britmet

. Some national championships are 'Open', and other closed to nationals only. Up to 1975 we allowed Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians into the British championships, but not any more. In Australia it was likewise, - Mike Broadbanks, Ken McKinlay and Ole Olsen were all past Aussie Champs. .

. 10 times NZ Speedway Champion ! . http://www.speedwaychampions.com/national-champions.php .

. In the 1960s the league in Sweden, - at the time a top, if not the top speedway nation, taking 5 World Championship in that one decade - , was run as a 4TT competition, with the same 16-heat format as the WTC. So I reckon one has to accept 4TTs. .

. Good racing !

. Quite right, Mattingly flew, Julian drove. But you couldn't do it in 6hrs, - doubtful even today, with motorways and moderns cars (or a Merdedes van.) Chris had an old (even then) grey 1955 Austin A50 Cambridge. It was a 2-day overnight run for him. . There weren't speed cameras back then, but he still couldn't have exceeded the limit with such transport, plus a bike strapped on the back just to create some more drag. I had a 1957 A55 around the same time, (1963) and never felt able to take it beyond 55-60mph on the M1, even though there was no speed limit then on the few motorways we had. There'd been little thought given to higher speeds on motorways when these cars were on the drawing board 10 years earlier. . .

Just briefly mentioned above and not pursued. . . . If you agree a rider can go in, what about his wife/partner ? , , and the family and/or friends he's driven there with ? Does he go in one gate and his family/friends sent round to another ? Would he tolerate that ? Unlikely if its the wife. ? . . ? .

Memories of Bank Holiday mtgs; . i) August Bk.Hol, 1961, - back then the Aug. Bank Hol was the first Monday in the month - , traveling by coach overnight to Exeter for the morning mtg v. Cradley, . . . in the days before any motorway other than the M1. . . . . . . and returning home to do it again on Wed. to Poole and back, . . . . and again on Friday, further West to Plymouth (Pennycross) and back Shattered !. . .but a pleasant memory. . ii) Whit Bk. Hol 1965. The first Internationale of the British Lge, . . . with the first appearance of a Cradley rider at a big mtg, . . . Cradley fans circuiting the dog track en masse, banners waving, to announce the Heathens arrival on the international scene, . . . Despair in Ht.1 as that Fundin fella cut across Ivor Brown, who hit the steel stanchion and was stretched off with lower spinal injuries. (Fundin rightly excluded.) Shattered again, with sad and angry feelings.

QUOTE: His Polish team, Rybnik , at the beginning of the 2016 season are surprising many fans. In the opinion of experts, Rybnik as a newcomer to the highest level of the league competition in Poland, were destined to struggle for survival. UNQUOTE. . Only to those with memory problems or to youngsters. Rybnik were Poland's No.1 team in the '60s, league champs 12 times between 1958 and '72, and toured the UK for that very reason. see here.

That's right, back in the 60s all the second half results were given. So the SS&N will be a better bet as prog may have name but not the result, or any rider changes. EDIT, - Yes Gustix, my typos on a tablet touchscreen, now inserted. Apols.

. How come he hasn't got time for 2 mtgs for the British Championship but can manage multiple dates for this ? .

Not so, this is clearly the view of many on here. . Propose those feeling that way email Chapman and Rossiter and advocate TW is not selected for Team GB unless he reverses his decision. How can 2 meetings burn him out ? . .

As well as the FIM Oceania Championship round, Gilman is staging the FIM World Cup, ( both '1000cc Sidecars') . . . on consecutive days ! I suppose as a 'World' event, the latter trumps the Oceania, a supposed 'regional' but Open title, (USA & GB teams participating, and seen by many 'til now as the de facto 1000cc World Championship,) and that, as seen in 2-wheel FIM classes, the 'World Cup' is a forerunner to the re-introduction of the 'World Championship' for the 1000cc machines, as mooted above, . . .but it must be confusing, - and undermine one of the 2 events, - which? - , to juxtapose the 2 competitions, especially if they're running the same field. .

. Great rider, never forgotten, - in World Finals: he and Plechanov coming 4th and 2nd respectively in '64 - , and in the regular GB v USSR Test series from '64 on. . He was also World No.1 on ice in '62, '63, '65 & '67, (initial years as forerunner 'European Cup/Champ' title.) .

. I've sent in an action shot from 1950. Lets all do likewise.

. Malmo: First time round, as a 15 year old school boy in 1961, I wrote direct to the stadium, - maybe enclosing a half-crown (12½p) PO, maybe not, I can't remember - , and got back the programme in return to add to my collection, newly-started that year. In the late '60s, after marriage and 2 kids, - girls were never going to have the same interest - , I sold the lot incl'g that 1961 World Final, with no particular memory of what it fetched, as work and career took priority over speedway. Upon early retirement I renewed my interest and started a limited collection, to include World Finals, and around 2005 the Malmo programme came up on eBay a few time, the going rate the same as the pre-war Finals, at around £200. With objectives fulfilled, last year I started a phased clear out, and one guy sensed what might be coming up next and pre-empted my future auction items. We made a private deal and I got my money back on them! As the Holy Grail of speedway programmes, that'll be the rate, for the days of writing to the track for free programmes are long since gone. You need to sense what's coming, and/or ask quietly around. .

. Neither have I, but I think that's both ways because there can be 2 classes, Rt-hand and Lft-hand s/cars, each having the rider on the inside. So on the continent both solos and s/cars go the same way. .

. I reckon that resolves once and for all how to spell Manny's surname ! .

. I note that the sidecars were going anti-clockwise, just like the solos. Couldn't be very easy, - .. .and perhaps testifies that it was some small operation. . .

. Is that Czech Championship mtg a one-off, or first of several rds ? .

. Established and existing speedway promotions have always had a weighted say about agreeing to another track/promotion opening within a certain radius of their venue. (Such distances have been 20mls or more, and objections upheld.) To propose there be 2 venues in W'ton seems ludicrous, to put it politely. When both would have a common member within each's promotion is even more unlikely. Why would CvS want 2 tracks in one borough? Why would he want to add capital costs (wherever in the Black Country,) to a financially successful operation based wholly on variable cost?

Never forgotten for his time at Cradley, particularly when arthritis gave him a unique straight-leg style, but he kept turning out every week. Many thanks for the enjoyment, Derek. .

. May not have bought into the Gold Cup, but even less so to Play-Offs ! They cost the team a number of League Championships. The NL took a wise decision last season but a backward step this week. It's clear the sport wants a biggy at the end of the season, (purely for the gate,) so make it the KO Cup Final. .

. Do you mean prequel ? .

/ See my posting on the Cradley Forum in Jan. 2010, " Next Generation, - Future Heathen?", almost 6 years ago when he was just 11. . http://cradleyspeedway.proboards.com/thread/496/next-generation-future-heathen Unfortunately the photos and videos there have now expired, but you can Google for others. It was probably 2012 when he had after-meeting spins on a number of UK tracks incl'g Monmore Green. .

. . . .but you may have seen him riding, . . .at Monmore, . . after a 'Dudley' meeting, . . about 3-4 years ago. .