daveallan81

The results files on Researcher are about to undergo a major overhaul as there are a few 'errors' coming to light as people advance with their research. There's an awful lot of regurgitation on the internet, by that I mean people merely publishing what they find as fact, so it's good that others take it that step further to cross-reference and check as much as they can.

But how many of you have done three meetings but in two different countries in the one day? That fact had never actually dawned on me, it was my better half that pointed it out.

That is a possibility. I note the Monday 15th October error is carried into the Eastbourne file so perhaps contacting the autor would be the way ahead.

If the match is a challenge then that means Plymouth didn't face Southampton in the cup. I also note Exeter face Eastbourne at home twice, yet there is no return fixture. Both of these situations seem a bit strange. 15/10 Exeter 62 Eastbourne 34 - on the Exeter 1947 team file this match is shown as Monday 15th however the 15th was a Wednesday. Far be it from me to doubt the researchers involved, but you can't have it both ways. If the date is wrong then perhaps the competition is also wrong, and if you strip this result out Eastbourne's points difference drastically improves.

Are you sure that Southampton won the group?

The only time I ever managed three in one day was at the August Bank Holiday - Exeter at 11am, Newport at 2.30 and Swindon at night. Exeter didn't finish until 12.45pm and I drove like a madman to arrive at Newport right on start time.

Is that 57 including the 2000-onwards tracks?

Just harking back to the George Hunter post, I concur with the 63 track total. I could also add one more though slightly dubious, a challenge match staged at Dunmore, Belfast in 1968.

Ran another couple of these looking at the Beaton brothers, Bobby and Jim. Bobby, in a career that spanned 1968-88, managed 52 circuits. He began his career in the British League and remained a top league rider until dropping down to join Newcastle in 1982. This undoubtedly stifled his potential figure, 12 of the 13 tracks he didn't appear at were second division. Jim's career was badly affected by injury and although it spanned 1971-86 he was largely absent for 7 of those seasons. In the end Jim got around 43 circuits, riding almost exclusively in the 2nd division. He only missed out on 5 possible second division tracks which is remarkable when you consider both his absences from racing and the fact that he only rode one away match in 1980, and that was at Edinburgh!

Thanks for that update. If Kennett rode at Radipole Lane it was between 1979 and 1984 but it's looking doubtful, in full meetings anyway. Of the league circuits in operation during his career he didn't appear at either Barrow circuit, Glasgow Blantyre, Nelson, Paisley or Scunthorpe (Ashby Ville). Buxton, Iwade/Sittingbourne and Linlithgow ran in a league capacity for the first time in 1994, the year he retired, you could technically add them though there was no chance of him appearing on any of the circuits that year, training sessions excepted.

I have Gordon Kennett at 57 tracks with 2 unconfirmed - Weymouth (Radipole Lane) and Belle Vue (Kirky Lane). TMC, please note that Simmo rode at five Glasgow tracks - White City, Hampden Park (rode in the first meeting), Coatbridge, Craighead Park and Shawfield.

From the latest NL green sheets more than half of the declared riders are aged 23 or older. That's 45 riders out of 87. 29 of them are aged 25 or over.

John Jackson racked up 55 plus 2 non-league from 1970-83. He missed out on 5 league tracks (Nelson, Glasgow Hampden, Bristol Eastville, Reading Smallmead and Leicester) and 2 non-league (Ashington & Motherwell). Tony Atkin would be lucky to hit 50.

How do you define an 'official' match at a training track? Is it not just a training session run to a format rather than a collection of random scratch races? To keep any sense of accuracy only appearances in an official capacity should be considered. Case in point: Graham Jones of Berwick rode in second halves at Eastville but never in a full meeting. Unless you had knowledge above and beyond the published results there is no way you could know this and the results become skewed. A hypothetical example, Jimmy Mac didn't 'officially' ride at Paisley, but he perhaps rode in a 'special guest match race series' one night? Without setting any criteria all you'll have until all avenues have been checked is a 'probable' list.

That was only to compare him directly to McMillan. So does Iwade count as a 'non-league licensed track'? It's all largely irrelevant for the overall result though, no-one from the 65-present era will beat Jimmy Squibb's figure, there just weren't enough tracks in operation.

Iwade for Thomas - no. I don't think training tracks should be considered to be honest. Looking at John Jackson's career time-line I don't think he'll beat Thomas but I'll run his figures later and see. Hollingworth is a decent shout but I don't have figures for 2003. I've set up a track list to pick from which also allows me to see which tracks a rider didn't ride on. For Lawson I know he only missed out on 2, so any rider with a career spanning 1974-92 could only have ridden 55 tracks. Similarly, as I mentioned before, any rider starting after 1990 can only hit 50. Thomas missed out on 6 tracks so there is still room for someone to pip him in the 65-90 period.

Glasgow rode at Hampden from 1969 to 1972. Barry Thomas scores 59. Taking a look at the modern-era 1991-date tracks earlier, I reckon only 50 tracks have run league speedway in that time so we can disregard any rider whose career began after 1990, in fact you could probably roll that back to post-1984.

Jim McMillan from 1966-86 clocked in at 57 tracks including Motherwell. If you adjust Hunter's figures and drop 60-64 he'd also be on 57. I make it 67 tracks plus 7 non-leaguers for 1965-90 and I think there's enough information about from that time frame to form definitive lists. During that period the following tracks all ran at least one open licence meeting without ever staging league speedway: Ashington, Brafield, Castleford, Cowdenbeath, Motherwell and Newtongrange. There was also one meeting out-of-season at Havingham in Norwich. Should those tracks be included? Maybe add them as a 'bonus' point eg. Jimmy Mac would be 56+1?

During a career lasting from 1974 to 1992, I reckon Steve Lawson rode at 53 tracks which represents all but two of the circuits that operated during this time frame (Bristol Eastville & Belle Vue Kirky Lane). He also rode on at least three indoor tracks - on the ice at Telford and Murrayfield and on the squeaky rubber at London Docklands. Steve's list: Workington Berwick (Shielfield) Barrow (Holker Street) Rye House Sunderland Eastbourne Birmingham (Perry Barr) Crewe Paisley Boston Newcastle Coatbridge Stoke (Loomer Road) Teesside/Middlesbrough Bradford (Odsal) Ellesmere Port Crayford Peterborough Scunthorpe (Quibell Park) Oxford King's Lynn Canterbury White City (London) Belle Vue (Hyde Road) Cradley Heath Swindon Sheffield Leicester Ipswich Mildenhall Exeter Halifax Weymouth Newport (Somerton) Edinburgh (Powderhall) Hull (Boulevard) Wimbledon Barrow (Park Road) Glasgow (Blantyre) Milton Keynes (Groveway) Nottingham/Long Eaton Coventry Scunthorpe (Ashby Ville) Reading (Smallmead) Wolverhampton Glasgow (Craighead Park) Berwick (Berrington Lough) Hackney Arena Essex Poole Birmingham (Wheels Complex) Glasgow (Shawfield) Milton Keynes (Elfield Park)

I can guarantee that Simmo never rode at Marine Gardens. You're thinking of Old Powdermeadow...

If you are to concentrate solely on the 'Backtrack era' I think you'd be looking for a rider who had a long career across both divisions. Barry Thomas for example. I didn't see any racing at Old Meadowhall but I was a regular at Powderbank

Jon Jon White

A sportsman lying to the referee. I've never heard the like...

If you want to go down that route don't forget Ellesmere Port - closed in 83 & 84, won the NL in 85, then closed never to be seen again.

I'd love to go to High Beech in 1928. Wearing a Wulfsport jacket.