Guest Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) The first speedway race I saw - at New Cross, Wednesday, April 17, 1946: Ht1 Ron Johnson, Phil Bishop, Ron Clarke, Jack Parker (ef) 61 seconds. When was the first race you saw? Edited October 22, 2019 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 So, you got in on time to the oft mentioned first meeting you ever attended, which also has a thread or two devoted to it !!! Nice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 9 hours ago, gustix said: The first speedway race I saw - at New Cross, Wednesday, April 17, 1946: Ht1 Ron Johnson, Phil Bishop, Ron Clarke, Jack Parker (ef) 61 seconds. When was the first race you saw? But what size was the track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Thursday April 13th 1972 Oxford vs Coventry (BL1) Heat One Garry Middleton in a winning time of 66.8 beating Nigel Boocock, Rick Timmo and Roger Hill in a meeting that the "Bees" triumphed 41 points to 36. I was hooked for the next 32 years. Edited October 23, 2019 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I had to look this one up! Tuesday 30 July 1974. Weymouth v Crewe. Dave Morton won, from Kelvin Mullarky. Russell Foot third and Ian Cartwright fourth. A 3-3, in a time of 73.3. Weymouth won 41-37. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kryten Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 1st June 1985 - Belle Vue vs Swindon Chris Morton, Malcolm Simmons, Martin Yeates, Carl Blackbird (F). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. Edited October 23, 2019 by moxey63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, moxey63 said: You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. ...plus the very distinctive aroma of Castrol R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Heat 1 Tilehurst stadium Reading Monday June 17th 1968 Reading v Nelson - race won by by the Admiral`s Fred Powell* the Racers Dene Davies was also in the race but demolished the fence and was ruled out of the meeting * This was the 1st home match for the Reading Racers. * courtesy of Arnie Gibbons " tears and glory" Edited October 23, 2019 by racers and royals 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 13 minutes ago, moxey63 said: You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. An interesting recollection moxey63 - but what date, who were the riders, and how did the race finish please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I can't remember my first race as I was a baby when my speedway-mad parents first took me to the Wick in the late sixties. My first memories are of the colours of the leathers...Hackney+yellow=Dag Lovaas and Rye House+red&black check=Brian Foote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 29 minutes ago, steve roberts said: ...plus the very distinctive aroma of Castrol R. My sister used to say if they could bottle it she'd use it as perfume! It seemed less prevalent as we moved into the 80's..I guess they changed the formula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 6 minutes ago, Terry said: My sister used to say if they could bottle it she'd use it as perfume! It seemed less prevalent as we moved into the 80's..I guess they changed the formula. The late Rob Woffinden used a mixture when running his petrol driven lawn mower apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moxey63 Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 36 minutes ago, gustix said: An interesting recollection moxey63 - but what date, who were the riders, and how did the race finish please? Just thought about it, the date was June 7th. The race: Heat 1. Riders: Chris Morton, Nigel Boocock, Paul Tyrer, Alan Molyneux (in finishing order). If I recall correctly, think the time was 71.6 seconds. I also had a home-made haircut, wore a pair of those Rupert pants that were in fashion, and my biro kept running out filling in each race. How's that for memory? Most of the above are untruths - I got the heat details from Speedway Researcher... about five minutes ago. Edited October 23, 2019 by moxey63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Can't remember the exact date, but it was in 1963. My neighbours were Speedway fans and took me to Brandon one Saturday night. We sat in the old wooden stand that looked down the straight, and I had no idea what was about to enfold. 4 riders lined up at the tapes, and when the tapes rose the riders raced straight towards us, and in an instant I thought they were all about to fall off as they threw their bikes into the first turn. I was hooked!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HertsRacer Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 1st August 1961, Parents (both former Wembley and Harringay supporters) took me while on holiday to an East Anglican League match between Yarmouth and Norwich 'B'. Heat 1 won by Roy Trigg (Y) followed by Clive Featherby (N), Peter Atkins (N), and Johnny Fitzpatrick (Y). The Bloaters won 39-37 after both Norwich riders failed to finish in the last heat. Been hooked ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Just as a preamble to my first race...My family had been well into speedway for a long time, since before the War in fact, and I was actually named after a speedway rider, Norman Parker, Wimbledon Captain at the time. So my family used to talk about speedway and the riders at home a lot and I used to follow the results in the newspapers (yes, they actually had reports and results in those days), and watch the World Final on telly, so I knew quite a bit about speedway and the riders before I ever went. I used to cycle round the big field where I lived and pretend I was Split Waterman or Aub Lawson as they were my boyhood heroes because their names sounded very romantic to me. So, fast forward to my first time at proper live speedway. It was on 11 May 1960 at New Cross, a Britannia Shield match against Norwich, and there, in the very first race, to my absolute amazement were Split Waterman and Aub Lawson! The result of that race: 1. Aub Lawson (W) 2. Jimmy Gooch (B) 3. Split Waterman (R) 4. Harry Edwards (Y). Time 61.6 seconds round the 278 yards New Cross track. Although Ove Fundin scored an 18 point maximum and Aub Lawson 16 paid 17, New Cross won the match 48-42 after having lost their previous five matches on the trot. Jimmy Gooch was the New Cross hero that night, scoring 11 points and being the only New Cross rider to get the better of Aub Lawson. He became my new instant hero! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 2 hours ago, HertsRacer said: 1st August 1961, Parents (both former Wembley and Harringay supporters) took me while on holiday to an East Anglican League match between Yarmouth and Norwich 'B'. Heat 1 won by Roy Trigg (Y) followed by Clive Featherby (N), Peter Atkins (N), and Johnny Fitzpatrick (Y). The Bloaters won 39-37 after both Norwich riders failed to finish in the last heat. Been hooked ever since. Fitzpatrick is quite a Catholic name for an East Anglican meeting!!! I can only assume he is what my friend from Kells calls a ‘souper’ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 5 hours ago, moxey63 said: You never forget your first speedway race. I have. No idea what meeting was the first I attended. 1960s, Plough Lane, but I have an Olle Nygren Rosette and even then not sure if it is from the first meeting or a subsequent one. Went to a number of meetings from then up until 1973 when I do have a record of the meetings I have attended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) I am going to cheat here. It was April 19 1948 and featured my first visit to a Wembley home National League match - at Wimbledon Stadium v Belle Vue who they defeated 52-31. Coincidentally it was also my first visit to Wimbledon. At this time for a few weeks Wembley were unable to use the Stadium because of the Olympic Games. The race result was: Ht 1: Jack Parker (BV), Tommy Price (Wembley), Fred Williams (Wembley), Bill Pitcher (BV), 68.8. Back to the REAL thread theme please which is: When was the first race you saw? Edited October 23, 2019 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.