results affected the crowd and we closed at the end of the year.

I started watching Newcastle Diamonds way back in 1964 when Ivan Mauger was riding and followed the team for many years, I gave up on the sport when they introduced the Play-Off's which have done nothing to sport except giving a chance of a lower league club winning the Championship if they have been lucky in avoiding injuries. I had to look at my finances when I retired and bought a computer and use it to keep a eye on how things are run, as the years have passed I can no longer stand outside for any length of time and I see no point in attending matches as to me it has got worse as far as entertainment value is concerned.

The Cliftonhill Stadium is still in existence and is used by the Albion Rovers Football Team and I've just had a look at recent photo's of the Stadium and the Football pitch to see how it has changed since I last went many years ago. I doubt very much if a track could be laid without major changes to the size of the football area and would the Football club be allowed to reduce the playing pitch just to lay a new track around it.

BBC Weather Forecast for Sunday reveals it to be warm and dry in the morning so should be o.k. to get some practice in around noon.

Chillingham Road Metro station is nearer than Byker and you don't have to walk up Byker Hill to get to the top of the Fosse-Way, you can pick up the No.1 Coaster to Whitley Bay from the Central Station which goes down the Fosse way but watch out there is also a No.1 Stagecoach bus but that goes no where near Brough Park.

I watched Look North last night and Geoff Brown started the sports parts of the programme around 6.50pm with the possible ending of 90 years of Speedway before mentioning the other sports, it showed a lot that went on after the meeting and Rob Grant explained how he has lost a lot of money through out the season. I'm pretty certain that the ground where Brough Park is situated must only be used for sport as it has covenant stating this fact but this could be over turned if the Greyhound owners ever pulled out.

Thomas Jorgensen's current Scunthorpe Green Sheet average is 7.11 while Ben Barker G.S.A. is 6.79 so that counts him out as replacement.