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HertsRacer

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Posts posted by HertsRacer


  1. I can recognise, Back row far left  Eric Boothroyd, middle Guy Allott, Ivor Brown (maybe), Jack Geran, Alf Hagon. Ken McKinlay on bike. Kneeling Brian Elliott on the  left, possibly Dave Hankins on the right.


  2. 20 hours ago, Wembleyfan said:

    I know it was raised a few years ago and dismissed because King's Lynn (Buster) thought it was too close, but Swaffham Raceway has just had a makeover and the owner is looking for new opportunities. With Peterborough closing and Mildenhall withdrawing from regular league speedway, it may be an opportunity. It may draw new punters from Swaffham, Dereham, Watton,Fakenham, even Norwich etc as well as the Mildenhall faithful.

    Isn't the track tarmac or concrete ?


  3. 6 hours ago, MattB said:

    I remain very sceptical about Bradford being viable for league racing in particular.  Their crowds were never great from my memory in the 90s (certainly when you compare it against the size of the stadium).  You couldn’t accuse the Hams of putting together cheap teams either - they were always very strong teams and were particularly strong in the KO cup.

    I agree. In the 60 years I've followed the sport we've had the Panthers, Northern, Barons and Dukes, none of whom drew good crowds, even in the 70's boom years. Not sure why things would change now.

    • Like 1

  4. 19 hours ago, Steve Irving said:

    But why are they not doing the same for every other rider then? Just these three? Is it about the war or isn’t it? If they’re continuing to pontificate about the war in the Ukraine then they shouldn’t be allowing them to ride in Poland either should they? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. 

    Steve, my understanding is that as Emil, along with fellow Russian riders Artem Laguta and Andrei Kudriashav, have previously been granted Polish citizenship, any attempt to prevent them earning a living in Poland due to their original nationality would be deemed illegal in the courts of law on the grounds of discrimination.


  5. 3 hours ago, Puma23 said:

    Does anyone have results of each round?

    There were 5 rounds.

    Can only tell you that the 1st, 3rd and 4th rounds were won by overall winner Barabas Gyepes. The 2nd round was won by Istvan Pasztor, and the 5th by Zoltan Nagyvaradi. Ther was also a 125cc Championship won by Sandor Csatho.


  6. 10 hours ago, Najjer said:

    I’m not completely sold on the name idea but frankly they could be called just about anything as long as it’s local and in Somerset.

    Seem to remember someone tried to open a track in W S M in the early 1970's at the local football or rugby ground I think. Hope this attempt has more success.


  7. On 10/9/2022 at 3:46 PM, BL65 said:

    According to the Speedway News (17th April 1937), the principal reason for Luton not proceeding, even though preparations were at an advanced stage, was a protest from the local hospital, presumably on noise grounds.  

    That's interesting. Makes you wonder why they didn't complain back in 1934 when Luton opened. Probably because the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, which was a fair distance away from the track, wasn't built until 1939. Looks like they assumed there were going to be noise problems and complained accordingly, even though the track was there first.


  8. 31 minutes ago, norbold said:

    According to a dusty old book on my bookshelf called, "Speedway in the South East" there was an injunction granted to local residents over the noise levels forcing Luton to close down. The last meeting was held on 13 July 1936.

    Thanks for that. Looking at an ariel photo of the track there were houses close on two sides, but probably no worse than many tracks of that era.


  9. I have been researching the history of speedway in Luton. It is known that the track operated between 1934 and 1936 on an open licence primarily as a training track for Wembley. Most articles state that the track closed after 1936 due to poor crowds and financial reasons. However I have discovered that the track was then taken over by former rider and Birmingham promoter Arthur Westwood who planned to join the Second Division in 1937. There are several articles in the local newspapers about this, and of fund raising events being organised to achieve this. Then these articles suddenly stop and nothing more is heard of Luton Speedway. I have read that there may have been noise complaints from residents but can't confirm this. Does anybody know what actually happened to end speedway in Luton.


