Thornton Road - Home Of The Gunners

[KIRKYLANE]

Mervyn Porter , one time promoter at Ellesmere Port , was at Belle Vue on Monday for the Poole match.

[RobMcCaffery]

I was a student in Liverpool in the late 70s and with family just up the road in Widnes and Runcorn I was a regular at Thornton Road in term times. As with most tracks round a football pitch it wasn't the easiest p[lace to pass but when someone did it was a sight to be seen.

 

John Jackson would almost paint pictures on that track and it was a joy to see a rider so in tune with his home circuit. It was a privilege to interview both him and Steve Finch for Backtrack in more recent years.

 

I do remember, sitting up the ref's box in the back of that stand how if I couldn't see gate four, how on earth could the ref?

 

With Doug Adams guiding us through the meetings on the mic it was a pleasure to spend my nights there and it's so distressing to see the place now. Sadly there just weren't people coming through the gates when it was open and too few to reviove it.

 

Nobody can take away the memories.

[FAST GATER]

I travelled around with JJ and helped in the pits for 4/5 yrs in the mid 70's and only ever saw him fall off once on turn 2 at the Port he was one of the safest riders I have ever seen race ( I would put him up with Peter Karlsson for that) as well as being one of the fastest .I have said before I over heard Tom Owen telling his team mate to block Jacko (gate 1) off gate 2 because if he gets in front you will never see him !!!!