Triple.H. Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 I seem to remember from the dim and distant past a televised meeting which Steve Bastable lost by shutting off at the startline at the finish instead of the finish line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie B Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 (edited) My memories go back to Marcg 1976 and my very first live meeting at Plough Lane. I think it cost me 50p (childs price) which include a programme to into the main grandstand at Wimbledon. I'm sure that it was 35p for the back straight. I watched the first two or races inside, so it wasn't until I went outside that the full impact of live speedway hit me, the noise and smells (I'm sure that get us hooked on the sport). Sadly no Tommy Jansson riding in this meeting as he was still recovering from a broken shoulder from an accident in Australia. No Christer Lofqvist either as he and the Wimbledon management couldn't agree on pay terms. Sad too say that he never for Wimbledon during this season, or even in the British League Division One, in the future, for any team. And against a very strong team like Reading the Dons didn't stand a chance and lost the Challenge Match 32-46, but it made no difference to me, as I was a Dons supporter from that moment on. Mind you we did get our revenge on them in September when we beat 40-38 in the league. Roger Johns became the very Wimbledon I saw win a race, at Plough Lane, and strangely he was the member of the Dons that I saw win an away heat, at White City the following Tuesday night. The moments of what happened in May that year no Dons supporter will ever forget. Extremely emotional times for our team, supporters and of course Tommy's family. All credit must go to the riders who carried on riding for the rest of the season. The 1976 season did end on a high though, as the Dons won the London Cup with a fantastic 49-29 away win over Hackney. A double header meeting in November, after the original staging was cancelled due to rain. Hackney beat White City 42-36 in the other fixture. The London Cup was decided on race points,this season. And as Hackney rode in two meetings their match points were halved to give them an overall total. Best meeting I saw I would to say in 1980 England Vs USA (1st ever official test) between the two nations.54-54 was a just result in the end. Just wished I had a real Tardis to do it all over again. Also like to add Peter Collins new track record in 1976 of 58.5secs this was in a time when sub 60secs at Plough Lane only happened now and again. Plus Scott Autrey's 58.2secs in 78 or 79 that broke this record. As I recall Scott was so far in front that he was entering the 3rd bend before the other riders were out of the 2nd. Brilliant rides by both of them. Edited September 16, 2012 by Robbie B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieg Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Try looking at: http://www.speedwayfiction.co.uk/ The central character of the books, Joe Barnes, is a Wimbledon rider and they are set in 1975 and 1976. There are some quite evocative paragraphs that certainly chimed with my memories of that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie B Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Try looking at: http://www.speedwayfiction.co.uk/ The central character of the books, Joe Barnes, is a Wimbledon rider and they are set in 1975 and 1976. There are some quite evocative paragraphs that certainly chimed with my memories of that era. Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Memories for me were around 66/67 sat on top of empty terrace above 3/4th. bend with Dad and bruv watching Nygren, Hedge, and Luckhurst racing. Saw Briggo easily win a British semi around that time from the grandstand. Seemed a massive stadium. Some old footage of Ronnie(and Wimbledon) i think in 1954 when he beat Alan Hunt in the Golden Helmet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg95k_j_1Nc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Brings a tear to the eye,this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Seems though in the news today it confirms the football club have the ok to build and hope to move into a new stadium in 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 17 minutes ago, iris123 said: Brings a tear to the eye,this I wonder how the spectators who were at Wimbledon Stadium primarily for short circuit car racing viewed all this speedway activity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 6 minutes ago, gustix said: I wonder how the spectators who were at Wimbledon Stadium primarily for short circuit car racing viewed all this speedway activity? You are on a few forums I think.Probably best to ask them on there.For me,I don’t really care.I have been to speedway meetings and seen other Motorsports as an added ‘attraction’ and found them mostly uninteresting.I even went a number of times to auto racing at Plough Lane,as one of my grandads worked at the stadium for the St.John’s,during what was possibly the hey-day of Duffy Collard,Barry Lee,Foxy Dance etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 A fact that has always intrigued me in regard to motor sport activities at Wimbledon Stadium. Speedway first started in 1929 and apart from the war years carried on until it ground to a halt in 1992. Then came the brief revival between the 2002 and 2005 seasons. The cars started in 1962 and continued without a break until the stadium closure in 2016. Unlike speedway which in its history had several different promoters, basically the cars were promoted by the same enterprise throughout their tenure at Plough Lane. I also ponder why speedway had its absence years (1992 to 2005) while the car promotion continued after speedway's 2005 departure for another 11 seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 (edited) 3 of the great NZ riders associated with the Dons.The commentator say’s Barry Briggs used to be a good rider years ago,but is getting old now!!!Topical as yesterday was Briggo’s birthday Edited December 31, 2018 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Quite an interesting piece on Mirac,through newspaper clippings that shows the impact he made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2019 Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 I have a hazy memory that the late Dame June Whitfield RIP was once a guest personality at a Wimbledon meeting, probably in the era when Ronnie Greene was the promoter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Wimbledon speedway on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimbledon_Dons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Defunct Speedway Tracks: http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Wimbledon.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customhouseregular Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 I always loved my visits to Plough Lane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemuppet Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 On 12/31/2018 at 4:04 PM, gustix said: A fact that has always intrigued me in regard to motor sport activities at Wimbledon Stadium. Speedway first started in 1929 and apart from the war years carried on until it ground to a halt in 1992. Then came the brief revival between the 2002 and 2005 seasons. The cars started in 1962 and continued without a break until the stadium closure in 2016. Unlike speedway which in its history had several different promoters, basically the cars were promoted by the same enterprise throughout their tenure at Plough Lane. I also ponder why speedway had its absence years (1992 to 2005) while the car promotion continued after speedway's 2005 departure for another 11 seasons. Quite an easy answer to that which is a Speedway meeting is much, much dearer to put on the a stock car meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 On 12/31/2018 at 4:04 PM, gustix said: A fact that has always intrigued me in regard to motor sport activities at Wimbledon Stadium. Speedway first started in 1929 and apart from the war years carried on until it ground to a halt in 1992. Then came the brief revival between the 2002 and 2005 seasons. The cars started in 1962 and continued without a break until the stadium closure in 2016. Unlike speedway which in its history had several different promoters, basically the cars were promoted by the same enterprise throughout their tenure at Plough Lane. I also ponder why speedway had its absence years (1992 to 2005) while the car promotion continued after speedway's 2005 departure for another 11 seasons. 1 hour ago, mickthemuppet said: Quite an easy answer to that which is a Speedway meeting is much, much dearer to put on the a stock car meeting. It's not basically a question of the promotional costs to participants at speedway or short circuit car meetings. The cost is the RENT charged by the stadium to the promoters. I am certain it was no cheaper/lower for Spedeworth Motorsports to stage their events than it was for a speedway meeting. And Spedeworth as such are familiar in regard to rentals for speedway - they are landlords at both Ipswich and Mildenhall. Probably Spedeworth better absorbed rent at Wimbledon by virtue of attracting a larger crowd base to their events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 2 hours ago, mickthemuppet said: Quite an easy answer to that which is a Speedway meeting is much, much dearer to put on the a stock car meeting. I tend to agree with your opinion on this.The answer would appear to be also a lack of a promoter willing to pay what was needed to keep the speedway running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Probably Spedeworth better absorbed rent at Wimbledon Stadium by virtue of attracting a larger crowd base to their short circuit car events? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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