Harvey

Only just found this posting: so excuse me for being a latecomer: I too have done quite a bit of work on Track records...being an ex-Crewe Fan (THE fastest UK track) it's a subject close to my heart. In 1974 Dave Morton did 52.46mph around Crewe's 436yd bowl. Which, if times at Crewe improves at the same rate as Sheffield has, then this equates to 58.31mph today!! some going. I did my calcs a few months ago (so I'm a bit out of date) but one of the things I find most interesting is how tracks of the same length produce different times...hence speeds. So for instance, Belle Vue, Scunny, newport & Ipswich are all 285m long and speeds range from 45.6mph (Scunny -old TR) to 44.16 for Newport. So I tried to find a way of working out which is the fastest track per metre....and to cut a long story short...I calculate it's....Mildenhall!! 46.7mph on only a 260m track (even faster now!!) well, I find it interesting...lol

Thanks for that. It'll give me basis to calculate from. Swindon strikes me as a good comparison, as I think, it has remained pretty much unchanged. Stoke, for instance, has changed in position & lenght a couple of times at least. ..and Swindon & Crewe both had the same time, so that makes it easy, and Crewe's record would probably have kept pace and been 64.65sec, thats makes an average speed of 55.18mph on current machinery. Interesting to see that Les Collins held the Stoke record in 1976, and shows how far he come in 12months...as he would almost certainly have stayed at Crewe for '76 had we kept going....as would Chris Turner!!

One last chance to put the record straight about this...this 'fast', 'track record' and 'Cliff Anderson' all used in the same sentence is really getting to me!!! I've checked my Crewe Scrapbooks and yes, Cliff was riding in 1975, he did make as mentioned 24 appearances...but for many of them he just 'turned up'. He won heat 1 of the first meeting of the year in a time of 70.0 secs...that was definately the fastest he went all year!!! John Jackson bettered that time in the Littlechild Trophy at 69.6secs. Cliff did spanner for Ole but that is as close a comparison that can be made: and he was in charge of track prep at Crewe in '75 (maybe that explains why it was 2seconds a race slower that 1974). He was dropped during May '75 and eventually asked for a transfer in July. He finished the year on an 'spectacular' average of 4.88!!! The Crewe Track record WAS Dave Morton's at 68 seconds. Much as I love talking about Crewe, can we draw I line under this now? Just for my own information, does anyone know the track records for 1975 of other tracks still in existence today, say swindon, sheffield, 'cos I'd like to do a prediction of the what the Crewe record would be today?

I realise that adding a reply to this, so long after the event (Dec 06) may be a waste of time, but having just found this thread...I can't help putting the record straight. The Crewe Track record held by Cliff Anderson!!!!!!???? No way. He wasn't even riding in 1975 and if he was he might have once won a race in 70 secs. But the record was well under 70 secs by the the time Crewe shut (RIP) at the end of '75. Yes the track lenght was 436yds, but the record was set by Dave Morton on 12th August 1974 at 68secs!!!! At the time that was also in the Guinness Book of records, as the fastest on an existing track. God knows what the Crewe record would have been today if it was still running...it was very, very fast.

[Not as much as the man who should have won it Les Collins] ...I'm glad someone still has one-eye on the real traversty of the 1982 World Final. All the talk then & now is of Penhall v Carter. Yet, Les Collins came so close that night...and interesting to note that in the famous race it was Peter Collins leading, taking points off both Juicy Brucie and Kenny to help Les's cause.

Sorry, if I'm late with my 'entry' but in all the names mentioned I can't see Carl Askew...and he was always worth the admission at Crewe alone whenever Birmingham were down. But for me the greatest 'character' of all was Mad jack Millen (RIP)