Your best speedway year

[Pinny 2,536]

2 hours ago, steve roberts said:

I just remember that in 2002 at Oxford he never looked the same rider having previously displayed great potential. Yes I seem to recall that he went on to ride with a certain amount of success in the GPs but after a somewhat disappointing year at Oxford he moved to pastures new.

Yeah i think he was with Poole when he was flying in GPS and had a nasty accident. Remember him hitting the fence on the home straight and loram having to lay the bike down

[salty 2,202]

Didn't he (Lukas) have a nasty crash at Poole in a GP qualifier? Or am I dreaming that.

Of course his brother Ales had a bad one at Oxford which looked touch and go for a while.

[BWitcher 12,453]

20 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Oxford signed the Dryml brothers in 2000 on very high assessed averages I recall at the time. They somewhat struggled that year but came back all the stronger the following championship winning year. Lukas in particular was a revelation until a very zealous coming together with Peter Karlsson at King's Lynn when both went clattering into the fence. Lukas picked up a damaged knee and it played havoc with him for the rest of the year (picking up some unwanted publicity also it has to be said) and in my opinion was never the same rider again although he did go on to compete at the highest level for a number of years it has to be said.

Ah the year Oxford truly lived up to their nickname.

Lukas indeed was a revelation.. as were his guests on the tracks he didn't like when he was off competing in a knobbly knees contest or whatever other random excuse he and Oxford would come up with

[steve roberts 9,246]

20 minutes ago, BWitcher said:

Ah the year Oxford truly lived up to their nickname.

Lukas indeed was a revelation.. as were his guests on the tracks he didn't like when he was off competing in a knobbly knees contest or whatever other random excuse he and Oxford would come up with

...wasn't without precedence. Halifax did the same when Kenny Carter was injured in 1984.

[Terry 1,319]

I've mentioned 76 but I've got to talk about 2 other years.

1980. After finishing bottom in 79 and making just one change in Roman Jankowski for Bobby McNeil we were slaughtered by King's Lynn 20-57 in the early season gold cup.

I think that result gave us the kick up the backside we needed. We had a great year with Bo Petersen topping the national averages for most of the season, before eventually finishing fourth. Losing at home to Cradley in early October ended our title challenge, but after being used to finishing near the bottom of the table it was was great to hit the heights and finish second to Reading.

I've got to mention 'the year of the Kestrel.' 1988, what a year, two draws and two defeats both by 47-49.

Winning both legs of the London KO Cup. An all British team. Captain fantastic Andy Galvin team-riding Chris Louis home for so many 5-1's.

Cheering on Loramski to the British U-21 title at Eastbourne at the grand old age of 17...that's when I knew he was a future world champion.

 

[iris123 20,986]

I’d say 2005 I think, was also a great year. Here in Germany there was Matze Schultz, Hefenbrock, Smolinski, Kroner, Wölbert and a few other youngsters all coming through at the same time. The one from Bavaria who was also a kick boxer who I think went to Berwick for a while and Danny Knakowski, who ended up in prison 

[chunky 6,093]

14 hours ago, Terry said:

Winning both legs of the London KO Cup. An all British team. 

    

[iris123 20,986]

17 minutes ago, chunky said:

    

I ignored him 

[chunky 6,093]

7 minutes ago, iris123 said:

I ignored him 

Were you at Plough Lane the night of that "friendly" (the London Pride Challenge) when two last heat exclusions (which I can only describe as total b*llocks!!!) gave the 'awks the win???

[Terry 1,319]

44 minutes ago, chunky said:

Were you at Plough Lane the night of that "friendly" (the London Pride Challenge) when two last heat exclusions (which I can only describe as total b*llocks!!!) gave the 'awks the win???

I was there. Todd Wiltshire and Neville Tatum wasn't it?

I remember Dave Lanning telling the home fans to calm down!

[chunky 6,093]

39 minutes ago, Terry said:

I was there. Todd Wiltshire and Neville Tatum wasn't it?

I remember Dave Lanning telling the home fans to calm down!

Yes it was!

I have the video of it, and you can hear Dave pleading with everyone!

[iris123 20,986]

1 hour ago, chunky said:

Were you at Plough Lane the night of that "friendly" (the London Pride Challenge) when two last heat exclusions (which I can only describe as total b*llocks!!!) gave the 'awks the win???

Can’t remember it off hand. But tbh it doesn’t surprise me. I don’t have a great memory of individual meetings like say Sid does. If I look at my Programmes and it is in my collection, then I was there

I might have even been at the same Glasgow meeting . I went to. Glasgow v Wimbledon one year around that time. But I was mainly up for the footie and it coincided 

[chunky 6,093]

1 minute ago, iris123 said:

Can’t remember it off hand. But tbh it doesn’t surprise me. I don’t have a great memory of individual meetings like say Sid does. If I look at my Programmes and it is in my collection, then I was there

If you were there, I'm sure you would remember it! As Terry said, Dave was really trying to calm everybody calm down, and this was the closest thing I've ever seen to a full-scale riot. And it was a "friendly"!!! Bleedin' Galvin... 

[iris123 20,986]

Yes by then I was doing shifts, so had no option other than to miss meetings now and again working from 6-6

Edited May 10, 2020 by iris123

[Chadster 221]

Those early season Dons v Hawks challenge matches in the NL days were something else, it always seemed to me that the league meetings were quite tame by comparison. I do remember that last heat 5-0 and the uproar in the stadium. Happy days!