RobMcCaffery Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 I'm sure some of our more " senior " members will be able to confirm it but wasn't the qualifying for the British final held over several rounds at one time , with the top 16 riders going through to the final itself ? I remember Andy Meldrum riding for the Bandits. Do I qualify? Back in 'the day' (60s and early 70s) each of the 18/19 First Division tracks ran a qualifying round, with riders taking part in three rounds each. 32 riders qualified for two semi finals (no wild cards) with 8 from each qualifying for the final. Bear in mind at that point that the British qualifiers included the Aussies and Kiwis since both countries were represented on the FIM by the SCB. Later they had their own qualifiers. They were also eligible to ride for the 'Great Britain' World Team Cup side. Then in 1973 the GB side in the WTC was completely English so the Aussies and Kiwis split, getting their own qualifiers and WTC sides. The British Final at that time would give direct qualification to the World Final, if held at Wembley (every three years) or into further rounds if the final was in Sweden or Poland. Those were very different times and people didn't turn their noses up at individual events then. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 Those were very different times and people didn't turn their noses up at individual events then. Yes, very different times now. I don't think fans are so interested in individual events these days because they get to see the top riders regularly, even if it's just on the television, whereas back in the 50's/60's/70's if Ove Fundin - for example - was missing from the Norwich team that was it for the season unless he appeared in an individual event. In my case at Leicester it would have been the Golden Gauntlets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Flag Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 Yes, very different times now. I don't think fans are so interested in individual events these days because they get to see the top riders regularly, even if it's just on the television, whereas back in the 50's/60's/70's if Ove Fundin - for example - was missing from the Norwich team that was it for the season unless he appeared in an individual event. In my case at Leicester it would have been the Golden Gauntlets. and in my case the Pride of the Midlands and the Champion of Champions, happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) Yes, very different times now. I don't think fans are so interested in individual events these days because they get to see the top riders regularly, even if it's just on the television, whereas back in the 50's/60's/70's if Ove Fundin - for example - was missing from the Norwich team that was it for the season unless he appeared in an individual event. In my case at Leicester it would have been the Golden Gauntlets. I remember Len Silver complaining when Hull visited Hackney without Ivan Mauger that he was missing out on his one 'free' booking of Ivan that season. I don't think it was just rarity of star visits but a sign of a wider appreciation of speedway - going to see a night's racing rather than just being interested in seeing your team win league points. Perhaps it was just the tracks I went to. Edited June 15, 2016 by rmc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customhouseregular Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 Not knocking your idea but why should every event descend into a mini GP series. The weakness of the GP series as Woffinden said on Saturday that "he is not that bothered about winning each event just banking points" At least with a one off event it is all about winning which for me is what it should be about,it brings intensity to the event. On the World stage just imagine a one off World final at Torun (how good would that be) Torun is a fantastic venue but a one=off world Final needs a much bigger arena. The British Final is just that...a final. No need to change the format. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted June 16, 2016 Report Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Torun is a fantastic venue but a one=off world Final needs a much bigger arena. The British Final is just that...a final. No need to change the format. It was always technically the British Championship - wouldn't it be a better 'sell' to use that name? Edited June 16, 2016 by rmc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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