salty

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.

Agreed with the above. I went to Plough Lane regularly from 1981 to closure and to be honest the last few seasons in the BL weren't great. But once I got used to it I liked the NL and when Russell Lanning hit involved there was a good vibe about the place.

http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Rochester.htm Scrolling down to the bottom of that page there is a front cover of the Canterbury programme with a bottle of sherry to the lucky patrons who are circled. In front of the gent who is circled is that Carl Glover?

Following on from the point above, there really was a changing of the guard in the early to mid 80's. Look at the rostrum places from 1980 to 1983. Lee, Jessup, Sanders, Penhall, Knudsen, Olsen, L Collins, Sigalos, Muller, By 1986 the only one doing a full season at the top level in Britain was Knudsen. Olsen, Penhall, Sigalos retired, Collins and Jessup in the National League, Lee did a truncated season and Sanders (and Carter) were no longer with us. As for Tommy Jansson, he may well have hit the heights in the sport, but sadly we'll never know.

You sure it's 1969? Squibby didn't become a Heathen until 1970 and the programmes would generally have a picture of a home rider only in those days.

Jonah

Sorry, obviously should have been Romford 1970-71. Definitely Glasgow 1970-72 of their Jimmy Mac BL days.

Ok now a top ten as requested... 1. West Ham 1970-71 2. Cradley 1970-72 3. Halifax 1971 4. Belle Vue 1970-72 5. Wembley 1970 6. Oxford Rebel 1972? 7. Glasgow 1972 ( liked the stripes on the back) 8. Wimbledon 1970 9. Birmingham 1974 10. Romford 1973?

I'd go with Ron Preston as mentioned before. Others I would add - John Boulger. When at his best was in the shadow of Ray Wilson at Leicester and when he was a true number 1, it was at (in those days unfashionable) Cradley. Soren Sjosten. Fantastic at Belle Vue in their glory years, but always second fiddle to Ivan. Alan and Andy Grahame. Superb club men and international class at their best, but never felt they got the kudos that more fashionable riders received. In more recent times - Rune Holta. Thought it was great how every year he seemed to stay in the GP's on merit despite being largely unheralded and knowing that his dual nationality was never going to help him get a nominated place in the series.

Cradley (1970- 72) West Ham (same years) Halifax (ditto) Belle Vue (as above) Wembley (70/71)

Good call. Guess he didn't ride in the UK that long and maybe was a little less extrovert that the other Americans around at that time.

Too late. I've already wasted two minutes of my life.

I know. I looked at a thread entitled "Years Gone By" thinking it would be an interesting thread about the sport in yesteryear, but it turned out to be about thread titles being too long and had nothing to do with "years gone by".

1969. My first full season happily coinciding with a relatively successful season for Cradley. Of course Bernie became my hero, but didn't miss many meetings so hit to see most of the top riders.

R.I.P Eric. Loved his previews of the big events.

Was great for us in his only season, averaged about 6 and a half I think. Provided us with much needed stability with Michanek and Bernie both being shown the door mid-season.

Sad news, RIP Dougie.

The BAGS deal has always been the lifeline for many tracks, but as betting shop turnover on dogs has fallen then the bookies desire to pay relatively big money to the tracks is on the wane. Oxford dogs wouldn't be viable long term without some sort of streaming contract.

28th September 1968. Cradley v Newport. Graham Coombes(R), Chris Julian(B), Jon Erskine(W), Cyril Francis(Y). Finished in that order. 72.8

Have to agree that it is a fascinating interview. GG was one of my favourite opposing riders of the early 80's, big and forceful on a bike, who was on the verge of international success when he made his mistake. Like others I feel the punishment by the Speedway authorities was draconian, but glad to see he's happy in life. Well done to Backtrack and all involved in getting the interview in print. With 90 plus issues under their belt there are less fresh interviewees to cover, but this one and the fairly recent Tony Lomas article have been top quality.

Sad news, RIP Ted.

Ta, hopefully get mine in the next couple of days then....

I'd love to read the GG interview, but sadly my copy has yet to make it's way to deepest Ulster. Anyone know when the subscription copies were sent out?

I'd guess we won't see Troy again tonight.

Strange thinking by Batch.