Guest Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) The first speedway race I saw - at New Cross, Wednesday, April 17, 1946: Ht1 Ron Johnson, Phil Bishop, Ron Clarke, Jack Parker (ef) 61 seconds. When was the first race you saw? Edited October 22, 2019 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,968 Posted October 22, 2019 So, you got in on time to the oft mentioned first meeting you ever attended, which also has a thread or two devoted to it !!! Nice 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chunky 6,090 Posted October 23, 2019 9 hours ago, gustix said: The first speedway race I saw - at New Cross, Wednesday, April 17, 1946: Ht1 Ron Johnson, Phil Bishop, Ron Clarke, Jack Parker (ef) 61 seconds. When was the first race you saw? But what size was the track? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Thursday April 13th 1972 Oxford vs Coventry (BL1) Heat One Garry Middleton in a winning time of 66.8 beating Nigel Boocock, Rick Timmo and Roger Hill in a meeting that the "Bees" triumphed 41 points to 36. I was hooked for the next 32 years. Edited October 23, 2019 by steve roberts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,360 Posted October 23, 2019 I had to look this one up! Tuesday 30 July 1974. Weymouth v Crewe. Dave Morton won, from Kelvin Mullarky. Russell Foot third and Ian Cartwright fourth. A 3-3, in a time of 73.3. Weymouth won 41-37. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kryten 17 Posted October 23, 2019 1st June 1985 - Belle Vue vs Swindon Chris Morton, Malcolm Simmons, Martin Yeates, Carl Blackbird (F). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moxey63 1,785 Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. Edited October 23, 2019 by moxey63 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted October 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, moxey63 said: You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. ...plus the very distinctive aroma of Castrol R. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racers and royals 8,720 Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Heat 1 Tilehurst stadium Reading Monday June 17th 1968 Reading v Nelson - race won by by the Admiral`s Fred Powell* the Racers Dene Davies was also in the race but demolished the fence and was ruled out of the meeting * This was the 1st home match for the Reading Racers. * courtesy of Arnie Gibbons " tears and glory" Edited October 23, 2019 by racers and royals 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 23, 2019 13 minutes ago, moxey63 said: You never forget your first speedway race. Belle Vue v Coventry, Gulf Oil British League, 1975. My first reaction? They were mad, kamikaze pilots on bikes, racing to be the first to fall on a close first turn. The Belle Vue Ace and Coventry Bee bibs still vivid after all these years. An interesting recollection moxey63 - but what date, who were the riders, and how did the race finish please? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry 1,319 Posted October 23, 2019 I can't remember my first race as I was a baby when my speedway-mad parents first took me to the Wick in the late sixties. My first memories are of the colours of the leathers...Hackney+yellow=Dag Lovaas and Rye House+red&black check=Brian Foote. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry 1,319 Posted October 23, 2019 29 minutes ago, steve roberts said: ...plus the very distinctive aroma of Castrol R. My sister used to say if they could bottle it she'd use it as perfume! It seemed less prevalent as we moved into the 80's..I guess they changed the formula. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,242 Posted October 23, 2019 6 minutes ago, Terry said: My sister used to say if they could bottle it she'd use it as perfume! It seemed less prevalent as we moved into the 80's..I guess they changed the formula. The late Rob Woffinden used a mixture when running his petrol driven lawn mower apparently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moxey63 1,785 Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 36 minutes ago, gustix said: An interesting recollection moxey63 - but what date, who were the riders, and how did the race finish please? Just thought about it, the date was June 7th. The race: Heat 1. Riders: Chris Morton, Nigel Boocock, Paul Tyrer, Alan Molyneux (in finishing order). If I recall correctly, think the time was 71.6 seconds. I also had a home-made haircut, wore a pair of those Rupert pants that were in fashion, and my biro kept running out filling in each race. How's that for memory? Most of the above are untruths - I got the heat details from Speedway Researcher... about five minutes ago. Edited October 23, 2019 by moxey63 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gambo 1,338 Posted October 23, 2019 Can't remember the exact date, but it was in 1963. My neighbours were Speedway fans and took me to Brandon one Saturday night. We sat in the old wooden stand that looked down the straight, and I had no idea what was about to enfold. 4 riders lined up at the tapes, and when the tapes rose the riders raced straight towards us, and in an instant I thought they were all about to fall off as they threw their bikes into the first turn. I was hooked!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites