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Perfect Night's Speedway


TonyMac

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OK, come on, tell us what, and who, WAS part of your ultimate Perfect Night's Speedway (we're talking 1970-1990 only here, please!)?

 

 

TRACK : Hackney Waterden Road

 

 

RACE NIGHT: Friday 30th September 1977 Heat 13 - Barry Thomas & Keith White for the Hawks, Ivan Mauger & Scott Autrey for the Falcons. Exeter need a last race win to take the match and stay in touch with White City as Championship contenders. Mauger & Autrey team riding at the front for three and a half laps and then Thommo chucks the big one around the outside on the final bend to pass 'em both.

 

Seen a few good matches and races since then, but none to beat that!  :)

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i just know this has to have something to do with canterbury.. :blink:

Edited by sandman
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:o  I knew we'd met before  :wink:

 

:unsure: ... :)

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TRACK (can be defunct): Grippy,Leicester

 

WEATHER: Warm Spring evening

 

CAPTAIN: not material

 

RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM (assume they are at their peak): John Cook, Toni Kasper, Pierre Brannefors, Shawn Moran, Neil Collins, Anders Michanek, Gerald Short

 

PROMOTER: John Berry

 

TEAM MANAGER: ditto

 

ANNOUNCER: not material

 

RACE NIGHT: Tuesday

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC: Bat out of Hell

 

REFEREE: Frank Ebdon

 

Above all I want a last heat decider with the team taking a 5-1 to turn the match around, after lots of overtaking, a few surprise performances and a touch of controversy and no injuries.

 

Think Leicester v Cov in 1983 Neil Collins and Ole Olsen :D:D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Two entries; home and away matches!

 

TRACK (can be defunct): Wimbledon

 

CAPTAIN: Ronnie Moore

 

OTHER RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM (assume they are at their peak): Tommy Jansson, Trevor Hedge (heat leaders)

Stefan Salomonsson and Roger Johns (Nos. 2 and 4 respectively)

Mick Hines and Rudy Muts (Nos. 6 and 7 reserves)

 

PROMOTER: Russell Lanning

 

TEAM MANAGER: Cyril Maidment

 

ANNOUNCER: Ken Tozer

 

RACE NIGHT: Thursday 7.45pm (only one more early morning till the weekend...)

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC: Blaze Away

 

MUSIC ON THE TANNOY: Stuck in the Middle With You, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

 

VISITING TEAM: Hackney, comprising Bengt Jansson, Garry Middleton, Peter Moore, Barry Thomas, Keith White, Laurie Etheridge and Hughie Saunders

 

SCORE: 40-38

 

(UN) REMARKABLE EVENT: Pit-bend punch up between Hedgie and Peter Moore

 

IN THE INTERVAL: Chips and lashings of tomato sauce

 

AFTER THE MEETING: A trip to the posh Plough Lane Bar, a chat with Mrs Batson (an elderly stateswoman character who used to sponsor various events - and riders) and then excitedly listening for the familiar clip-clop of the riders' clogs (popular footwear craze amongst riders in the 70s) as they made their way to the bar. Some happy autograph hunting and then alas the 220 'bus home.

 

AWAY MATCH

 

TRACK: Belle Vue (Hyde Road)

 

VERSUS: Wimbledon team as above

 

HOME TEAM: Ivan Mauger (Captain), Peter Collins, Chris Morton, Soren Sjosten, Alan Wilkinson, Chris Pusey, Eric Broadbelt

 

BELLE VUE MANAGED BY: Dent Oliver

 

RACE NIGHT: SATURDAY 7.30P.M. After an enjoyable day on the Supporters Coach and feverish discussions in the Blue Boar as to whether all the Wimbledon riders would turn up - and if not, which hopeless guest would Maido get us this time??

 

SCORE: 37-41 (well, you did say this was a dream..)

 

MUSIC PLAYING ON THE TANNOY: Rubber Bullets, Band on the Run

 

AFTER THE MEETING: A few turns on the Scenic Railway at the fair and for some, a few jars at The Longsight Inn

 

Then, the long journey home down the M6 and M1 and great excitement at the late hour and also the prospect of the BLRC at the end of the year!

 

Oh happy days - how I miss them.

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That would be Dorothy Charles-Batson, who used to have letters published in Speedway Star.

 

I think she died in Merton in 1987.

 

Yes, that's right Ian. I had heard that Mrs. B had sadly died some years ago. What a character she was. She used to host an annual dinner and dance for the riders and supporters (think this was at The Fox and Hounds, Wimbledon?) and woe betide any rider who didn't turn up! They always did, though. She also used to arrange Ronnie Moore's trips "home" to Wimbledon. She must have spent a small fortune over the years supporting Wimbledon Speedway and commanded a great deal of respect amongst supporters, riders and the Wimbledon management.

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That would be Dorothy Charles-Batson, who used to have letters published in Speedway Star.

 

I think she died in Merton in 1987.

 

Yes I remember Mrs Batson. A terrific Wimbledon fan. And wasn't her husband involved in midget car racing along with Percy Brine at some time in the late 1950s - believe they tested the car at Aldershot and also tried to match it against the more powerful Skirrows.

