RPNY Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) With a lot of time on my hands I've been watching all the World Finals that I could find on YouTube from 1980-1994. Here are my top 5. Was wondering what others opinions were.... 1) 1990 Bradford. 9/10 2) 1981 Wembley 8/10 3) 1985 Bradford 7/10 4) 1994 Vojens 7/10 5) 1993 Pocking 6/10 Edited March 24, 2020 by RPNY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 I've only seen Wembley (81) & Bradford (85) on that list although I have Bradford (90) & Vojens (94) to watch at some time. If I can hark back to the seventies (outside your remit) I think that the Wembley Final (72) and Katowice Final (73) were full of drama and of course Katowice (76) took some beating due to Peter Collins superaltive efforts. I intend getting round to my hundreds of hours of speedway DVDs over the coming months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Of those I have actually seen, Ove Fundin's win in 1967 is the one that stands out most for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 41 minutes ago, steve roberts said: If I can hark back to the seventies (outside your remit) I think that the Wembley Final (72) and Katowice Final (73) were full of drama and of course Katowice (76) took some beating due to Peter Collins superaltive efforts. I actually watched the 1976 final (well, what there is of it), and quite honestly, the quality of racing was the best I've seen. Of course, 1981 was great, but basically because of two races and the superb Wembley atmosphere. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 1976, pleased to say “I was there”. The atmosphere was amazing, it was an open air stadium but the atmosphere matched Wembley. PC was brilliant. I heard he played it crafty and fluffed his practice laps to make the others think he was off form. Another YouTube not to miss. Search for “Peter Collins v Egon Miller Long Track”. Think it was 1982 world long track final, track was wet and dirty. Amazing race. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 7 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said: Another YouTube not to miss. Search for “Peter Collins v Egon Miller Long Track”. Think it was 1982 world long track final, track was wet and dirty. Amazing race. That was fantastic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 3 hours ago, chunky said: That was fantastic! I was there, 1984 Herxheim. It poured with rain the night before. The fire brigade turned up on sunday morning to pump the water off. The track was then totally relaid before the start of the meeting. It was a superhuman effort to get it on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 I only saw two finals abroad, 1970 and 1977 - they naturally stand out for me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 I visited Wembley (81), Norden (83), Ullevi (84), Bradford (85), Katowice (86), Amsterdam (87) and Vojens (88) The best in my view was the Wembley one but personally the most satisfying were Katowice and Amsterdam that saw Hans Nielsen as victor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPanther Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 1975 Tiger Louis beating Ivan Mauger in a run off to get on the rostrum. The noise during that race was absolutely incredible... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68hDkPAoSEo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 42 minutes ago, Blupanther said: 1975 Tiger Louis beating Ivan Mauger in a run off to get on the rostrum. The noise during that race was absolutely incredible... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68hDkPAoSEo Got it on DVD...and the track for that meeting was shocking! Ivan has since said that he was totally exhausted by then thru' a rigid diet regime he followed that year. John, however, had got himself super fit thru' a trainer and his scrambling expertise helped in adjusting to the dodgy track something he talks at length in his autobiography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, Midland Red said: I only saw two finals abroad, 1970 and 1977 - they naturally stand out for me 1977 stands out because of the poxy weather, I'm sure!!! I did : Wembley (69, 78, 81), Bradford (85), Los Angeles (82), Norden (83), and Amsterdam (87). Edited March 25, 2020 by chunky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 I did Wembley 72, 75, 78, 81, Bradford 85, 90, Ullevi 84, Munich 89 (worst final ever) and Vojens 88..Went mad that year and also took in the ice final in Eindhoven. I remember cheering on Erik Stenlund to beat the Russkies. Bruce Cribb was there as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbold Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 I've only seen one abroad - Gothenburg 1971. Wembley finals I saw were 1963, 65, 67, 69, 72, 75, 78 and 81. Three wins for Olsen, two wins for Fundin, two for Mauger, one for Knutson and one for Penhall As I said above, the one that stands out most in my memory is Ove Fundin's win in 1967. Though Knutson's win was very satisfying partly because he had been West Ham's captain the year before and partly because he fully deserved a World Championship as the only one of the "Big Five" not to win one up to that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andout Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 My top Finals of all that I went to, not that they were the best but it would be '62 because my hero won it.......and '66 in Sweden, being a West Ham fan....Sverre Harrfeldt coming in runner-up...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 24 minutes ago, norbold said: the one that stands out most in my memory is Ove Fundin's win in 1967. And mine too. Especially memorable as we crowded round his car when he arrived and he got out on my side and stood on my foor in the crush. True story and it was his left foot too! I have washed it since, but not for quite a while afterwards. I was 18 and at the peek of my speedway madness. I got a lift over from Norwich ( where I then lived ) to join the King's Lynn coach ( and sing The Hairs on a..... ) Those were the days! I remember coming to blows with fans from the distant North who supported Eric Boocock. As a child at Norwich , taken by my speedway crazy parents - on the back of their bicycles, I never really took much notice until Ove arrived there and became my first speedway hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waytogo28 Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 On 3/24/2020 at 1:30 PM, OveFundinFan said: 1976, pleased to say “I was there”. The atmosphere was amazing, it was an open air stadium but the atmosphere matched Wembley. PC was brilliant. I heard he played it crafty and fluffed his practice laps to make the others think he was off form. Another YouTube not to miss. Search for “Peter Collins v Egon Miller Long Track”. Think it was 1982 world long track final, track was wet and dirty. Amazing race. Did you go with Chequers Travel in 1976? I remember it so vividily, the whole trip and having to buy zlotys before you entered the country. The only thing I found worth buying in the shops was quite good quality monochrome photograph paper. Stupendous Peter Collins effort! The whole trip by coach was £41. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, waytogo28 said: Did you go with Chequers Travel in 1976? I remember it so vividily, the whole trip and having to buy zlotys before you entered the country. The only thing I found worth buying in the shops was quite good quality monochrome photograph paper. Stupendous Peter Collins effort! The whole trip by coach was £41. Can’t remember who we travelled with. Met the coach at Harwich, sailed to Bremerhaven, crossed Germany to enter Poland, for the next weekend we coached to Marianski Lazne for world long track. I remember in Poland being approached by a lady asking to exchange pounds for zlotys....well I think that is what she was after! On world final day, the wife got stuck in the hotel lift, and I was not too well pleased as we may be late. She wasn’t too pleased with me - don’t know why lol. We delayed at border leaving Poland going into Czech at Ostrava. One of the guys had too many Zlotys going out then he changed from pounds going in. That was a pain. Long track spectacular speed etc, but not as good as speedway IMO. Finally, we got the boat in Hamburg, but sailing down the river to North Sea the kitchens caught fire, eventful to say the least. Wonderful memories of the 1976 world final, now available on You Tube. After the mess at Wembley in 1975 when the over watered track by a spectator messed up PC world championship bid, and he should have got it. That’s when we decided to go to Katowice in 1976. My claim to fame was leading PC for the first half a lap in a grass track. He flew past me on the back straight so fast he would have been in the pits relaxing as I started the last lap. He was class. Edited March 25, 2020 by OveFundinFan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Remember travelling to the 1986 World Final (Katowice) and what could go wrong went wrong...starting with the coach breaking down in London! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 2 hours ago, steve roberts said: Remember travelling to the 1986 World Final (Katowice) and what could go wrong went wrong...starting with the coach breaking down in London! That may have been better then breakdown in Poland. I know Poland was a bit raw in 1976, and I imagine not much better in 86. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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