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martinmauger

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Posts posted by martinmauger


  1. On 3/16/2024 at 12:23 PM, Neila said:

    Just after 1pm clouds building up, weather radar shows rain coming over Irish sea from IOM towards Cumbria, will probably rain by 15.00 . Must have been 8-10 inch of rain in the last week in worky, track access roads and parking under water on Thursday, no drying this early in the year, so virtually impossible to prepare the track, and parking area could turn into a bog, how would spectators feel about that. And the damage would take weeks to repair . A hard but sensible decision made IMO 

    In that case: good call.  I recall a British F1GP at Silverstone, 1994 / 95? can't be bothered to check, was held at Easter instead of July - and it rained, a lot.  Spectators spent all day having cars towed out of quagmire car park, didn't sound fun, Worky don't need that for 1st 'Division 2' level meeting....

    • Like 1

  2. 3 hours ago, customhouseregular said:

    A tad confusing maybe. Every team meets every other team nome and away. Top team at end of season wins the league. The way it always was for many a long year. 

    Unless more tracks open & any more close (obv hope not) this may be the only option, add KOC, maybe 4's & pairs.....

    • Like 1

  3. On 3/1/2024 at 3:48 PM, naffer said:

    The campaign group have used the term "coats for goalposts" in their vision for getting speedway back again .

    on a YouTube clip after the recent enquiry victory Jeff Davies stated that the back straight stand would be refurbished along  the back straight terracing giving a 3,000 capacity.

    A structural survey would be undertaken on the main grandstand to ascertain what's to be done with that .

    Fingers crossed it happens 

     

    yes I know for the doom and gloom merchants we don't own it they can land bank it etc

     

    Up the bees

    Think the speedway version is: 'a track in a field with a fence around it & a few Potakabins', bit like when Scunny first started up in 2005/2006.  Still, little acorns & all that....


  4. Remakable performance by Carter, he certainly had a lot of courage on that day.  And, wasn't it 'just' his right leg that was broken, though it was plenty enough, think he crashed heavily again the next year so didn't make the '85 World Final on his home track Bradford (which must have been - literally gutting) & don't think his leg ever did heal fully.....


  5. 8 hours ago, Neila said:

    Think Celina is riding in a separate ladies section of the Ben fund meeting, along with the young kids section 

    Good idea; get some competive laps in at Worky in front of a crowd, before the serious league stuff starts....


  6. Think the Ben Fund meeting would also be a good 'test the water meeting' for Celina Liebmann in addition the Peter Craven Memorial at Belle Vue.  She will need to jump at in the deep end & race the top riders sooner or later but think a meeting of this kind, on her home track, would be a good, better ?, 'test the water' meeting for her.  As with everyone, I'm looking forward to seeing her race, good luck to her hope she goes well....

    • Like 1

  7. Query re Brandon Stadium, just a thought: what condition is the back straight stand in ?  There's been lots of talk on needing to rebuild or at least refurbish the main, home straight stand, but don't recall the back straight stand being mentioned.  I mean if Coventry are able to resume at Brandon, I wonderded whether the back straight stand could be used, temporarily moving the startline to the other side.  Obv still long way to go but it's looking more positive, like I said was just a thought....


  8. Could well be a tad out of her depth in this meeting, but won't know if she don't try.  Nutshell she is is (mostly) 'just another rider' with a head, 2 arms, 2 legs with a (broadly) similar motorcycle to the rest of the field / league and the 'proof of the pudding' will be when she is actually on-track v the rest.  You can't hide in modern speedway, everyone's scores are available for the world to view & discuss, if not instantly, then very quickly.  An interesting addition to the British League for sure, good luck to her:t:....


  9. + someone to carry your kit bag, another holding a fan to your face to cool you down (Nicki P), Bruce Penhall commented "I never had that and I know what my mechanic would say if I'd asked him".  Prob "do it yourself", or similar ;)....


  10. On 2/22/2024 at 9:06 PM, r8gdp said:

    Please don’t mock anyone who has a go at riding a speedway bike  I ve tried and it’s bloody scary 

    Can confirm; defo not easy, much more difficult getting the technique right than you would imagine, a speedway bike is much, much more tham 'just a 500cc motorcycle without gears or brakes', needs to be tamed bit like riding a wild beast i.e. wild stallion or cheetah - not necessarily the Oxford version.  Kudos to all those who can, and do:t:....

    • Like 2

  11. 12 hours ago, *JJ said:

    I discovered, when I was helping a rider do the MDL circuit, that you could just walk into the pits and no-one would take a blind bit of notice ...

    Did same at Reading v Hull, 2000 season.  Had a chat with Hull riders pre-meeting, hung out with mechanics whilst riders got changed, only left on 'warm up' as we were obv in the way, potential hazardeous area, riders need to get 'in the zone' - and we woudn't have heard ourselves think :D.  No-one from home promotion said a word, pit exit to car park was open, occured to us we coulda poss wheeled a bike out "gotta swap it, he needs the other bike out of his van", and coulda been off with it.  Very lax security, done same at other tracks but was at least asked what we wanted & warned we needed to leave at warm up time....


