salty

Excellent Gp on the whole which just got better and better. Trick was unlucky that he didn't win the re-run of the final but credit to Crumpy for overtaking him. Nicki Pedersens move on Bjarne was indefensible as was his lack of concern for the fellow countryman that he had just fenced. The only annoying thing was that he lost no points because of the manouvre, which was probably why he tried it. Can't agree that Scotty was hopeless, he featured in some of the best races and I can see him improving again in 2 weeks time.

Holta e/w, to my mind a good value bet.

Delighted to see Rune getting this wild card - hope he does himself justice in line for a recall for the Gp's next year.

That would indeed be interesting. a good example of a rider who threw a very promising career away. I would also like to hear about Ray Wilson one of the top riders in the early 70's who never seems to get the recognition he deserves. (imo)

Simmo would seem like a logical choice to have as a front cover story as he rode throughout the 70's and 80's, only dropping down a division towards the end of his career. Would like to know more about his short experience as a promoter at Lynn.

10/1 is the best price I've seen for Hans this weekend, though Stan james, Blue Square and Bet & Win have yet to post their odds. Hills pay e/w on the 1st 3 at 1/4 odds. Bet & Win have some interesting head to head prices for the whole series, trouble is you have to wait a long time for your payout.

Daily Mirror Final is definitely on there! I have bought off that particular seller 2 or 3 times. Search under his name.... "HiltonBaggie"

I was at Plough Lane that night too. I had a mate who worked behind the bar and can remember watching it on the box same as you. Can't remember a thing about the meeting though, I was still adjusting to watching NL racing I think.

good spot. They both look like Dave Baugh to me.

Racing at Melton Mowbray in 1949. (from Homes of British Speedway)

Quote from Martin Rogers book "In my View" "I don't blame Charles Ochiltree or Midland Sports for cashing in 11.58 acres of inner city development land. But I won't ever forgive them for the manner in which it was done" "We had not a word of warning, not a hint. We had gone through the rigmarole of moving house. The club had bought Mike Lanham and Eric Monaghan, when if we had known the closure was imminent, a loan deal or some temporary signings would have done just as well. I talked to riders about our on-going pland. We were already selling season tickets for 1984 when the news broke" All this bearing in mind that preliminary talks with developers and planning officials had begun 9 months before. No further comment necessary.

Refer to my earlier post, winners of the Midland Cup 3 times. In the early 70's this was quite a tough cup to win competed for by Coventry, Cradley, Wolves, Oxford and Swindon as well as the Lions.

According to the Speedway Yearbook 1982, under honours it reads... BL runners-up 1971 Second division runners-up 1951 Ko Cup finalists 1975 Under a seperate section it lists them as winners of the Midland Cup in 1951,1972 and 1974.

Tell us more.....

Got my issue yesterday (usual excellent standard). What Tmc fails to mention is the undoubted highlight of this issue which is to be found in the Steve Bastable feature. Included in a 70's Potters team pic is a very youthful and hirsute Mr Van Straaten!!! Top pic!!!

Steady Eddie was born 20/08/1946, making him 22 when the 1968 final was held.

Switch on Sky Sports 1 right now and you can see the Shay as it is today, complete with real Speedway weather!!!

There was a good photo of the main stand at West Ham in the last issue of Backtrack magazine. Also Robert Bamford and John Jarvis produced 2 books entitled Track Photography that covered a lot of the defunct stadia.

Iris, Did they not have Motor Racing there into the 70's? Seems to ring a bell, so I guess the bikes could have used the same track. I lived in fairly nearby South Norwood for a year or so in the 90's and you were able to walk around the whole of the site at your leisure. I'm certain a local author had written a book/booklet about the sporting history of the site which might give you more info.

Billy Barrett? P.S. Loved those pics of the old Heathens, especially Sir Bernt.

Just finished reading issue 6 from cover to cover, and it continues the high standard set by the other 5. Many congratulations on such a brill mag. Intrigued to read that Andrew Silver doesn't feel ready to be interviewed yet. Particularly enjoyed reading Simon Cross's warm memories of his time at Dudley Wood and the photo of Custom House. What a great stadium that was! Following on from the theme of JB's recent tome, I would be interested to read interviews with other promoters of the time, hopefully they would prove to be as candid as Mr Berry.

Pete, Why wait 50 years? You can have my copy now for £12,999.

Shouln't you have said " I had the pleasure of watching Jancarz occasionally, and only from June onwards" Agree with the sentiments though, when he was there he was a top rider.

I think Peter Adams would have a good story to tell, there was a long interview with him in the S.Star last year that I found very interesting. For a warts and all tail, what about Michael Lee?

If you can get hold of Garry Middleton it won't be. Seriously, I don't know if Cas can be traced, I have seen similar requests on a number of forums over the past couple of years and there has been very little concrete news of his whereabouts.