steve19620

Thanks Dave for your help. I have managed to track down the Rye House and Ian Cartwright details. Any takers for the Mildenhall meeting ?

Hi there. As part of my research into the 1982 season, i require the heat details (and times) for the following meetings: 1. Mildenhall Open Junior Champship - 4th July 2. Rye House v King's Lynn Juniors - 4th July 3. Newcastle: Tom Owen Testimonial - 12th July 4. Halifax: Ian Cartwright Testimonial - 18th July No heat results were published in the Speedway Star. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Skippy - I have sent you a PM regarding some wants. Steve

I will have these but i am going on holiday for a week from tomorrow. If no one has posted the details by next weekend i will get them posted for you when I get back. Steve

As a "statto" it's got to be Joe Owen as the best NL rider. Records prove from the breakthough 1975 season Joe was dominant rider in the seasons he rode in the NL. No sooner Joe took the step into the BL in 1977, Tom Owen then took over the role as the best rider in NL until his broken leg ended his dominance - this does raise the question how long would have Tom dominated barring his injury ? Joe's 1976 season performances remains certainly the best from an individual rider at NL level. The facts speaks for itself - just 1 point dropped at home in league, 14 points dropped in 31 league matches, winner in 8 (out of 8) NL individual (including the NLRC) and 1 pairs meeting winner. Holder of the Silver Helmet all season - run on a monthly challenger basis at the time. These facts are taken from a statistical point of point of view as I wasn't a regular fan until 1978. However, upon Joe's "forced" return to the NL in 1982, his dominance continued although his average dropped by half a point from 1976 to just over 11 (!). It should be remembered the strength of NL was a lot higher from 1976. As an Ellesmere Port fan I saw Joe a number of times as a Diamond in 1982, I remember the excitement at Thornton Road when Joe raced as EVERY Gunner wanted to beat him. When Joe "burger" joined Ellesmere Port in 1985 after a season with Newcastle in BL, it was a big money signing that helped the Gunners win the NL. By the end of the season Joe's average had "dropped" to 10.5, but again the standard of the NL was higher than the previous season in the NL in 1983. BL standard riders such as Mike Ferriera, Stan Bear, Kevin Smith, Kevin Hawkins, Gordon Kennett, Roger Johns and Neil Middleditch were now riding in the NL. As a regular visitor to the away tracks, Joe was still the rider to beat and every opposing rider wanted to beat him, as a result this put "bums" on the seats when Ellesmere Port came visiting (Alas not at Thornton Road). Tragically his career ended at Birmingham at the end of the 1985 season, but I am certain he would be remained in the NL for the remainder of his career. it should be remembered that riders such as John Louis (1971), Phil Crump (1972), Mike Ferriera (1981), Andrew Silver (1987) and Jason Crump (1993) all attained over (or near) an 11 point average in their final Division 2/NL seasons, all of the above took the "leap" into British League (with varying degrees of success) after reaching the above average so the opportunity to dominate at Division 2/NL level was "lost". A final thought, what would Joe have achieved if he hadn't had the serious injury when he was with Hull in 1978 ?

According to Howard Jones's Pocket size series of Defunct Speedway tracks for Wombwell, the track record for the opening meeting was 89.2 set by Stan Hodson on 9 May whilst the track record was set by Dick Campbell on the 10 October at 80.2. Hope this helps.

Excellent - thanks very much.

Hi there. As part of my ongoing research into the 1981 season, can anybody help regarding the above fixture ? I need to clarify which heats Boston's Chris Cole and Peter Framingham rode in. According to the Speedway Star Cole and Framingham rode in 2 and 4 heats respectively, whilst the Speedway Yearbook states Cole rode in 3 and Framingham 5 heats, it is possible that Framingham replaced Cole in heat 5 due to an unreported tapes exclusion in the Speedway Star heat details. Does anybody have a marked programme from this meeting to advise the actual heats they rode in ? Thanks for reading. Steve

Thank you both for clearing that up. Steve

Hi there. Can anybody help with the following queries please ? Belle Vue v Cradley BL - 31st August - Can anybody confirm which heat Chris Morton replaced Larry Kosta as Tactical substitute ? Was it heat 9 or 12 ? Speedway Star heat details are incorrect. Does anybody have a completed programme from the meeting to confirm? I also require Mike Ferriera's winning time in heat 1 of his Silver Helmet defence against Neil Collins prior to the Edinburgh/Ellesmere Port NL fixture staged on 28th August 1981 Thanks for reading.

Thanks for your help. Wimbledon query is now solved - any takers for the Swindon query ?

Hi there Can anybody help out with the following queries as part of my research into the 1981 season? They are: 9/7 Wimbledon v Kings Lynn (BL) - Did Anders Eriksson replace Mick Hines in heat 8 or 11 ? Speedway Star heat details differ to rides quoted in the Yearbook. 12/7 Boston v Workington (NL) - Clarification of the heat placings in heats 3 and 10 for David Blackburn and Guy Wilson (Workington), heat details published in the Speedway Star are incorrect. Need programme from meeting to confirm. 23/7 Swindon Man VW pairs - A bit of a mess this one ! !! 6 riders in every heat, Speedway Star only printed the first 4 riders in each heat. I have managed to work out the fifth and six riders. However, I don't know which heats the reserves Martin Satchell and Kevin Smart rode in and the riders they replaced. I also need confirmation of Phil Crump and Martin Yeates's finishing positions in heat 1 and Danny Kennedy and Denny Pyeatt's placings in heat 12 of the qualifying races. Thanks for reading.

This was reported in the Speedway Star as due to be staged on 12th January 1972.Unfortunately no heat details were published. Sorry !

Queries 1, 2 & 3 all resolved - just looking for number 4.

Thank you for your help.