andout Posted May 9, 2019 Report Share Posted May 9, 2019 12 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: That side really had a great spirit Schwartz( very underated) was a great team man an awesome team partner he was great on the white line. The mention of Schwartz just brought a couple of things to mind, he was always always a very approachable gentleman....certainly in his early and latter days anyway. I first saw Schwartz at Owego, New York for the very first US OPEN National Championship in 1977.....he won of course. The next year I was on the centre doing some photography and unfortunately got a good photo of Bob breaking his thumb after a close encounter on bends three and four. Wish I could find that photo today...also got one of him in a full slide waving!!!! And yes Sid....I always thought he was underrated too! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 5 hours ago, andout said: The mention of Schwartz just brought a couple of things to mind, he was always always a very approachable gentleman....certainly in his early and latter days anyway. I first saw Schwartz at Owego, New York for the very first US OPEN National Championship in 1977.....he won of course. The next year I was on the centre doing some photography and unfortunately got a good photo of Bob breaking his thumb after a close encounter on bends three and four. Wish I could find that photo today...also got one of him in a full slide waving!!!! And yes Sid....I always thought he was underrated too! The late John Berry admired Bobby and his work ethic and his account of him made for interesting reading in a past 'Backtrack' edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 5 hours ago, andout said: The mention of Schwartz just brought a couple of things to mind, he was always always a very approachable gentleman....certainly in his early and latter days anyway. I first saw Schwartz at Owego, New York for the very first US OPEN National Championship in 1977.....he won of course. The next year I was on the centre doing some photography and unfortunately got a good photo of Bob breaking his thumb after a close encounter on bends three and four. Wish I could find that photo today...also got one of him in a full slide waving!!!! And yes Sid....I always thought he was underrated too! Great post this i loved watching Bobby and he was also terrific at Eastbourne just a shame in never got a run at it at World Championship level.By the way andout what was your overall opinion of Mike Bast he was odviously a brilliant home boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Sidney the robin said: Great post this i loved watching Bobby and he was also terrific at Eastbourne just a shame in never got a run at it at World Championship level.By the way andout what was your overall opinion of Mike Bast he was odviously a brilliant home boy. One of my claims to fame Sid, was seeing Steve Bast ride for Wembley in 1970. I think he only rode a couple of home meetings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 48 minutes ago, cityrebel said: One of my claims to fame Sid, was seeing Steve Bast ride for Wembley in 1970. I think he only rode a couple of home meetings. I never see Steve ride City, he odviously was a very good rider as he interrupted his brothers dominance in the national championships twice 1969/73.I saw Keeter ride once for Leicester and the talented Rick Woods at Newport odviously saw all of the disappointing McKnight Swindon home meeting's going back to Steve i believe the terrific Bert Harkins helped him alot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 7 hours ago, Sidney the robin said: Great post this i loved watching Bobby and he was also terrific at Eastbourne just a shame in never got a run at it at World Championship level.By the way andout what was your overall opinion of Mike Bast he was odviously a brilliant home boy. Yes you got that one right "a brilliant home boy" and really that was "it" in my opinion.....while he ruled the California circuits he could never come to grips with the bigger tracks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney the robin Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, andout said: Yes you got that one right "a brilliant home boy" and really that was "it" in my opinion.....while he ruled the California circuits he could never come to grips with the bigger tracks. He did get around Ascot??? that was my doubt could he get around Hyde Rd, The shay,Swindon, County Ground, Owlerton in England.Ability wise i believe he could but Costa Mesa is alot different to a wet and mega racey night in Manchester on a crap Saturday night i still say Mike was classy could he of adjusted who knows. Edited May 10, 2019 by Sidney the robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wealdstone Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 11 hours ago, cityrebel said: One of my claims to fame Sid, was seeing Steve Bast ride for Wembley in 1970. I think he only rode a couple of home meetings. Saw Steve Bast ride for most of his Wembley career, he never got close to mastering English conditions and it was a regular event to see him with other Wembley riders being shown what lines he should ride. As far as I am aware he never had his own equipment during his time here and rode the Wembley track spare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Sidney the robin said: He did get around Ascot??? that was my doubt could he get around Hyde Rd, The shay,Swindon, County Ground, Owlerton in England.Ability wise i believe he could but Costa Mesa is alot different to a wet and mega racey night in Manchester on a crap Saturday night i still say Mike was classy could he of adjusted who knows. Not sure about his Ascot adventures, I'm sure he did well....why....well he was in a class of his own for a long time in California......They were the really early days of American Speedway...it only restarted in 1969 and his only real competition was Rick Woods and his brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, wealdstone said: Saw Steve Bast ride for most of his Wembley career, he never got close to mastering English conditions and it was a regular event to see him with other Wembley riders being shown what lines he should ride. As far as I am aware he never had his own equipment during his time here and rode the Wembley track spare I know he rode in an abandoned meeting at Custom House. It must have been a shock to ride on a huge track like West Ham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted May 10, 2019 Report Share Posted May 10, 2019 41 minutes ago, cityrebel said: I know he rode in an abandoned meeting at Custom House. It must have been a shock to ride on a huge track like West Ham. Would have been a shock for any American in those days....Speed alone would have them looking for a bathroom.....What are the Californian tracks 160 to 220 yards, average of about 35 to 40 MPH.......West Ham 440 yards........Speed, could be almost double! