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Ashby could have been more ruthless on Wilson but gave him room to race.

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1 hour ago, charlie17 said:

The Martin Ashby, Ray Wilson race off in the British Final was the best race. Ever... great memories.

Mark Loram v Chris Louis 1997 British Final was as good if not better in my opinion

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Was the same as you Steve, was a young teenager at the time and was absolutely devastated, agree Ashby was a true gentleman and could have put Wilson in the fence but didn't.Remember being very quiet on way home. Still gives me a heavy heart now thinking about it!

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2 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

The problem is not so much The council who I believe will throw out the application. I think the main problem will come when its appealed and decisions are not taken on a local level but national. 

With the government wanting to build thousands of new homes it could come down to some box ticker in London who makes the call, with no local knowledge, no affinity to sport and wanting to relieve the housing crisis. This is going to be a long process and one that needs many, many Coventry fans to make a noise, not just a few on here.

what I don’t understand is the local Coventry paper, who seem to want to remain neutral in all this. Why on earth haven’t they started a campaign, or joined in the current one. Their voice could shout loud from the rooftops but they just report and little else.

Coventry population is growing at one of the fastest rates in the country although there is plenty of land earmarked for housing. It was said that the population growth is likely to be over estimated. Rugby has a local plan for housing they require and Brandon isn't on it. 

The Coventry Telegraph stance is baffling, they've done some great work regarding the situation at CCFC but local sports reporting has gone downhill recently unless it's CCFC or Wasps. Not even sure they've highlighted how to object to the plans.

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2 hours ago, Woz01 said:

Rugby has a local plan for housing they require and Brandon isn't on it.

Is the council actually delivering the houses which are in the local plan? This is the main area that developers use to get their plans approved on appeal.

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6 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

No it wasn’t. It devastated me. Haven’t seen the race since that fateful night but it’s etched in my brain. Left the stadium in tears. A young lad absolutely gutted.

is there any footage of the race online?

The last lap is on you tube "British Speedway Finals DVD Trailer" about 1:30secs in.

Excellent DVD from Retro Speedway of British Finals from 1961 - 1999

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32 minutes ago, double_O said:

The last lap is on you tube "British Speedway Finals DVD Trailer" about 1:30secs in.

Excellent DVD from Retro Speedway of British Finals from 1961 - 1999

Thanks. Its exactly as it’s etched in my brain.

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Looking at the aerial view of the proposed site in last week's SS, I am surprised that planners are still proposing an estate, be it business or residential, that only has 1 access road. H&S is supposed to be a top priority these days.

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10 hours ago, adonis said:

Imagine what would have happened if you had turned up with Barry Sheene ,  

 Remind me to tell you about the day us same four went to the Motor Show at Earls Court, or the day we went to Cadwell Park,  better still how about Mallory and Scarborough.     Barrie Sheene lived in our village for a few years  and liked nothing better than mixing with us mere yokels....  Sheene's farmhouse joined on to George's Smallholding.   he  was herald a hero by the people  never having a celebrity in their midst before or since.....  so please don't doubt the reality of it all. 

 

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Could be referring to this guy! ;)   Photo I took when i was racing at Mallory and Bazza was riding in the Transatlantic Trophy races in the 70's!

 

IMG_4559.jpg

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Isn't it  around now that BE & the council go to court to resolve the dispute over the security of the stadium. ?

Or the lack of it!!!

 

Edited by Dave Jones

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6 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

Isn't it  around now that BE & the council go to court to resolve the dispute over the security of the stadium. ?

Or the lack of it!!!

 

Should've been on 6th February but not heard anything.

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Whilst the Loram v Louis was a good race, no doubt about it, in the scheme of things it is insignificant compared to the 1975 British Final runoff.

What we had in 1975, and really have never had since, was British dominance the same way as the Poles are dominating the sport today. The race meant so much. Speedway had big crowds, Brandon was packed, and I mean packed, not busy, and the winner of this race went straight through to the World Final at Wembley in front of 92,000 fans. 

Ashby had started well but had dropped points to Collins and Simmo, won his next before heat 19 needing a second, but beaten by max man Louis but cruscially by Wilson, tying both on 11 points. The runoff was extremely tense. Wilson gating but Ashby sticking to the inside and getting closer with every lap. Lap four and Ashby gets by up the inside but allows Wilson racing room to come around the outside to win by a wheel. 

Ashby at the time was at his peak. Ten plus average. He was reserve at Wemble but didn’t get to ride. Wilson scored a disappointing 5 points. I was there and it was a breeze on the night for Olsen who was virtually untroubled. A poor track that night as well. (Wembley)

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