czechhero Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 20 hours ago, Ghosty said: You have missed Grasstrack. Next to AKB would be Jersey's very own Marcus Bisson & as well as his motorcycling exploits you can add Karting & Rallying! There’s grass track yes, but you can add indoor speedway to the list too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 Indoor speedway - Micky mouse type racing, only done to stimulate interest during winter months IMO. Seems to have died a death thankfully. Small amount I watched when televised it was woeful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
czechhero Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 Mickey Mouse it maybe. But after 2nd halving in 71 and not really doing all that well, he rode Indoors during the winter and then scored a maximum on his debut for Brum in 72. Must have done him some good. The machines had BSA Bantam motors so were more suited to a glazed concrete surface. A lot better than using normal speedway engines which is plain silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 13 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said: Indoor speedway - Micky mouse type racing, only done to stimulate interest during winter months IMO. Seems to have died a death thankfully. Small amount I watched when televised it was woeful. Yes I went to the first two Wembley events plus the Birmingham Event and were nothing more than novelty meetings and a chance to meet up with fans during the Winter season. I never went to Telford but what I saw on TV didn't do anything for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 9 minutes ago, czechhero said: Mickey Mouse it maybe. But after 2nd halving in 71 and not really doing all that well, he rode Indoors during the winter and then scored a maximum on his debut for Brum in 72. Must have done him some good. The machines had BSA Bantam motors so were more suited to a glazed concrete surface. A lot better than using normal speedway engines which is plain silly. Was that at Leicester (Granby Hall?)? I visited that site when I attended an entomological show during the nineties before it was demolished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGould Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 NEC Event late 70's from memory drew massive crowd but surface was rubber with slick tyres (again from memory). There may have been a chance at that time (golden era big crowds especially in Midlands - Brummies / Wolves / Heathens / Bees / Lions etc) to have created a shale track but technology at the time was not there. Doubt it would make money now unless they could try to tag on to one of the big MX shows at NEC. Telford was novelty as you say. Wasn't there one in Brighton for a few years? New Years actual meeting at Newport was far better idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
czechhero Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 1 hour ago, steve roberts said: Was that at Leicester (Granby Hall?)? I visited that site when I attended an entomological show during the nineties before it was demolished. Think it was there yes, also at the Whispering Wheels Roller Rink in Wolverhampton and one in Brum. There was an article in a one off speedway magazine, Broadslide, a couple of years ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 14 minutes ago, czechhero said: Think it was there yes, also at the Whispering Wheels Roller Rink in Wolverhampton and one in Brum. There was an article in a one off speedway magazine, Broadslide, a couple of years ago. Yes I have that magazine...must check it out again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAST GATER Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 I was once told that the easiest way to learn to slide a s/way bike was in fact on concrete as it allowed the rider to control the slide on a consistent surface which makes quite a lot of sense really . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 45 minutes ago, FAST GATER said: I was once told that the easiest way to learn to slide a s/way bike was in fact on concrete as it allowed the rider to control the slide on a consistent surface which makes quite a lot of sense really . I was at an indoor meeting on concrete and it was absolute chaos. Think Tobi Kroner broke a leg....in one heat it ended up with only one rider and then he was excluded for poodling around and not RACING !!! As it was a two day event, by the second day there were so many gaps in the programme, because of injured riders it ended up a farce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAST GATER Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 5 minutes ago, iris123 said: I was at an indoor meeting on concrete and it was absolute chaos. Think Tobi Kroner broke a leg....in one heat it ended up with only one rider and then he was excluded for poodling around and not RACING !!! As it was a two day event, by the second day there were so many gaps in the programme, because of injured riders it ended up a farce. I think the secret would have been to use less powerful engines as the tracks are smaller and the demand for raw power much diminished but size tracks was probably as much an issue as anything else and there was little could be done about that . The rider in question learnt his trade by doing dougnuts on a concrete slab( 100 cc bike) with his father putting cones in various places to improve his ability to handle small tracks and learn throttle control which he said was the most important discipline of all . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 3 minutes ago, FAST GATER said: I think the secret would have been to use less powerful engines as the tracks are smaller and the demand for raw power much diminished but size tracks was probably as much an issue as anything else and there was little could be done about that . The rider in question learnt his trade by doing dougnuts on a concrete slab( 100 cc bike) with his father putting cones in various places to improve his ability to handle small tracks and learn throttle control which he said was the most important discipline of all . Well, it turned out to be a one-off. They have the same event, in fact the last one was a week or two back, but no speedway anymore involved But I do remember talking to Matten Kröger and he did say that both himself and Stephan Katt use a warehouse with a concrete floor to train in winter. Or they did do Similar to Dag Lovaas saying that he honed his skills by riding on frozen lakes Edited February 12, 2020 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted February 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 7 hours ago, iris123 said: Well, it turned out to be a one-off. They have the same event, in fact the last one was a week or two back, but no speedway anymore involved But I do remember talking to Matten Kröger and he did say that both himself and Stephan Katt use a warehouse with a concrete floor to train in winter. Or they did do Similar to Dag Lovaas saying that he honed his skills by riding on frozen lakes As did Sweden's Jan Andersson apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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