RobMcCaffery Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 11 hours ago, chunky said: Yeah, I was in Norden and Amsterdam too! For Norden, we were based in Groningen before heading back to Amsterdam for the "Revenge" World Final. In '87, we drove over for a five-day trip, and stayed with friends in Apeldoorn. I loved the country so much, I moved there in 1990 for about 18 months! Ah, Groningen! A superb base for ice racing trips to Assen. I was lucky enough to cover Dutch ice hockey at the time and made many trips to Groningen. Oh those bars and a marinaded pork chop from an 'Automatiek' in the back streets at 2 am. Some Ice Racing qualifying events were held there for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusky Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, RobMcCaffery said: Ah, Groningen! A superb base for ice racing trips to Assen. I was lucky enough to cover Dutch ice hockey at the time and made many trips to Groningen. Oh those bars and a marinaded pork chop from an 'Automatiek' in the back streets at 2 am. Some Ice Racing qualifying events were held there for a while. 2AM... Lightweight..... Went to many ice meetings in Assen, and always stayed in Groningen. Had some really good nights out (actually make that great) there with some good company, frequently not getting back to the hotel until it was daylight. Mr Fisher with us on a couple of occasions as well as several riders. Overriding memory was Mark Loram being held on the shoulders of Dutch Lads when they realised who he was, and having to dodge the ceiling fan !!! Mark enjoyed the racing on the Saturday night, but didn't see too much of the Sunday as I recall.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 3 hours ago, Ray Stadia said: Maybe? I thought Les was a Jawa man, but probably wrong. Les defo rode a JAWA to 2nd in 1982, read somewhere that the 4-valve JAWAs were tricky to set up, 'specially ignition timing and valve clearences, but once sorted they pretty much 'flew'. Les came so close to winning, he'd already beat victor Penhall, but ran a 3rd in one heat, but 2nd was still a great result.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) Talking on his FB, site it seems Egon doesn't have fond memories of his time at Hull. The travelling was a nightmare, so it seems. But he was laughing about getting injured and Brian Larner sent him to a somewhat dodgy Massage Parlour........ Edited February 19, 2020 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, rusky said: 2AM... Lightweight..... Went to many ice meetings in Assen, and always stayed in Groningen. Had some really good nights out (actually make that great) there with some good company, frequently not getting back to the hotel until it was daylight. Mr Fisher with us on a couple of occasions as well as several riders. Overriding memory was Mark Loram being held on the shoulders of Dutch Lads when they realised who he was, and having to dodge the ceiling fan !!! Mark enjoyed the racing on the Saturday night, but didn't see too much of the Sunday as I recall.... Guilty as charged, but in my defence it was only a pit stop between bars. "ok, it's 2 am, we're closing but there's a great bar down the road open until 6" I did have to pick up a mic the following day..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerblade Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, falcace said: Hmmm. I think you are comparing apples and pears there.... You are omitting to mention that the Hyde Road Track for the 83 Overseas was an absolute quagmire. Had it not been a World Championship meeting, I doubt very much that it would have gone ahead. It doesn't have the same infamy as the 1984 British Final - it wasn't covered on ITV - but the track was very dodgy to say the least. That's why Mort struggled and so too did other track specialists PC and Shawn Moran. Billy Sanders went out in his last race to win the event, but ended up coming off on his own with his ass in the sludge by the fence. And as much as I liked Phil Collins, he would not have beaten such a classy field in normal circumstances. He was a freak winner in freak conditions. ps. I was there too...Norden, Amsterdam, Belle Vue I did omit it, fair point, but everyone who was there would remember that. I still maintain it shouldn't have put PC and Mort off as much as it did though, surely in all the years it was their home circuit, they'd ridden it several times before when it was a quagmire? Edited February 19, 2020 by Tigerblade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatface Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 38 minutes ago, Tigerblade said: I did omit it, fair point, but everyone who was there would remember that. I still maintain it shouldn't have put PC and Mort off as much as it did though, surely in all the years it was their home circuit, they'd ridden it several times before when it was a quagmire? Maybe. But it was the biggest meeting at Hyde Road in years and would otherwise probably have been postponed. It certainly was the wettest I'd ever seen it. A sodden track - no matter where it is - turns things into a bit of a lottery and never suits the racers. Funnily enough, I just sold a picture from that meeting on ebay...cracking pic of Mort, Les Collins and Andy Grahame (see attached). It shows how sludgy it was! Put it this way, 12 days later on a perfect track Morton was dynamite beating Kenny Carter from the back and breaking the track record on his way to winning the Northern Riders. Phil Collins wouldn't have got a sniff. In short... Belle Vue 1983 was an act of