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 So this year is the 50th anniversary of the revival of US speedway, and what a success it has been on the whole. Providing us with some great riders and some colourful times. Pity when you look at the state it has fallen in over the last decade or so, hardly able to get an international team together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 4 hours ago, iris123 said: So this year is the 50th anniversary of the revival of US speedway, and what a success it has been on the whole. Providing us with some great riders and some colourful times. Pity when you look at the state it has fallen in over the last decade or so, hardly able to get an international team together Yes, this is also the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Speedway revival and sad to say Speedway is "DEAD" here once again! There are many reasons for the decline, lack of sponsorship monies (only go to the major sports in North America), kids just aren't interested in a sport where you can use a now, expensive motorcycle in one place and maybe once or twice a week. Dirt bikes are more popular but even that is on a decline. Americans seem to have a knack of keeping the sport alive though, even in New York state where there is only one track (Owego), it survives. It certainly would be nice to have the colourful characters of the 80's back......that could be a while. Just my opinion of course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 4 hours ago, andout said: Americans seem to have a knack of keeping the sport alive though, even in New York state where there is only one track (Owego), it survives. It certainly would be nice to have the colourful characters of the 80's back......that could be a while. Just my opinion of course. Don't forget that we have Mid-America Speedway in Indianapolis too! As is standard over here, it features flat-track and quads too, but we do have a number of riders in the Midwest. Sadly, I haven't been able to make it there (despite constant promises to myself), but I am not sure if Anthony Barlow and James Mann are still racing. Not sure, but I wonder if the demise of the British speedway scene has had a negative impact on the number of Americans riding abroad? Perhaps Poland doesn't have the same appeal, I don't know... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 On 5/8/2019 at 6:54 PM, ProudtobeaBrummie said: Hey Steve Corey Cadby is a bit of a regular down Birmingham speedway this season . He has moved to Birmingham now his visa issues are sorted and has been to the opening 3 meetings . So I see! It looks like dart players are keeping speedway alive in Britain! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 3 hours ago, chunky said: Don't forget that we have Mid-America Speedway in Indianapolis too! As is standard over here, it features flat-track and quads too, but we do have a number of riders in the Midwest. Sadly, I haven't been able to make it there (despite constant promises to myself), but I am not sure if Anthony Barlow and James Mann are still racing. Not sure, but I wonder if the demise of the British speedway scene has had a negative impact on the number of Americans riding abroad? Perhaps Poland doesn't have the same appeal, I don't know... Steve Anthony Barlow and James Mann, I only really remember from the Ice racing on Hockey rinks here in Canada......went to a few of those but it was much the same thing every time....a little shall we say "staged". And yes, I too would like to get to the Mid-America Speedway one day. I'm not sure if the demise of the British speedway scene has had a negative impact on the number of Americans riding abroad.....I think Britain alone is causing their own demise. I know, here we go again, In my day in the UK I used to go to Speedway six times a week....yes I had four or five London tracks to choose from but the costs were so cheap in those days, now it seems to be priced out of most families reach....and yes, mine too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieg Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 4 hours ago, chunky said: Don't forget that we have Mid-America Speedway in Indianapolis too! As is standard over here, it features flat-track and quads too, but we do have a number of riders in the Midwest. Sadly, I haven't been able to make it there (despite constant promises to myself), but I am not sure if Anthony Barlow and James Mann are still racing. Not sure, but I wonder if the demise of the British speedway scene has had a negative impact on the number of Americans riding abroad? Perhaps Poland doesn't have the same appeal, I don't know... Steve I saw Anthony Barlow at mid America in 2017 (he wore a Berwick race jacket). There is also racing in Dacono, Colorado. Redmond Bohannan was visiting from Colorado when I went to Indy, and looked quite promising. Jim Terchilla, who rode in the UK on one of the Dream Team tours seemed to be the main organisational force behind the Mid America venture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 1 hour ago, andout said: Anthony Barlow and James Mann, I only really remember from the Ice racing I'm not sure if the demise of the British speedway scene has had a negative impact on the number of Americans riding abroad..... Anthony and James both started out in British league racing before moving to the US. Ironically, both moved to the St. Louis area where I was based! I used to hang out with James regularly, but then he got into the family thing and I moved to Cincinnati... Of course Britain is responsible for its own demise, and I think it is just not attractive enough for Americans now. Of course, there isn't the quality of American speedway now, but that could be related to the lack of incentive both here in the US, and in Britain. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 1 hour ago, arnieg said: I saw Anthony Barlow at mid America in 2017 (he wore a Berwick race jacket). There is also racing in Dacono, Colorado. Redmond Bohannan was visiting from Colorado when I went to Indy, and looked quite promising. Jim Terchilla, who rode in the UK on one of the Dream Team tours seemed to be the main organisational force behind the Mid America venture. I had a feeling that Anthony was still racing occasionally. Yeah, I got to know Jim from the ice racing. He was also the main force behind the old track (I went to that one) over on the west side. When they lost that, he managed to find this one. Good guy, Jim, and he does a lot for speedway in the area. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatface Posted May 12, 2019 Report Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/8/2019 at 10:49 PM, Grand Central said: My completed programme has a different time for the final 1982 World Team Cup - Victor Lodorum Heat 1 : Schwartz, Penhall, K Moran, S Moran 70.4 Heat 2 : Maier, Hack, Gilgenreiner, Muller (NS), Wiesbock (NS) 71.2 Heat 3 : Dryml, Verner, Ondrasik, Stancl (F) 71.6 Heat 4 : Knudsen, Gundersen, Eriksen, Nielsen (NS), Olsen (NS) 71.4 Final : Schwartz, Knudsen, Dryml, Maier 70.5 Was this a second half common to all World Team Cups? If so, I was never aware of it. Were there any others around that time people can share? Particularly interested in 1980, 81, 83, 84? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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