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Sidney the robin

How good was the racing at the Shay.?

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One of the things i miss about speedway now  is missing out on my one or two visits a year to the Shay i loved that venue a great day out.The track was unique fast exciting quite a large home advantage but i see some great racing  there i wondered what other people's memory was of the track.As a day out it was one of the best a nice club house serving a nice pint of bitter and the viewing there was very good i would say the County Ground Exeter rivalled the Shay as well also an exciting scary racetrack.

Edited by Sidney the robin
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Always used to enjoy the Shay, and had lots of opportunities to go to watch Sheffield

First time in1968 a double header with Halifax against Glasgow and Sheffield

they beat Glasgow, 52 - 26 I think and then drew with Sheffield 39 - 39 with Bob Paulson using the banking to beat Boocock and Boothroyd in heat 13 with Larsson last to get the draw

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Never got to The Shay unfortunately but visited a few years back after the track was removed and no evidence that it ever existed.

Having visited Exeter I understand that they rode very similar although I have videos taken from The Shay and it's one track that I wished that I had visited.

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Only went there the once, and it was a wet day, so it was hard to judge.  Plus, we were all p*ssed off at the abysmal efforts of the Dons that day.  Having said that, it was cool to watch Kenny Carter's mastery of the track, and while Exeter was similar, the thing that struck me at the Shay was the banking; from the outside of the bends, it reminded me of a Wall-of-Death!

Steve

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I only managed to see a few meetings at The Shay but certainly remember the very high banking at both ends, rather like Coatbridge. I don't remember it for having a huge amount of close racing but when you did get a race it was worth waiting for - a high speed duel around those very fast bends. 

I wouldn't compare it quite so much with Exeter. Without a dog track on the inside it wasn't so long and the bends quite so sweeping but crucially it was a lot flatter and smoother than the Devon track which could be quite a 'roller coaster".

Of course more regular viewers might well differ. It was fast racing but often very strung out. Nonetheless it is missed greatly like all of the other lost tracks, even Crayford........

 

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2 hours ago, RobMcCaffery said:

 Nonetheless it is missed greatly like all of the other lost tracks, even Crayford........

 

Shame on you Rob ... All tracks are missed and to some of us Crayford will always be the place where some us  fell in love with this frustrating yet addictive sport

and I still won't set foot in a Ladbrooks or a Sainsbury's 30 years after the stadium being knocked down

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5 hours ago, Andy Downes said:

Shame on you Rob ... All tracks are missed and to some of us Crayford will always be the place where some us  fell in love with this frustrating yet addictive sport

and I still won't set foot in a Ladbrooks or a Sainsbury's 30 years after the stadium being knocked down

...visited Crayford on the one occasion but was difficult to make an accurate assessment of the racing because it was a very wet meeting (I went especially to see one of my heros Hasse Holmqvist) and really should have been cancelled although I'm glad it wasn't at it had required a huge effort to get there from Oxford (pre M25 days).

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I only visited The Shay once and Exeter once but can't remember them being that similar . It was about 40 years ago though. I remember the banking at The Shay being really steep. I'm sure the Cradley coach broke down on the way back. Must of been about 76 I would have thought. Never got to Crayford

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Wow, there are loads of us who only made a single visit to the Shay. It wasn't that bad, surely?

I seem to remember Belle Vue getting well beaten by Kenny Carter's crew and I do recollect some very hard seats.

It can't have been that great otherwise I would have made the effort to go back again but then again, I've never been particularly fond of West Yorkshire.

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i went loads of times from 68 until it closed and always loved my visits and I saw lots of close races, in fact the reason I didn't go to Bradford very much was because it was nothing like Halifax

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Found this on You Tube after a search.

 

 

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3 hours ago, The Third Man said:

 

 

3 hours ago, The Third Man said:

 

 

3 hours ago, The Third Man said:

i went loads of times from 68 until it closed and always loved my visits and I saw lots of close races, in fact the reason I didn't go to Bradford very much was because it was nothing like Halifax

What i liked was when you went to the Shay in those days you might only ride the track once a year for a lower rider it was a hard challenge.Our league then was  very special the best  different tracks shapes different challenges for riders.When you look at Vaculik who has come over to England to learn different things ( i  rate him and admire him for that) he would of loved it in yesteryear.!!!

Edited by Sidney the robin
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I went there three / four times each season when Belle Vue were riding and I have to admit that the racing was great especially on the banked first / second bends. A big home advantage but it did create some great racing lines.

Stadium was a bit run down though and visiting the toilets was an 'only if you're desperate' occasion!

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Every one talks about the banking at the Shay, what about Coatbridge!!!

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I went to about 12 meetings at the shay. It was a bit like Exeter with the steel fence, but shorter straights. I always enjoyed going there.

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