martinmauger

Do it RS, treat yourself, you won't regret it ! I have ridden with Wayne Carter, on Scunny's mini track and on a 500 on the main circuit (gulp !) and found him friendly, helpful, very knowledgable as you would expect and has a good sense of humour without being at all condescending or insulting, which helps if (when) progress doesn't go as planned or the ground keeps coming up to meet you (!). He has plenty of time for everyone and equally importantly he asks what riders are hoping to achieve; from just having fun, riding round the track without the ground hitting you (!), getting a full slide on (yay!) to taking on the likes of Laguta, Tai, Smazlik, etc. He then helps each rider make steady & safe progress at their own pace. Speaking as I find, I can highly reccomend a day 'skidding with Wayne' and promised to myself one day hope to do so again. One day....

I recall that meeting, not surprisingly, and was getting a lift there but then my folks wouldn't allow me to go. Missed meet woes apart, there was an article in the then very popular Motor Cycle Mechanics magazine, short interviews with Ivan, Don Godden, etc. I managed to lose the copy given to me by an older cousin; "you like speedway don't you, I think this is similar". Said piece was in addition to the annual bike mag tradition of 'let's look at speedway, it's different to what we normally discuss, it will shut up our resident speedway enthusiast and fill space while awaiting new bikes for testing'....

Meanwhile back in Hull; White City is under a block of flats, Hedon is just a field but in NIMBY land and earmarked for yet another energy park (there is already one such site in Hull), the Boulevard, actual stadium is now under an academy, Craven Park was squared off at turns 3 & 4 & the KCOM Stadium (Hull City footie & Hull FC rugby) has always been square, bit like a mini Cardiff. The only nearby stadium facility physically capable of staging speedway (yet has no chance) is the under-used (or so I'm told) Costello Athletics Stadium, so similar to IOW, but in addiction to being in NIMBY land housing is really close anyway. So no joy in Hull as yet, though as I mentioned previously there is plenty of brown and green field land.....

"Then again, some of the already congested areas where houses are sprouting like daffodills, have to be seen to be believed areas of "nice enough houses but I really wouldn't want to live there", turning many roads into car parks." I believe both the above to be arguments held by local Brandon, Coventry residents who are in favour of keeping the stadium. Makes you think....

In other words; sufficient stadia for another league. Mind, there is sufficient, empty land surrounding Hull for a further league, but that which doesn't fall into 'NIMBY' areas or concerns over wildlife, it all belongs to someone, who naturally plays the long game awaiting top-dollar, via housng development. Then again, some of the already congested areas where houses are sprouting like daffodills, have to be seen to be believed areas of "nice enough houses but I really wouldn't want to live there", turning many roads into car parks....

And the Benny Hill character saying "sirry iriot", even as a young kid I could tell he was taking the mickey out of the other guy, Henry McGhie's, idiot characters....

+ Hull White City Stadium + Hull Hedon Stadium (pronounced Heddon)....

That's the chappie, felt sorry for him because he was wandering around the pits with a smile on his face chatting happily with folk, yet don't think he got a ride....

NickiP often looks to me as if he's fighting the bike around the track "you WILL go sideways around here ! " and pulls on the bars a bit like steering a horse, where one puts slight pressure on the reins to have said nag (hopefully) turn. Weird equestrian analogies aside, NickiP is an all-action rider who I'd name in my team all day long. Doyle looks a bit tidier on the bike but hey, he makes it work....

There was one coloured rider, Cecil something orignated from Wimbledon I believe, & came up to Hull Craven Park for a 2nd half spin in around 2004 / 2005. He was suited & booted in leathers so ready for a skid but I don't think he actually made it on track due to bike issues....

No more modern era, mid-2000's, I'll say no more ....

I enjoyed the occasions when Floppy Norris, and also Steve Jonno Johnson, were in the comms box. Back on topic; I spoke to one promoter [names witheld to protect the innocent, the guilty and self from a poss lawsuit !] about his rider, now retired, who would often dive into to corners, badly impede his team-mate and turn a 'cert 5-1' into a 4-2 or a 3-3, usually followed by 'tween team mate exchange of views & arm-waving. Unsaid promoter told me the equally unsaid rider in question had tunnel vision and literally never saw anyone or anything outside of his immediate field of view. It was also pointed out to me that whenout on his own, leading or at the back, the rider never caused any problems - as there was no-one else around him. Prob just as well he is retired....

Good news inded !...

At Hull, Craven Park, the planning permsssion to run speedway was basically: meetings to be staged March til end of October, engines allowed to run 7pm-10pm curfew, on Wednesday nights apart from sometimes an afternoon press day, the odd Bank Holiday or other 'off-night' due to rain offs, fxture congestion, etc. Air horns were banned from mid-1995 or so, though folk I knew living nearby (opp main entrance, 2 streets to the right) told me they couldn't hear the speedway half the time. So no practices or training sessions were permitted (though 'a little bird' told me they sometimes DID occur on Tuesday nights !). The late Big Alan Grahame I recall had special dispensation for the stadium being available all day from 12 noon for practice as the likes of Frank Auffret & the late Tony Childs hadn't been on a bike for quite a while. Think Frank borrowed a modern lay-down for the day and the meeting, while Tony used his own older 4-valve JAWA upright, complete with a 'banana seat' & wore his circa 1970's Savoy Tyres leathes. So, yeah difficult running speedway in many stadia with limited track time, especially at CP where 1995-2003 ish rugby pitch corners needed to be lifted and replaced and also dog track sheeted.....

I too have ridden with Wayne Carter, on Scunny's mini track and the main circuit (gulp !) and found him friendly, helpful, very knowledgable as you would expect and has a good sense of humour without being at all condescending or insulting, which helps if (when) progress doesn't go as planned or the ground keeps coming up to meet you (!). He has plenty of time for everyone and equally importantly he asks what riders are hoping to achieve; from just having fun, riding round the track without the ground hitting you (!), getting a full slide on (yay!) to taking on the likes of Laguta, Tai, Smazlik, etc. He then helps each rider make steady & safe progress at their own pace. Speaking as I find, I can highly reccomend a day 'skidding with Wayne' and promised to myself one day hope to do so again. One day....