El Predictions 2016

[B.V 72]

But we are not talking about the 70's, we are talking about the 50's and 60's..

O K then could you tell me the exact official rules for team building in the 50s and 60s thanks in advance.

Edited March 2, 2016 by B.V 72

[Starman2006]

O K then could you tell me the exact official rules for team building in the 50s and 60s thanks in advance.

There wasn't any, the richest clubs signed who they liked.. Hope that helps..

[B.V 72]

There wasn't any, the richest clubs signed who they liked.. Hope that helps..

Where can i research this fact thanks again.

Where can i research this fact thanks again.

I have had a look to find team building rules for the 50s without any luck.

All i could find was a top 10 list of riders averages for 1950 and 51.Wembley who won the league in both those years had 1 rider in the top ten in both these years.If as you say team building was all about who could afford the best riders you would have thought that there would be more on the list.

Your argument that it was easier then does not ring true when Poole last year had 3 riders in the top 10 average list.

[E I Addio]

It's not an exaggeration as you've just admitted it happened .

 

I didn't say it happened all the time, you've assumed that.

 

Lewis Bridger didn't just show up at a training school, he'd been riding for years before it.. there have been a number of 'interviews' in Backtrack magazine with riders who within a month or two of ever getting on a bike were contending or in a team place.

 

The riders who came from the grasstrack scene were of course very different, they were experienced riders and it wouldn't take them long to adapt and be race ready.

 

I agree with everything else you say though.. the equipment is so vastly different now that you simply cannot say whether riders from yesteryear would be good now and vice versa. The top boys from each era I'm sure could adapt (although not a guarantee) but below that, who knows.

rr

 

Your comment was that there have been "numerous" examples in backtrack magazine. "Numerous " in most people's language means many, a lot, or more than just a few. Aces 51 who had more background knowledge than most on here can only think of three riders that went straight into the top flight and all of them had been riding for some time. Your claim is that there are numerous examples of riders turning up at a training school and within weeks were in the top flight but so far we don't have a single name of anyone who did, let alone numerous examples.

 

There might be several examples of some that went into the lower leagues within weeks of sitting on an bike but I doubt if there are numerous examples of riders going straight into the top flight from training school.

 

I think we all agree that racing was better when we were young whenever that was and the riders we grew up watching, whoever they were, were the best.

[BWitcher]

rr

 

Your comment was that there have been "numerous" examples in backtrack magazine. "Numerous " in most people's language means many, a lot, or more than just a few. Aces 51 who had more background knowledge than most on here can only think of three riders that went straight into the top flight and all of them had been riding for some time. Your claim is that there are numerous examples of riders turning up at a training school and within weeks were in the top flight but so far we don't have a single name of anyone who did, let alone numerous examples.

 

There might be several examples of some that went into the lower leagues within weeks of sitting on an bike but I doubt if there are numerous examples of riders going straight into the top flight from training school.

 

I think we all agree that racing was better when we were young whenever that was and the riders we grew up watching, whoever they were, were the best.

 

I'll do some digging when I'm back home in England and try and find some out as that's where the old magazines are.

 

Regardless, you wouldn't get a team place at almost any level now within a few weeks of first getting on a bike.

[Kester]

 

I'll do some digging when I'm back home in England and try and find some out as that's where the old magazines are.

 

Regardless, you wouldn't get a team place at almost any level now within a few weeks of first getting on a bike.

 

I have been a semi-regular buyer of Backtrack in the past. I have the same impression as you, I am sure I have read several articles with riders stating that they went from training to riding in the team within a few weeks.

[Shale Searcher]

If you get a chance, watch:

"Once A Jolly Swagman"

[BWitcher]

 

I have been a semi-regular buyer of Backtrack in the past. I have the same impression as you, I am sure I have read several articles with riders stating that they went from training to riding in the team within a few weeks.

 

Thanks, like you I'm a semi-regular buyer, I was beginning to think I'd been reading a different magazine

[E I Addio]

I have been a semi-regular buyer of Backtrack in the past. I have the same impression as you, I am sure I have read several articles with riders stating that they went from training to riding in the team within a few weeks.

The point of contention was the assertion that "numerous" riders went from training school to riding " at the highest level" within a few weeks. Clearly some went into a team of some kind in a fairly short space of time, not necessarily top level.

[stevebrum]

Now that teams are complete...

 

1. Poole

2. Belle Vue

3. Swindon

4. Wolves

5. Coventry

6. Lakeside

7. Kings Lynn

 

 

 

 

8 . Leicester

[Aces51]

Obviously in the very early days of the sport riders must have got into teams with very little experience because nobody had much experience.

