chunky

Dammit! I still have the prog from the WTC, but it's in storage 400 miles away. Sorry... Steve

You sure that wasn't the Isle of Dogs???

Don't know if you remember, Bob, we did have a thread about Gil on here a few years ago, started by Gil's son Mark? Well, Mark did confirm (on the Speedwayplus website) that he did sadly take his own life. Unfortunately, I don't know any more than that. Steve

Hey, you've got nothing to feel bad about; you asked a legitimate question. Steve

Who invented the internal combustion engine? Was it Porky the pig?

Specifically, a higher plane than the average BSF poster!

It's been proved that ants are highly intelligent with a well-ordered society. The last thing they'd go to would be discos... Steve

Why wouldn't you take 'em to speedway? I'm sure they would like Dean Barker, Tai Woofinden, Terrier Betts, and the like. Not forgetting Lassie Bjerre, or most of the Great Danes, actually... Steve

But did they pee and poop where people were walking???

Wow! Hey, I wouldn't part with that either!

I got my copy on Amazon. Cheaper for me to get books and dvd's from Amazon.co.uk and get them shipped over, than to buy them on the main American site! Steve

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean! Thing is, it wasn't just the size; it seemed so open compared to the confines of the basically enclosed Plough Lane. Of course, I could say the same about most tracks, other than Wembley! Back to Hackney, and one of the things I will always remember was getting a stick of rock at the end-of-season Bonanza Best Pairs! Like E I Addio said though, while we had our allegiances, and obviously our opinions of other tracks, I would give anything to have those tracks back now. Not just that, I would love to have them back just as they were back then... Steve

Nah, I just didn't want to include too many Poole riders! Steve

The format was just a standard best pairs featuring some pairings from BL teams. The pairs were : Kelvin Tatum/Tommy Knudsen, Jan Andersson/Mitch Shirra, Jeremy Doncaster/John Cook, Hans Nielsen/Marvyn Cox, Kenny Carter/Larry Ross, Jan O. Pedersen/Alan Grahame, and Neil Collins/Shawn Moran. Doncaster and Cook won, and there is some footage of the meeting on YouTube. Steve

You got me beat there, but I went to the World Finals in 69, 78, and 81, the 66 European Final, and the WTC Final in 70. The old Wembley really had such a magical feel to it... Steve

I even thought of making the non-world finalist world final a little more specific, and narrow it down to riders of a specific year. Good to see some names already mentioned, but leaving out the 70's and 80's, let's look at riders who were active in1969 who never made a World Final (reserve spot included). 1 - Tommy Roper 2 - Dave Younghusband 3 - Garry Middleton 4 - Sandor Levai 5 -George Hunter 6 - Bob Kilby 7 - Odd Fossengen 8 - Roy Trigg 9 - Geoff Mudge 10 - Chris Pusey 11 - Charlie Monk 12 - Jan Holub 13 - Tony Clarke 14 - Norman Hunter 15 - Bruce Cribb 16 - Oyvind S. Berg I would pay to watch that line-up today... Steve

Quite honestly, most of the riders in the 60's and 70's were friendly and approachable! First name that springs to mind for me is Jim Tebby. Steve

You were correct in your initial post, Bob. I don't believe anyone has any definitive answers why, if it was indeed intentional. I saw Les at the British GP at Brandon not too long before then, and quite honestly, he didn't look good at all. The sad thing for me is that whenever I think of him, I will always remember how he looked that last time. Steve

Only seven? You were lucky!

I think this thread should just be retitled "Whoosh"... Amazing how so many have such short memories! Sorry, but that is directed at you. OveFundinFan... Steve

EVERY rider in the GP is riding under the same rules and conditions, so in that respect, it is no easier and no more difficult. It is the same for everyone. It was a lot easier to become World Champion on the old days, and was actually easier for some than for others. Back in the day, depending on what nationality you were, you could become World Champion from just three or four meetings. As I mentioned a while back, how many meetings did Muller ride in 83? Or Szczakiel ten years earlier? Olsen was actually in a similar situation at least once, and in only two of those meetings (I-C Final and World Final) was he facing any real competition. Today, each rider has to face the majority of the world's best riders EVERY TIME! One good/lucky meeting just ain't gonna cut it... So, looking at it like that, it is a lot tougher to become World Champion today... Steve

Really? I read on here that he wouldn't have been good enough to even get in the 1972 Belle Vue team... Steve

Iit's obviously the only way I will get to see it, because I'm not allowed to watch him on the live stream specifically provided for people like me by the organisers... Is it still illegal and immoral if I just have it on in the background??? Steve

Oh, that's right! You needed an 11-point average to even think about being good enough to qualify for a British Final...