Teromaafan Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 Whilst watching some GP meetings on YouTube the other night, I remembered that there was something sponsored by Volkswagen (I had stickers on my programme board), which was more low key, but still called the Grand Prix, in the mid to late seventies. I recall that it involved several riders representing every British League team at the time. It was a series of individual meetings, all at British tracks, where GP points were awarded based on where riders finished on the night ( it was something like 10 for the winner of the meeting, 9 for second etc, a bit like the F1 points allocation). I'm not sure how long it lasted and I think it may have been the brainchild of the guy at Newcastle at the time (Ian Thomas?). Does anyone else remember this (please tell me it's not something I have imagined!) and perhaps provide a bit more information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPanther Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 I remember going to something like that, and after the final meeting John Louis and Ole Olsen had tied for first place. John was streets ahead of Olsen in the run off, but suffered an engine failure on the last bend and Ole piped him on the line as John costed in. That could have been at Wimbledon or maybe White City, but i can't remember where exactly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) The first Grand Prix took place in 1976 with a Grand Final held at White City which was sponsored by the Daily Mirror. First was Peter Collins followed by Gordon Kennett and in third place was Ole Olsen. During, I think, 1978 the qualifying rounds also doubled as world championship rounds and by then Volkswagen had come on board as dual sponsors. If memory serves the Final from 1979 onwards was held at Wimbledon with Berger Paints as sponsors? Can't recall when it finished but by then it was somewhat watered down and only a select few took part. Edited May 10, 2020 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 2 hours ago, steve roberts said: The first Grand Prix took place in 1976 with a Grand Final held at White City which was sponsored by the Daily Mirror. First was Peter Collins followed by Gordon Kennett and in third place was Ole Olsen. During, I think, 1978 the qualifying rounds also doubled as world championship rounds and by then Volkswagen had come on board as dual sponsors. If memory serves the Final from 1979 onwards was held at Wimbledon with Berger Paints as sponsors? Can't recall when it finished but by then it was somewhat watered down and only a select few took part. I went to the three finals run at White City, and the ones staged at Wimbledon. I think it died a death in the early 1980's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 6 hours ago, cityrebel said: I went to the three finals run at White City, and the ones staged at Wimbledon. I think it died a death in the early 1980's. I also went to the three White City Finals...including seeing Freddie Starr at the 1978 event when he bought a bike for the competing Tony Davey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 I remember the Berger Grand Prix also... in fact I think it maybe a good idea to run that competition again this year as and when we can get going as I don't think it's going to be feasible to run a league campaign this season with all of the foreign riders needing to quarantine for 2 weeks, so they could maybe look at pooling the British riders and running regional GP series around regional tracks with maybe a semi and finals at the end of the season... just a thought 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 2 hours ago, steve roberts said: I also went to the three White City Finals...including seeing Freddie Starr at the 1978 event when he bought a bike for the competing Tony Davey! From memory Steve, it was a nice sunny sunday afternoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodaman Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 4 hours ago, steve roberts said: I also went to the three White City Finals...including seeing Freddie Starr at the 1978 event when he bought a bike for the competing Tony Davey! Freddie was an avid speedway fan and I believe he bought a track spare for Sheffield at some stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 14 minutes ago, Skodaman said: Freddie was an avid speedway fan and I believe he bought a track spare for Sheffield at some stage. He was pally with Reg Wislon I remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 1 hour ago, cityrebel said: From memory Steve, it was a nice sunny sunday afternoon! Yes I remember that...but more that Gordon Kennett missed a golden opportunity of winning the thing on his own track because, if I recall, he went into the meeting with most points? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 6 hours ago, iainb said: I remember the Berger Grand Prix also... in fact I think it maybe a good idea to run that competition again this year as and when we can get going as I don't think it's going to be feasible to run a league campaign this season with all of the foreign riders needing to quarantine for 2 weeks, so they could maybe look at pooling the British riders and running regional GP series around regional tracks with maybe a semi and finals at the end of the season... just a thought Would give the riders plenty of meetings.. 'A Festival Of Speedway'.. The one good thing about no speedway is that those clubs who lose tens of thousands, (even over £100k has been quoted), wont lose this money this year, therefore maybe they could collectively stump up a decent prize pot and generate some strong interest from a sports starved public and media? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.D Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziwBQprNjsU This one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 22 minutes ago, M.D said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziwBQprNjsU This one... Got this on DVD...great memories! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 (edited) One thing that does stand out from watching these old Speedway meetings is the riding styles and how they have changed. . Most of the 60's, 70's and 80's racing has riders entering the turns almost 'straight legged' and 'straight wheeled', almost 'gliding' across the corner, (similar to most of the Grass track racing I have seen).. They then, around a quarter into the turn, swing the back wheel round and bite the back wheel into the grip to assist launch down the straight. With the use of the throttle being far more prevelent as they control entry, navigation and exit from the bends... This angle into the turns looked like it gave the riders behind much more room to pick a line to try and overtake as they too entered the turn, unlike today where it appears the modern rider is almost completely sideways before he actually hits the bend, making himself quite a wide target to get round, with almost every bend hit at full speed.. Overtaking must be so much more difficult.. The tracks haven't got any wider, in fact with air fences some will be narrower, so widening the entry and exits to the turns must be a natural progession surely to provide more space either side to counter the modern riding technique? Edited May 11, 2020 by mikebv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Third Man Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 9 hours ago, steve roberts said: He was pally with Reg Wislon I remember. Sponsored him for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 1 hour ago, mikebv said: One thing that does stand out from watching these old Speedway meetings is the riding styles and how they have changed. . Most of the 60's, 70's and 80's racing has riders entering the turns almost 'straight legged' and 'straight wheeled', almost 'gliding' across the corner, (similar to most of the Grass track racing I have seen).. They then, around a quarter into the turn, swing the back wheel round and bite the back wheel into the grip to assist launch down the straight. With the use of the throttle being far more prevelent as they control entry, navigation and exit from the bends... This angle into the turns looked like it gave the riders behind much more room to pick a line to try and overtake as they too entered the turn, unlike today where it appears the modern rider is almost completely sideways before he actually hits the bend, making himself quite a wide target to get round, with almost every bend hit at full speed.. Overtaking must be so much more difficult.. The tracks haven't got any wider, in fact with air fences some will be narrower, so widening the entry and exits to the turns must be a natural progession surely to provide more space either side to counter the modern riding technique? Interesting observation. I grew up watching speedway during this era and it was the recognised style...not sure when riders adopted a 'trailing left leg' moving away from the more up right approach. May have been the American invasion of the late seventies/early eighties? I recall the 1987 World Final and Henny Kroeze was the only rider adopting the old style and he looked most out of place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Goddard Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 My parents remember the Grand Prix series, and especially the Berger Paints sponsorship, because apparently the audio from this TV ad was played either before or after every single heat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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