a4poster 82 Posted October 21, 2016 I remember Richard Green being catapulted over the safety fence on the apex of the first and second bend at the County Ground and ending up down the embankment near the lane that ran near the perimeter of the Stadium. A real heart in mouth moment but thankfully one he walked away from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,982 Posted October 21, 2016 I remember Richard Green being catapulted over the safety fence on the apex of the first and second bend at the County Ground and ending up down the embankment near the lane that ran near the perimeter of the Stadium. A real heart in mouth moment but thankfully one he walked away from. I thought that was Mark Simmonds 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Beevers 207 Posted October 21, 2016 I think William Gordon Hamill wins this for me. His style sometimes caused him to 'high side' a lot and I remember him twice either live or television, where he was flipped off the bike and over the wooden fence into either a post or into orbit. Amazing how he kept walking away injury free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a4poster 82 Posted October 21, 2016 Apologies, yes you are right. Memory is playing tricks! Who was the rider who went over the fence on turns 3 and 4 and snapping one of the wooden 1 metre exclusion barriers? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
screm 8,050 Posted October 22, 2016 Don`t know if any of these have been mentioned already but I saw Josef Franc and Seemond Stephens demolish most of the first bend fencing at Berwick one night in a Berwick v Exeter match, another one was Gino Franchetti being catapulted over the fence and hitting the flood light pylon on the exit of bend two, again at Berwick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gavan 5,049 Posted October 23, 2016 I remember Richard Green being catapulted over the safety fence on the apex of the first and second bend at the County Ground and ending up down the embankment near the lane that ran near the perimeter of the Stadium. A real heart in mouth moment but thankfully one he walked away from. The Exeter riders in those days were awful hard and dangerous riders. Richard Green being one of the worst and rarely in control. I remember Ipswich going there and they fenced Dean Standing then fenced David Norris shocking riding. Always remember an interview with Jamie Habbin (remember him?) whose words were ' the track is dangerous , the riders are dangerous and if they ever decide to bulldoze the place then he would be at the front of the queue to drive the digger' 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BritPete 625 Posted October 24, 2016 (edited) Ken McKinlay, in the early 60s at Swindon, came out of of the pits bend, and halfway along the straight, just as he reached full speed, his engine siezed up and he went straight over the handlebars! It was a miracle that he was able to walk away from that. Edited October 24, 2016 by BritPete Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Cheese 2,022 Posted October 24, 2016 I remember Richard Green being catapulted over the safety fence on the apex of the first and second bend at the County Ground and ending up down the embankment near the lane that ran near the perimeter of the Stadium. A real heart in mouth moment but thankfully one he walked away from. I thought that was Mark Simmonds If I remember correctly, didn't he have to use a ladder to come back over the safety fence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dave69 1,534 Posted October 25, 2016 I thought that was Mark Simmonds It was.I was there.Wasn't his father in law killed there ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,982 Posted October 25, 2016 Tony Sanford ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCB 0 Posted October 28, 2016 If I remember correctly, didn't he have to use a ladder to come back over the safety fence? Correct, didn't just walk away but climbed a ladder to get out of the garden behind the stadium. I'm sure he broke his pelvis though so maybe to say he walked away is pushing it, even if he technically did! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave the Mic 258 Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) The Exeter riders in those days were awful hard and dangerous riders. Richard Green being one of the worst and rarely in control. I remember Ipswich going there and they fenced Dean Standing then fenced David Norris shocking riding. Always remember an interview with Jamie Habbin (remember him?) whose words were ' the track is dangerous , the riders are dangerous and if they ever decide to bulldoze the place then he would be at the front of the queue to drive the digger' Sorry Gavan, that simply isn't true. I watched speedway at Exeter from 1975 until closure & whilst in the very early days (actually before I started attending) there were some harum scarum riders - Chris Julian ( I did see him ride a few times) & Chris Blewett spring to mind, they most certainly weren't dangerous or even particularly hard. And to say Green (or any of them) were rarely in control is ridiculous. Further, given the track's fearsome reputation, the truth is, there were very few serious accidents there, even the sadly missed Tony Sanford's crash seemed innocuous & it happened about 5 yards from where I stood, so I am qualified to comment. The Simmonds crash was in a fours meeting, when he tangled with Watto & speared the fence. He arrowed past me, missing by about a foot & disappeared down the bank behind. I can still see him flying at me now! There were plenty of riders who didn't like the place, I agree, but there were equally many who loved it. Ask both Phil & Jason Crump, PC & Mort, Booey, Andy Galvin, Martin Goodwin to name a handful. It was a track to be attacked & if you did that, many, many riders will tell you it was easy to ride. Fear it before you start & you were always going to struggle. The reality is, the vast majority of home riders new how to ride the track & some opposing riders were beaten before they arrived. Stoney hated the place, but turned up one week with the right approach & scored 16. State of mind, nothing more. Edited October 29, 2016 by Dave the Mic 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulco 7,072 Posted October 30, 2016 Was at a Welsh Open at Newport one year , might have been the one the day after Harris won at Cardiff , and the Polish lad Marius Mroz ( think that was his first name ) went spectacularly into the fence , at the pits gate , face first . Hit it with an almighty clatter , but within a few minutes he was up waving to the crowd , thought he was a goner that day Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,982 Posted October 30, 2016 Was at a Welsh Open at Newport one year , might have been the one the day after Harris won at Cardiff , and the Polish lad Marius Mroz ( think that was his first name ) went spectacularly into the fence , at the pits gate , face first . Hit it with an almighty clatter , but within a few minutes he was up waving to the crowd , thought he was a goner that day We were sat in front of the bar/refs box and the fence rippled a bit. What a shame Newport are no more while most of the facilities were very basic it was a bloody good racetrack. Just think what might very happened if Phil Morris had taken it over 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulco 7,072 Posted October 30, 2016 We were sat in front of the bar/refs box and the fence rippled a bit. What a shame Newport are no more while most of the facilities were very basic it was a bloody good racetrack. Just think what might very happened if Phil Morris had taken it over I loved my trips to Newport , especially the Newport v Glasgow clashes the night before Cardiff . They never disappointed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