  10. A long shot, but one place which might be worth a look at is the Henry Barrass Stadium in Edmonton. Don't know how close it is to any housing, and it is basically a playing field today being used for non league football. However, it did once have a cinder running track and in the early 1960's Wally Mawdsley and Pete Lansdale unsuccessfully applied too run Provincial League speedway there. Looking on Google it appears that the owners are looking at ways to regenerate the site, and bring back its former glory.

    If its possible, it would take a lot of money to introduce speedway there, but it could be hugely successful.

    • Like 1

  11. 4 hours ago, steve roberts said:

    I'm sure they were for a while but memories and all that? I wonder if it was the Speedway Mail? I remember seeing them somewhere.

    Don't think they were ever in the Mail. Sometimes the match reports in the Star gave an estimated attendance, but never an official figure.

    • Thanks 1

  12. On 1/5/2022 at 4:55 PM, brianbuck said:

    Yes there is some interesting information there, but the point I was trying to make is that surely, the Hevingham site is worth another look?

    The track was behind the Marsham Arms pub on the Holt Road. As far as I know the field it was in has not been developed, and you can still see the outline of the track from the air. I would be very surprised if those looking to bring speedway back to Norwich had'nt looked at the site.


  13. On 1/5/2022 at 11:03 AM, Tsunami said:

    The Provincial league was a pirate league set up in 1960 by a string of promoters with Mike Parker and Reg Fearman plus others. The then British League was struggling, but it was the league that was recognised by national and international organisations. The situation came to an impasse in about 1964/5 when Lord Shawcross was appointed by the RAC to furnish a settlement which resulted in one British League, with all teams to be built to the strength of the winners of the Provincial League in 1964 which was an Ivan Mauger led Newcastle team. 

    Not quite correct. Although the mixed car/bike meetings operated by the likes of Mike Parker and Jesse Halliday were run without permission in 1959, leading to those participating being suspended, the subsequent Provincial League formed in 1960 operated under the Speedway Control Board, and continued to do so until the 1964 season when the National League tried to force the 1963 PL champions Wolverhampton to join their league against promoter Mike Parker's wishes. Parker refused to join the NL leading to the PL operating as a pirate league in 1964.


  14. As a Romford supporter I remember going to the last meeting. It was always weird going to Custom House then. Half the stadium had been demolished several years earlier, and the rest was falling to pieces. It was a sad feeling knowing not only that it was the end of this great stadium, but also this was the end of our Bombers who were moving to Barrow.

    • Like 1

  15. Very sad news. Remember moving to the North East in 1970 just in time for their last meeting before they closed. The place was virtually deserted then and it  seems Newcastle has fallen out of love with speedway again. Hopefully it's not too late to save it. If not, any chance of Sunderland staging speedway again?

     

    • Sad 1

  16. 5 hours ago, Mikebendone said:

    King in for Crump (first class guest) both guest rode well, slow start for Plymouth but they all worked hard. Pity about the sound system, but all worked out in the end.

    The standard of racing was first class, the meeting started off flat but ended on a high.

    It can only get better.     Well worth the money.       A very big thank you to all who helped in putting the meeting on.

    See you all next week.

    Looked like a good crowd there to watch.


  17. 1 hour ago, cityrebel said:

    I also fear a lot of dog stadiums could fall by the wayside, which will lead to a natural reduction in club numbers.

    And this is speedway's main problem. Once a track goes, thats it, there is nowhere out there to replace it. In the old days if a track closed there was plenty of stadiums available to introduce a new team, but one by one the stadiums have all gone, leaving the sport with just the bare bones.


  18. 2 hours ago, ONTWOMINUTES said:

    Any of you fen tiger fans remember a rider called ian peel ? Just wondering what his background is. Thanks.

    Don't know if this is the same person, but there was an Ian Peel who was a Kings Lynn junior in the late 1970's. He appeared at Mildenhall in the Suffolk Junior Championship in 1978. He may have appeared in some second halves there as well, I don't know. He did make four appearances for Boston the following season. All  I know of his background is that he was born in 1960 in Spalding.

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