God Norden 1983 was an act of Egon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 8 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said: Oh those bars and a marinaded pork chop from an 'Automatiek' in the back streets at 2 am. Funny you should mention that! it was only over the weekend when I was explaining to my wife about the Automatieks, and the wonderful hot food you could any time of the day or night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 44 minutes ago, chunky said: Funny you should mention that! it was only over the weekend when I was explaining to my wife about the Automatieks, and the wonderful hot food you could any time of the day or night... A great Dutch tradition. Simple food in the automatic dispensers, larger or more complex meals knock on the kitchen door ;-) Not being able to read much Dutch back then it was like playing edible Russian Roulette with the croquettes in the automatic dispensers. Then there was Tony's Tattoo Bar. Let's see if anyone admits to knowing that place..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 Let's face it, Groningen was more fun than Norden ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 44 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said: A great Dutch tradition. Simple food in the automatic dispensers, larger or more complex meals knock on the kitchen door ;-) Not being able to read much Dutch back then it was like playing edible Russian Roulette with the croquettes in the automatic dispensers. Then there was Tony's Tattoo Bar. Let's see if anyone admits to knowing that place..... I never found a croquette I didn't like! And no, I didn't know that place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusky Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Can’t say that I know Tony’s Tattoo Bar. Remember one night going in to a night club and our shoes weren’t acceptable, so we turned to go away. The bouncer called us back and it turned out the nightclub had shoes you could borrow if yours weren’t allowed.... all very strange. We always used to end up in Tramps Bar. A little on the small side, but what an atmosphere...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaboy279 Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 What condition is the stadium in, could it could an SEC round or big international fixture currently? Looks a fun venue to visit, the sort of place you make memories of sleeping in strangers car boots and the like.... very much has the feel of the locations you find banger/stock car tracks on the continent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 32 minutes ago, teaboy279 said: What condition is the stadium in, could it could an SEC round or big international fixture currently? Looks a fun venue to visit, the sort of place you make memories of sleeping in strangers car boots and the like.... very much has the feel of the locations you find banger/stock car tracks on the continent. If you prefer a car boot sale to Selfridges then fine. Not for a major speedway event. It would be like staging the British Grand Prix at Berrington Lough. There's 'funny' and there's 'funny'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobMcCaffery Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hmmm, might be bit tricky to fit the pits in behind the Food Hall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 2 hours ago, teaboy279 said: What condition is the stadium in, could it could an SEC round or big international fixture currently? Looks a fun venue to visit, the sort of place you make memories of sleeping in strangers car boots and the like.... very much has the feel of the locations you find banger/stock car tracks on the continent. The thing is, for big meetings, you generally need someone who is willing to put up big money. Tracks rely on a few decent sponsors, and that is where Norden is at a big disadvantage. Sponsors are generally to be found in the local community or want to gain from the local community, and there isn't much of that in the area. Think the track is basically just ticking over, with a couple of meetings a year, plus plenty of training days One of the last, maybe the last half decent meeting held there was an U21 World Championship qualifier, when Ricky Wells was a bit of a shooting start on the scene, from memory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) Edited February 20, 2020 by Bavarian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaboy279 Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 I definitely want to pay the track a visit, been added firmly to my "must do" list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 If I am correct I think they normally host their main meeting of the season on the Whitsun weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_martin Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 On 2/18/2020 at 12:17 PM, RobMcCaffery said: Were you there? Yes I was there. A nice 3 hour train journey from Hamburg Haupbahnhof from what I remember. And I seem to have been the only person to take a colour photo of Mike Patrick in his now infamous chequed trousers to prove it. I went there under my own steam, and my views are as equally independent as my mode of transport. All this bleating about how some "unknown" German who dared to win it instead of our favourite British league stars, jeeeezzz...you're as bad as Forest Trump banging on about a South Korean film with subtitles winning the Oscar for best movie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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