 

I think it also happened in the immediate post war years. There was a shortage of riders and the sport was going through a boom time. However, I think even then some of those riders had in fact gained experience riding on make shift tracks in Germany, the Middle East and other countries whilst they were in the armed forces.

 

From the mid fifties onward I certainly can't recall numerous riders getting into first division teams straight from a training track. Maybe into Southern Area League teams or third division sides, I could well have not been aware of that.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Aces51

[waiheke1]

What did kelvin Tatum ride in before appearing for Wimbledon in the bl? Certainly not nl.

[arnieg]

What did kelvin Tatum ride in before appearing for Wimbledon in the bl? Certainly not nl.

And Jeremy Doncaster?

[E I Addio]

What did kelvin Tatum ride in before appearing for Wimbledon in the bl? Certainly not nl.

The point that I said was an exagerration was that a rider could turn up at a training school and be in the top fight within "within weeks" .

Kelvin was at the Hackney training school for a whole winter i.e months not weeks, but in addition Martin Tatum had been a pretty good grass track racer before that so I am 90 % certain Kelvin had had some time on a grasser before that.

[BWitcher]

The point that I said was an exagerration was that a rider could turn up at a training school and be in the top fight within "within weeks" .

Kelvin was at the Hackney training school for a whole winter i.e months not weeks, but in addition Martin Tatum had been a pretty good grass track racer before that so I am 90 % certain Kelvin had had some time on a grasser before that.

 

It isn't an exaggeration because it happened and riders who have been interviewed have said it happened.

 

Not post war.. these were riders in the 70's which is the era Backtrack covers.

 

Another poster (Kester) has collaborated my claim about it.

 

Tatum and Doncaster are different as they would have been regular riders on the grasstrack scene I believe so they don't fall into the type of rider I mention.

 

I made the point to illustrate that you simply would have no chance of doing that now at either Elite, Premier or National League level.

[E I Addio]

And Jeremy Doncaster?

A grass track racer. Half the Ipswich team of that era, notably John Louis, Mike Lanham and Tony Davey had been scramblers or grass trackers before turning to the shale and were not coming into Speedwáy cold. Loads came up from the grass in that era .

Michael Lees dad was pretty good scrambler so he was another one that pretty much grew up with off road riding

It isn't an exaggeration because it happened and riders who have been interviewed have said it happened.

 

Not post war.. these were riders in the 70's which is the era Backtrack covers.

 

Another poster (Kester) has collaborated my claim about it.

 

Tatum and Doncaster are different as they would have been regular riders on the grasstrack scene I believe so they don't fall into the type of rider I mention.

 

I made the point to illustrate that you simply would have no chance of doing that now at either Elite, Premier or National League level.

But there are still no names, of who they were. Anyway the discussion is getting a bit futile now, as these things often do when other people jump in and start name dropping names without reading the thread properly. The fundamental point that we are agreed on is that the great days of the past are largely a matter of perception, and although there were some great races in the past there were plenty of others strung out for four laps, it's just that we forget about those.

[B.V 72]

 

I'll do some digging when I'm back home in England and try and find some out as that's where the old magazines are.

 

Regardless, you wouldn't get a team place at almost any level now within a few weeks of first getting on a bike.

The 70s for me was the greatest years for speedway so out of genuine interest i would love to know which riders back then took to it like a duck to water. i would really appreciate when you get back home(whenever that my be) if you could post the riders names on this thread even if the thread has gone cold i will look out for it thanks in advance if you can.

Kester same as if you have still got the Backtrack magazine i would appreciate if you could look them up and post on here thanks.

[kingbee]

The 70s for me was the greatest years for speedway so out of genuine interest i would love to know which riders back then took to it like a duck to water. i would really appreciate when you get back home(whenever that my be) if you could post the riders names on this thread even if the thread has gone cold i will look out for it thanks in advance if you can.

Kester same as if you have still got the Backtrack magazine i would appreciate if you could look them up and post on here thanks.

I agree with you just out of interest when did Michael Lee start he was a bit of overnight sensation watched him win the world title in Sweden was it 1980 ?

[naffer]

I think he had the one season riding for Boston in the premier league or whatever it was called then and from then on he rode for the stars.

What a prodigious talent he was, I remember him riding against Ole when he would be 16/17 and pushing him all the way in his first appearance at Brandon, superb rider.

Edited March 3, 2016 by naffer

[BluPanther]

I agree with you just out of interest when did Michael Lee start he was a bit of overnight sensation watched him win the world title in Sweden was it 1980 ?

I rode against Michael at Mildenhall in 1974 when he was only 15. I led him for half a lap, but he came past me so fast i got pneumonia from the draft. He was special even at that age..