Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

Has anyone been anywhere yet


cityrebel

Recommended Posts

Under 8 and under 10 Suffolk Cycle Speedway Individual Championship at Great Blakenham today, under 13 and under 16 tomorrow morning at same venue.  

Great to see the kids enjoying what will probably be their only competitive racing this year.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Tom Thumb said:

Under 8 and under 10 Suffolk Cycle Speedway Individual Championship at Great Blakenham today, under 13 and under 16 tomorrow morning at same venue.  

Great to see the kids enjoying what will probably be their only competitive racing this year.

How did a small village like Great Blakenham manage to get a facility like a cycle speedway track, especially with the Ipswich track being only couple miles away.  Well done them. Hope it’s a great day for the riders and spectators.

I spent some time this summer finding cycle speedway tracks around the country on google maps. Doesn’t seem as many as in the mid 1960’s when I was racing for Belle Vue Gladiators then Wilmslow Hammers. Manchester then had a dozen or more top teams, sad the numbers are a lot less now.  During the summer we looked after my sons place while he was away - Sheffield. They have a nice track too.

YouTube is a good place to see cycle speedway meetings from years gone by, sadly they don’t go as far back as the 60’s.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

How did a small village like Great Blakenham manage to get a facility like a cycle speedway track, especially with the Ipswich track being only couple miles away.  Well done them. Hope it’s a great day for the riders and spectators.

I spent some time this summer finding cycle speedway tracks around the country on google maps. Doesn’t seem as many as in the mid 1960’s when I was racing for Belle Vue Gladiators then Wilmslow Hammers. Manchester then had a dozen or more top teams, sad the numbers are a lot less now.  During the summer we looked after my sons place while he was away - Sheffield. They have a nice track too.

YouTube is a good place to see cycle speedway meetings from years gone by, sadly they don’t go as far back as the 60’s.

Oxford had two cycle speeday clubs. The Horspath "Hammers" and Headley "Hawks" but I believe that the latter closed some years ago now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/21/2020 at 8:52 PM, MassMarauder said:

Yep - the very same.  Nice tidy riding.  Won some heats, lost some heats. But riding for for fun rather than going all out.   

I was there for his first come back... at Long Eaton :D

I assume he's back living in the US then, I always thought he was running a business in Tewksbury

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

Oxford had two cycle speeday clubs. The Horspath "Hammers" and Headley "Hawks" but I believe that the latter closed some years ago now.

I recall Horspath Hammers, a good team back then IIRC. I see Google maps showing a nice track today.            
I did most of my racing around Manchester, but also Yorkshire, Edinburgh festival a couple times, Leicester for an individual, Hungerford couple of times, Raynes Park, London for the ‘64 junior National finals, team lost by 2 in the final, I won the individual that followed. Only time I raced London.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

I recall Horspath Hammers, a good team back then IIRC. I see Google maps showing a nice track today.            
I did most of my racing around Manchester, but also Yorkshire, Edinburgh festival a couple times, Leicester for an individual, Hungerford couple of times, Raynes Park, London for the ‘64 junior National finals, team lost by 2 in the final, I won the individual that followed. Only time I raced London.

I recall that Wednesfield has/had a particularly strong history...known as the "Aces"?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

I recall Horspath Hammers, a good team back then IIRC. I see Google maps showing a nice track today.            
I did most of my racing around Manchester, but also Yorkshire, Edinburgh festival a couple times, Leicester for an individual, Hungerford couple of times, Raynes Park, London for the ‘64 junior National finals, team lost by 2 in the final, I won the individual that followed. Only time I raced London.

Hungerford? Rosco and Mad Wellie rode for Swindon, don't know if they still exist?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, auntie doris said:

Hungerford? Rosco and Mad Wellie rode for Swindon, don't know if they still exist?

One time Oxford junior,  Keith Snelling, used to ride for Horspath "Hammers".

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, steve roberts said:

One time Oxford junior,  Keith Snelling, used to ride for Horspath "Hammers".

We had a street team, Carshalton Crusaders, in Swindon. Named after Canterbury.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

I recall Horspath Hammers, a good team back then IIRC. I see Google maps showing a nice track today.            
I did most of my racing around Manchester, but also Yorkshire, Edinburgh festival a couple times, Leicester for an individual, Hungerford couple of times, Raynes Park, London for the ‘64 junior National finals, team lost by 2 in the final, I won the individual that followed. Only time I raced London.

I saw a name mentioned a few days ago around that time. Turned out for Beckenham and then Tooting Tigers. Pete Jarman. Guess it is the same Pete Jarman who later turned to speedway

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, OveFundinFan said:

A street team? Would you like to expand.

Local urchins on push bikes on a London overspill council estate in Swindon:D

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, iris123 said:

I would have thought they were named after Carshalt:Don 

Named after the place in Surrey, where my wife's family are from.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, auntie doris said:

Local urchins on push bikes on a London overspill council estate in Swindon:D

Lovely, just as I imagined.  That’s how me and my mates were. We raced around an oblong with semicircle ends, perfect tarmac cycle speedway track. Then September 1963 the family went with Bob Duckworth, he was presenting trophies at Manchester Gran Prix. First proper cycle speedway meet I had seen and loved it. Manchester had a winter league and we joined for the 63-64 league - Partington Flyers (Partington is the village the Collins and Morton families were from, + others that did speedway, Trownson.). Flyers we were not. lol. But some good came of it, a few of us were signed up with Belle Vue Gladiators, initially riding on BV car park on the Sunday’s for the summer league proper.

Edited by OveFundinFan
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, steve roberts said:

One time Oxford junior,  Keith Snelling, used to ride for Horspath "Hammers".

Oxford junior Matt Davis I think rode for Horspath. Talked a few times with him at Cardiff, canny lad. Sandy Feltham's son in law. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy