Was Amman Valley Pioneer British Flat Track?

[Guest]

The Link gives data on a 'pre-Flat Track' era venue - in the 1970s at Amman Valley: is more known about this track?

 

For interest, here is the original Post made by Parsloes 1928 nearly in regard to Amman Valley:

 

Right, apologies for this being a particularly obscure request for help/info. - but trust me, there's a good reason for me asking and hopefully some positive news to emerge from this request..!!

Amman Valley is a trotting track in South Wales and I'm after info. about what appears to have been the solitary occasion (so far.. ) that dirt track racing was held there.
'Homes of British Speedway' (entry under Ammanford) tells us that this was on 12 September 1970. Despite the very specific date, Bamford & Jarvis’ book (I like to think of it as the bible!!!) has little other details other than the fare on display was billed as “Track Racing”..: not grass track (coz after all it ain’t grass..!!) and not Speedway or Long Track but rather ambiguously, ‘Track Racing’…!!!

The meeting was apparently put on by the “Carmarthen Club”..: what’s that a grass tracking club or a more general motorcycling club..?? Oh, and the 500cc solos class was won by a name I have to say I don’t recognise, Tig Perry.

That’s all I can glean from ‘Homes’
So does anyone have further details of the meeting..?
Was it grasstrack bikes & sidecars or was it more akin to Long Track…: like the handful of meetings held at around the same time in North Wales at a trotting circuit at Prestatyn..?? Bamford & Jarvis list the size of the Ammanford circuit for that 1970 meeting as 440 yards but I think that could be wrong as the trotting track’s closer to a half mile..

Any info. on any/all aspects of this one-off staging of dirt track racing at Amman Valley would be much appreciated….

 

For a look at previous debate on Amman Valley go to http://www.speedway-...ast#entry794603

but please Post a response on this thread otherwise it will appear in YEARS GONE BY.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Guest

[Vince]

Seems likely it was a Grasstrack / longtrack meeting as Tig Perry was a very good Grasstrack rider. I'm sure he was also the man who started Antig the Grasstrack and Speedway frame builder.

 

Not sure if the track has changed but it's definitely quite a lot more than 440 yards now.

http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/

Edited March 18, 2017 by Vince

[Guest]

Seems likely it was a Grasstrack / longtrack meeting as Tig Perry was a very good Grasstrack rider. I'm sure he was also the man who started Antig the Grasstrack and Speedway frame builder.

 

Not sure if the track has changed but it's definitely quite a lot more than 440 yards now.

http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/ammanford%track.html

 

Can you please confirm the Link. I have had three negative responses with varying explanations like 'not active', 'not constructed', 'not an index address or email', and 'not available'. Thank you Vince.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Guest

[Guest]

I have managed to find this 2016 Link reference to Amman Valley circuit but it does not look very much like an oval raceway - more akin to what 'we old timers' would call a scrambles course! But it's worth a look IMO.

http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/14500374.Bikers_hoping_to_jump_ahead_with_Amman_Valley_track_plan/

[Vince]

Changed the link to the Speedway museum home page. Have to go to the tracks page and it says that the track used for those 70's meetings was a different one to the one we use now.

[Guest]

There is a reference to Ammanford on the National Speedway Museum website at:

http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/track%20a.html

[iris123]

Seems likely it was a Grasstrack / longtrack meeting as Tig Perry was a very good Grasstrack rider.

Trotting tracks have a long history of "Track racing" in Germany,Generally Longtrack.Back about a decade ago Matten Kröger and i think Stephan Katt had a try out on the Hamburg Trotting track near me.Nothing further happened though.maybe the tracks or the development of modern bikes makes it unsuitable now.Maybe it was too costly

 

But today we had an interesting development.Huskies v Horse trotters or whatever they are called.This is the preview

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6OKbP0H8s

 

 

Maybe it would be an idea for Flat track racing as an added crowd puller?

[Guest]

​Here is a small item regarding Ammanford on my very good friend John Skinner's ultra-excellent 'Defunct Speedway Tracks" website:

http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Ammanford.htm

Edited March 19, 2017 by Guest

[iris123]

For anyone who is interested,here is the film of the Trotting race against the Husky team.I won't spoil it for you by saying who won

 

http://www.ndr.de/Trabrennbahn-Huskies-gegen-Pferd,hamj54830.html

 

Interesting start to the traditional trotters though.An idea for Flat track i wonder?

 

Here is a fixture list for the Trotting in the UK,including the above mentioned Amman Valley.Wonder if there are any more tracks that might be of interest to Flat trackers?Corbiewood or the wonderfully named Tan Y Castell.Might be worth getting in touch as Amman Valley obviously had no problem

 

http://www.bhrc.org.uk/racing/fixtures/

Edited March 20, 2017 by iris123