  12. 5 hours ago, tyretrax said:

    When Blantyre 2 was built the starting gate was at the halway line on the straight. When Ivan Mauger visited pre-season he advised that the gate be moved back nearer turn four for the exact reasons you stated and also saving a long run to the line.

    Well there you go, though it was Briggo who I first read make the suggestion, forget which track but wasn't at Glasgow / Blantyre 1 or 2....

    • Like 1

  13. Yeah, having supported 2 tracks, which weren't as wide as would ideally be, esp the Boulevard, 1st bend room at circuits around ball game pitches always at a premium & things can get, dicey, if all 4 arrive together.  Been to Shielfield before the banking was added then lockdown era (?) mods to the straights, maybe recent mods are down to Stewart Dickson's arrival, but there doesn't seem to be any more room seen the track work pics on the website.  Stiil, the track 'is what it is', you still have speedway in Berwick & come to the tapes every season, obv doing something right (obv) so much credit is due.....

    • Like 2

  14. Transponders are a good idea, true, but surprised priority was given to spend a 'five figure sum' on such things for more accurate race times given the current financial state of speedway in the UK. And, yeh what is the current position re: rev limiters ?....

    • Like 1

  15. 1stly, which pic you referring to.  Mid-1970's Ivan did a few match races on 'division 2' circuits with other 'division 1' riders, likes of Jimmy Mac, also Briggo, PC & Dave Jessup.  Thanks for replies, an obv position of start / finish line would be half way along the straight but one concensus of opinion seems be a tad nearer turn 4 as it gives riders more time to get into position on the line they want before going into turn , all 4 together....


  16. 7 hours ago, crescent girl said:

    As some will know, the invaluable Shielfield track staffers are working very hard this spring, moving the start line and changing/upgrading the safety fencing.     

    Less than five weeks to Launch Night/Press'n'practice weekend! 

    Interesting (to a self-confessed track anorak), why is start line being moved please and where to; forward or back from its current position ?  For interest, similar 'football / rugby tracks', as described by Shane Parker, at Hull's Boulevard the S/L was approx half way along the home straight but was moved 10ft or so nearer turn 1 mid 1980 or '81 as the outside starting gate mechanism obscured something relevant to the rugby club (I forget what exactly).  At Craven Park the start line was always about 1/3 along the home straight, from turn 1, and remained there throughout. I did say I was a track anorak :D....

    • Like 1

  17. On 2/10/2024 at 9:04 PM, chunky said:

    Just remember, Bob; those two Penhall races were the the only two real races in 81. People say it was a special final, but do two races make the evening that special racing-wise?

    1976 provided much better racing.

    This^^.  My 1st was 1981: recall Jessup had a reasonable race with Penhall til his bike packed up, & also 1985.  Couldn't make 1978 (folks deemed me too young to travel alone on supporter's club coach :()  or 1990 (was ill), took a while to acquire much-ballyhoo-ed 1990 WF on DVD, racing no better than '85 IMO....


  18. Abore posts ^^.  Speedway GPs 'falling in' with other motorsports in that the most riders score 3-figures points, if TV stations like it well ok, I guess.  In F1 spare cars are no longer permitted so a risk that drivers, and also teams, could be 'taken out' of the race by a sprint race accident. Same with SGP, riders have spare bikes of course but could be taken out of the 'the main event' due to injury caused by events in the sprint race.  But we'll see, at least they are trying something new....


  19. They just concentrated / showed those who argued, Paul Bowen was very much in the background.  I also know of folk who were in the audience on filmed TV shows & the stuff transmitted wasn't how they remembered it.  Always bear in mind a lot of what you see on TV, unless live, is manipulated or at least edited to create 'good TV' or in other words drama, whether real or otherwise, is encouraged.  Think for yourself & take much TV, unless live, with a pinch of salt....


  20. 21 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

    The end of the DT500 was the reduction of the carb size to 34mm, they were thirsty engines and worked well with bigger size carbs 

    You will obv know better than most, but didn't the ever quieter silencers brought in over the years also cause the DT500 JAWA 4v to overheat, think Olsen complained unsucesfully to the (then) BSPA & SCB about that. (Sorry to hi-jack thread it's about respecting Graham Drury)....


  21. Quite possiibly an ex-Briggo bike.  I know Graham had some leathers off Briggo which he wore in 1977, red with yellow sleeves poss from Briggo's time at Wimbledon.  Graham favoured the 4v JAWAs over Weslakes, as did Ivan & Olsen of course til late in their careers, apparently they were 'swines' to set up but despite being a tad top heavy, they flew once you got one going right.  Graham was 'on fire' riding it in 1977, posting a 9pt ave, til it went 'bang' & his form never really recovered that year.  He was one of what I called the 'Fab 4' at Hull, along wth Bobby Beaton, Joe Owen & Frank Auffret, all spending 5 or 6 years together at the Boulevard....

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