 

Sadl, they don't seem to have fans like Mrs Batson these days.

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  • 4 weeks later...

TRACK (can be defunct): the old blantyre greyhound stadium

 

WEATHER: warm summers evening

 

CAPTAIN: super stevie lawson (who else)

 

OTHER RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM (assume they are at their peak): merv janke, kenny mckinna, shane bowes, ray palmer, jason lyons, robert nagy

 

PROMOTER: neil mcfarlane/jimmy beaton (i know they werent everyones cup of tea but thats why i liked them)

 

TEAM MANAGER: ian steel (the man i first started buying old programmes from)

 

ANNOUNCER: dick barrie (not his greatest fan but he did get the crowd going and it would be interesting seeing him, mcfarlane, beaton and kenny mac in the same stadium)

 

RACE NIGHT: friday, 7.30

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC: the black bear

 

Beat that! i just did...

 

the only thing i would change is maybe the weather for some reason i used to love cold, dark and wet october nights especially at craighead park no cover and all snug with the hood up on my parker and walking down to the track hoping the striped flag was up on the pole which normally meant the meeting was on...happy days!

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  • 3 weeks later...

TRACK . . . . WHITE CITY

 

WEATHER . . . . . SUNNY after a previous days rain storm

 

CAPTAINS . . . . . SAM ERMOLENKO and HANS NIELSEN

 

OTHER RIDERS

. . . . . . USA . . . . . RONNIE CORREY, DENNIS SIGALOS, SHAWN MORAN, KELLY MORAN, BOBBY SCHWARTZ and SCOTT AUTREY . . (John Cook #8)

 

. . . . . . . REST OF THE WORLD . . . . DAVE JESSUP, OLE OLSEN, IVAN MAUGER, PETER COLLINS, PETER KARLSSON and TONY RICKARDSSON . . . (John Louis #8)

 

PROMOTERS . . . . . . . SAM ERMOLENKO, COLIN PRATT and CVS

 

TEAM MANAGERS . . . . . . . BRUCE PENHALL and COLIN PRATT. . . . ERIK GUNDERSEN and CHRIS MORTON

 

ANNOUNCER . . . . . . . DAVE LANNING

 

RACE NIGHT . . . . . . . . SATURDAY 7.30pm on a summers day

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC . . . . . FANFARE FOR THE COMMON MAN . . (Emerson Lake & Palmer)

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  • 1 year later...

Track Custom House

Race Night Tuesday...leave home just as the Coronation Street music started

Teams West Ham V The 'orible 'awks

Promoters Dave Lanning / Uncle Len

Captains Ken Mckinlay / Les The Atom bomb

Score 65 - 13 to the 'ammers

Magic moment....seeing uncle Len crying

All announced by Good old Ted Sear the best there has ever been

Edited by westhamboy66
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  • 2 weeks later...

Track---------- Saddlebow Road, home of the King's Lynn Stars

Capt----------- Bettsy

Riders--------- Michael Lee, David Gagen, Richard Hellsen, Mick Poole, Stephen Davies & Bent Rasmussen No 8 Tiddler Turner!

Promoter------ Maury Littlechild (never knew him but by all accounts he was a good promoter)

Manager------- Maury again

Announcer---- Edwin Overland (not totally sure when he started at Lynn)

Track Prep---- Peter Whitby

Race night---- Sat @ 7.30

Music---------- the marching tunes they used to play will be my abiding memory of my early days at Lynn as well as a few of the pop songs.

Edited by Trees
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TRACK: Reading (Tilehurst) - a track I never went to but have often tried to imagine. Would be great to go back in time and have a good look at Oxford Road at that time and see how the stadium looked. (Would love to see Custom House as well as a second choice).

 

CAPTAIN: Leigh Adams - the best I've ever known at Swindon.

 

OTHER RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM: Andrew Silver and Shawn McConnell for a start. To get another chance to see old favourites like Martin Ashby and Bob Kilby would also be a must. And wouldn't it be great to see Per Jonsson do jut one more stalk and pounce on the final bend race

 

PROMOTER: Avtar Sandhu - just to get him back into the sport.

 

TEAM MANAGER: Tim Sugar (there would, of course, have to be R/R and tactical substitutes a-plenty just so he could show his worth.

 

ANNOUNCER: Graham Guthrie - an announcer I've often heard about but never got to hear announcing. In fact, the very first meeting I attended at Swindon contained an statement that he had died.

 

RACE NIGHT: Saturday, 7.30. Sat in the back of my dad's car in a queue through Stratton St Margaret and having to get out early and run aross the field that is now becoming a by-pass in order to get a programme before they sold out.

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC: Oxygene by Jean Michelle Jarre - with lasers naturally.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

TRACK: Waterden Road, Hackney

 

CAPTAIN: Barry Thomas.

 

OTHER RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM (assume they are at their peak): Zenon Plech, Keith White, Vic Harding, Bobby McNeil, Bo Petersen, Roman Jankowski

 

Team Manager : Leaping Len

 

RACE NIGHT: Friday at 8

 

MARCH OUT MUSIC: The Magnificent Seven theme tune - can be nothing else.

 

and of course Arthur seliing the Speedway Mail :lol:

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