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Phil

Staggered starts 6+ in a race.

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I was wondering if there used or if they ever experimented with any staggered start races with 6 more riders?

 

Best riders at the back and see if they can win the race at the front.

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I know they did this in the 16 lappers. Qualifying heats followed by an 8 man, 16 lap final, with the top 4 qualifiers off the back row. Can't think of any other instances though.

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Back in the sixties the big five, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore, Bjorn Knutsson and the late Peter Craven did it in every race in every match, from 20 yards I believe.

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In the very early days of the sport - and I'm talking 1928 here - they used to do things like that. There were lots of handicap events with anything up to 8 riders in them. There was one memorable occasion at High Beech when a rider, who had never ridden speedway before, started the afternoon with a sixteen second start and by the end of the day's racing was going off scratch. His name...Jack Parker.

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It's a big thing in American racing, handicap events.

 

Sometimes up to 4 rows of riders, whether it's 1, 2 or 3 riders at the different yard-markers.

It's great to watch even on their tiny tracks.

 

Bring it on Phil !!

Is this ya plan for the 24th at the Sheffield TT ??!! :shock:

 

 

:D

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What were the problems of them? Would it not be good viewing to see the likes of Billy H come from the back of an 8 rider race to win it.

 

The issues I can think of is there is not enough time to get from back to front in so few laps.

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It's a big thing in American racing, handicap events.

Sometimes up to 4 rows of riders, whether it's 1, 2 or 3 riders at the different yard-markers.

It's great to watch even on their tiny tracks.

Bring it on Phil !!

Is this ya plan for the 24th at the Sheffield TT ??!! :shock:

:D

Fun idea (or mabye not!) but seriously I am sure you know that racing is strictly forbidden on training tracks.

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Not forgetting they also handicap the riders in the Ladbroke Olympique at Wolverhampton.

Your first race from the startline, then the more points you score in that - the further back you go for your next start.

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If you have riders of a different standard like that could it not be pretty dangerous?

 

Can you imagine the likes of Carl Stonehewer having to round Jitu Duffil and Carlos Villar and survive? :roll: :twisted:

 

If the standard was nearer to being level across the board then surely handicaped racing cant be justified?

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There was the 10 rider,10 lap final at the Sheffield Diamond Jubilee meeting back in 1988,the riders lined up 3-2-3-2 with the last two starting virtually on the 4th turn,Kelly won it ,starting at the front,best gate he evermade lol,but it was a great sight watching them all go round,I think about 7 finished the race in all.

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Back in the sixties the big five, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore, Bjorn Knutsson and the late Peter Craven did it in every race in every match, from 20 yards I believe.

 

..............but methinks, only when they were world champion. I believe this was abandoned in '65 when the BL started. It was '65 weren't it? Coventry v Cradley, Heat 1 Lightfoot beats Ivor Brown and would have gone on to get the first BL maximum if his chain hadn't given up the ghost when leading in his last heat. Shattered me toughened windscreen that night on the way to Brandon. Had to drive 60 miles with a hole punched in it................ah happy days!!

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Back in the sixties the big five, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore, Bjorn Knutsson and the late Peter Craven did it in every race in every match, from 20 yards I believe.

 

..............but methinks, only when they were world champion. I believe this was abandoned in '65 when the BL started. It was '65 weren't it?

 

Handicapping for the "Big Five" was abandoned in 1964 because by then there were only three of them, Briggs, Fundin and Knutsson and they refused to continue with the handicapping.

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Back in the sixties the big five, Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore, Bjorn Knutsson and the late Peter Craven did it in every race in every match, from 20 yards I believe.

 

..............but methinks, only when they were world champion. I believe this was abandoned in '65 when the BL started. It was '65 weren't it?

 

Handicapping for the "Big Five" was abandoned in 1964 because by then there were only three of them, Briggs, Fundin and Knutsson and they refused to continue with the handicapping.

 

Thanks Norbold.

So how did the Big Five become the Big Five? If it was because of their standing in the WC how did they get reduced to three? Or was it because they were the only world champions still riding?

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I may be way off base, but I thought Handicapped racing was banned after Peter Craven was killed in a handicaped race? Sort me out on this one......

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The Big Five became the Big Five because they were much better than all the other riders around at the time. They were in a class of their own effectively. Between them they won every World Championship between 1954 and 1967 and more often than not the second and third also came from their ranks. They also consistently topped the league averages and the 'Speedway Star' unofficial World Rankings table.

It became three in 1964 because Peter Craven had been killed at the end of 1963 and Ronnie Moore had retired. Peter Craven was killed in a challenge match against Edinburgh but that was not the reason handicapping was abandoned. Briggs and Fundin in particular had had enough of it and threatened not to ride if handicapping was continued. That was why it was abandoned during the 1964 season. Incidentally, just before it was abandoned, Gote Nordin had shown such brilliant form at Wimbledon that many thought he ought to join the, by now, Big Three on the backmark (20 yards).

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