van wolfswinkel

Can only say for riders I saw mid/late 60s and the Boocock Bros. Ashby, Broady, Betts, Wilson, McKinlay, were superb British riders.

Totally unbiased but would agree with that. Other great racers would have to include Ashby, Wardy.

thanks...got a text from my bruv in Adelaide(originally from Swindon) said he was chatting to North Dakota.

Disagree...an extra 3 people attended meetings the following week

Started going to New Cross in 63 the year they closed, then we went to Wimbledon, Ackney, West Am, then Wembley, White City, moved to Swindon in 68, Briggo etc., followed them since then. Should be a track in the capital. Drove past Smallmead, Reading last Monday, sad to see it in that state. Went to IOW the year before it closed. Have a 1963 Speedway Star bought from a car boot sale in Workington about 10 years ago. My bruv in Adelaide has a great collection of hundreds of progs going back to the 50s.

A Merry ChrisMoose to all

Good to see speedway getting a favourable mention on this popular quiz show hosted by Brad Walsh, with 6 million viewers. A woman from Exeter saying she followed the motorcycle sport of speedway, then Brad saying it's great to watch, and The Beast saying full-throttle, no brakes. She mistakenly said it was Britain's second most watched sport(about 30 years out of date), well behind the top 3 of football, horse racing, and rugby now. May attract a few new fans.

Don't know when/if they will start building the new Stade de Lite. I drive past it every day, the new homes are springing up fast, wouldn't mind living there myself, preferably with view over track. There was supposed to be a care home in the plans. keef

Saw a couple of races, it was ok with the 8 riders in a heat, but too slow compared to the bigger sweeping speedway tracks. Good crowd, facilities, and presentation, and assume it was held indoors. could be a winter stop-gap for speedway fans in this country.

If he was gay Arse he Bored

For me it was Wimbledon, followed them in the 60s. Although Swindon's Abbey Stadium has a great retro toilet on the back-straight, done out in 60s-style. Coventry has decent facilities.

The crowds visibly dipped at the Abbey after Mr.Adams left.

Only difference between 2009, Swindon lost final(after finishing top), and 2012 Swindon won final(after not finishing top!).

Yep great atmosphere in the 5000 plus Abbey crowd that night, the noisy 500 hundred or so football-style Wolves fans, even though the Robins couldn't pull back the deficit twas a good evening. The 2012 final against Poole couldn't compare with only 2700 there. What happened to the missing 2000 Robins fans! Good article in yesterday's Racing Post, comparing the demise of dog racing to speedway after big crowds for 20 years after the war, the days of trilby hats, Petula Clark in the hit parade, and self-flavoured crisps! The racing is just as good now, but perhaps the stadiums/presentation are still stuck in the 60s/70s. Far too expensive and not VFM nowadays, unless you go to GP at Cardiff.

I prefer to watch team racing at Swindon, but enjoy the Cardiff GP as well(for the comfort, atmosphere and facilities rather than the racing). Obviously more people prefer Cardiff to the league format as the crowds at the 30 tracks(probably less than 25000 per week in total) don't match the 40,000 at the GP.

I started following those orange and black Rangers in 1963 as a 7-year-old living just dahn the road in Nunhead S.E.15. First match against Ackney. Even though New Cross were poor loved watching number 1 Squibbo, my fav Geoff Penniket, and the Reeves Reg and Eddie(sound like 2 gangsters from Bermondsey!). Also went to West Am Hackney and Wimbledon after they closed, Bjorn Knutson was one of my favs, with Sverre Harrfeldt, and Ollie Nygren, Reg Luckhurst and Trevor Hedge at Plough Lane. Remember Wolves Poole(who won the last ever meeting at the frying pan)Newcastle Stoke Sheffield Cradley Heath Middlesboro Long Eaton Exeter Edinburgh Ackney Rayleigh St.Austell...Mauger Silver Kitchen Brian Craven Trigg Monk Gilbertson Wayne Briggs. Barry Briggs rode for Southampton, who also folded that year, at The Pan. From what I remember my now local club Swindon were in the top-tier with Belle Vue, Norwich, The Dons, Oxford, Coventry. Only 3 still in top-tier 51 years on! Also remember the sad death of Peter Craven that year, as I had his rosette on my bedroom wall. Saw Ove Fundin win the World Final at Wembley beating Knutson and Briggo. Nigel Boocock rode. The year of The Beatles and the killing of JFK.

Yes I knew it was back at bloody 5 this morning via a text from bruv in Adelaide! Good news should be decent crowd at the home of speedway, he went to the last GP in Sydney, was about 40,000 there, although over 20,000 had free tickets.

For me started following speedway in '63 Ove Fundin was the greatest closely followed by Briggo, Mauger and Olsen late 60s, early 70s. Lost interest for about 30 years with Rickardsson, Crump, being the best in the last 10 years. Remember Briggo saying Martin Ashby was once the greatest rider in the world but didn't believe in his own ability!

Well done to the Swindon pair...hopefully take that form into the play-offs.

Great news...probably the world's most famous club deserves a decent stadium away from the current shambles of a place. Hopefully my local club Swindon will get their new stadium as well next year.

I was at one test around 80/81 when Robin Stevie Bastable top-scored for GB as they beat the Yanks at Blunsdon. Don't remember the crowd being that big. Do remember some Brits with star-spangled banners supporting the USA!

I think he just crumbled! There was Arne Pander, Colin Goody for Oxford Cheetahs...so called because those devils from up the A420 were always cheating! The Swedes Fundin, Michanek, Sjosten, Nordin, Nygren, Jansson, Harryson, Persson were superb riders, most of them rode at The Abbey against a GB side that included local Robins Ashby, Broady, The Boococks, Betts, and kiwis Briggo and Mauger in a test series in '68, won 2-1 by Sweden. The Marlborough flyer Crash was GB's top scorer in that series.12,000 packed into Blunsdon that Saturday night. Good times.

Squibbo was number 1 for New Cross, the darling of the Old Kent Road! Ron How was a top-class rider. You missed Squibbo and Penniket out! Can remember the Radio London show you were on a couple of years ago about defunct sports stadiums in the capital. One of my texts was read out.

Is The Shabbey any better...hope they get that new stadium next year. Shows the demise of this once great sport when they used to average 4-5000 in the 60s/70s/early 80s with the likes of Reading, Oxford, Bristol, Newport nearby, and now struggle to get 1500!

New Cross, Wimbledon, Wembley, West Am, Ackney, White City, and those once great sides of Reading and Oxford(which means no more local derbies for Swindon).