TwoMinuteWarning

Leszno-Gorzow is playing pretty well on Sopcast via http://soccer-live.pl/transmisje.php?id=motorsport

Thanks Mikael, the quality of these downloads is superb, virtually broadcast quality - and VERY much appreciated, thanks! Just off to the pub for a few beers, while the computer is downloading the Smeddie match!

Wasn't there a story about him pointing a gun at somebody in the pits? Wherever you are, Garry, thanks for all the great memories, you certainly made an impression on everyone who saw you ride ... and you were almost as good a rider as you told us all you were! No characters around like Garry anymore, more's the pity, now there's a guy who put bums on seats .... P.S Did Len Silver's book ever see the light of day?

Newspaper article: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dugard blasts Grand Prix trackBy Brian Owen Track specialist Bob Dugard has warned a rider could be killed or seriously injured at speedway's most high-profile meeting. Dugard has described the track used for Saturday's British GP, which attracted 45,000 fans to the Millennium Stadium, as a disgrace. Some of the top riders in the world struggled desperately to cling on to their 500cc motorbikes or were thrown badly off course as ruts quickly developed in the temporary circuit. There were similar problems last year but criticism led by Nicki Pedersen was overshadowed by home delight as Chris Harris won the final. This year's GP was littered with near misses, notably when Jason Crump suddenly veered sideways yards from the finish line and was almost overtaken, or taken out, by the hotly pursuing Scott Nicholls. Dugard, who prepares the highly praised circuit at Arlington Stadium said: "The track was an absolute disgrace. "I think if that had been any other meeting the riders would have refused to go back out after a few heats. They are trying to put too much on to the surface at once, trying to get too deep a level. "You need to use mature shale. They have tried and failed miserably to get a good track there for eight years now. "They were quite lucky not to get a really serious injury or even a fatality. "If Scott had run into Crumpy or, even worse, if Andreas Jonsson had hit Hans Andersen when he was facing the wrong way, it would have been very serious. It's not good enough. Pride makes the riders go out there and do it. Most track people take safety very seriously." Four speedway GPs are now staged on temporary tracks in stadia larger than those routinely used for league speedway. Retractable roofs at venues like Cardiff and Parken in Copenhagen mean fans can travel with no fear of the meeting being called off. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having read the book, star ghost, I quite understand why you didn't want to reveal the true derivation of "Split" on this forum! I have to say that Warzone Speedway - given the previous dearth of information on this branch of the sport - is probably one of the best-researched speedway books that I have seen. Everything you could possibly want to know about speedway in the armed forces - and then some more! 216 A4 pages packed with information and lots of photos. Well worth 20 quid, and highly recommended.

I'm flabbergasted!!! Is there no end to the vast array of knowledge on this forum??!! Thank you Nigel - and Mr.Cradley By the way, there is ONE question I would never ask a Cradley man ... "Can you tell me the way to Wolverhampton Speedway please?"

By common consent, it now seems that the line-up on the pic at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/space5/news.htm is: (left to right) Doug McLachlan Brian Wilson Charlie May Graham Warren unknown presenter of cake promoter Les Marshall Stan Dell Buck Whitby Geoff Bennett Arthur Payne Thanks for spotting the Norwich flag! This suggests that the meeting was indeed the National Trophy 2nd Division Final (details from the fabulous Speedway Researcher site): Monday 2nd August 1948 Perry Barr, Birmingham Birmingham Brummies 79 - Norwich Stars 28 (National Trophy Division Two Final 2nd Leg) Birmingham Stan Dell 3 3 2’ 2 3 13 1 Arthur Payne 2’ 3 2’ 3 2’ 2 14 3 Doug McLachlan 3 2 1 1’ 2’ 9 2 Geoff Bennett 2’ 1’ 2’ 2’ 1’ 8 5 Graham Warren 3 3 3 3 3 15 Brian Wilson F 2’ 3 2’ 2 9 2 Charlie May 2’ 3 1’ 6 2 Buck Whitby 3 2’ 5 1 Norwich Ted Bravery 1 0 1 0 0 2 Paddy Mills EF 3 3 1 F 3 10 Reg Morgan 0 0 0 Sid Littlewood EF 0 0 1 1 2 Aussie Powell 1 2 1 1 0 0 5 Phil Clarke 0 1 0 1 3 5 Jack Freeman 1 0 1 Geoff Revett 2 EF 0 0 1 3 The Brummies line-up matches exactly! By the way, examining the original pic closely, I can confirm that the item being presented is a cake. The letters B R U M are visible around the edge. Many thanks to all of you for your help, it really is much appreciated.

Thank for your help guys, I agree it's not easy! Off-list, I've had information from Australia (thanks, GF!): 1st left: Doug McLachlan 3rd left: Buck Whitby 4th left: Graham Warren Far right: Arthur Payne These 4 only rode together in 1948 (in Div.2) and 1949 (Div.1) Other riders in the 1948 team were Stan Dell, Geoff Bennett, Charlie May, Brian Wilson, Roy Dook, Dick Tolley, and Ernie Appleby. Also Alan Hunt and Ray Beaumont in end-of-season meetings. In the 1949 team were Dell, Bennett, Wilson, and Tolley again; and also Wilbur Lamoreaux and D Hitchings. I think Lamoreaux is the only one I would be likely to recognise, and I don't see him in the photo. From the names you have suggested so far, it seems likely that this is the 1948 team. The only suggested name that dosen't fit is Bob Lovell (I have checked all the 1948 results at http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/birmingham.html and Lovell dosen't figure in the Brummies team, or in the second-half races) So presumably this is Buck Whitby, as suggested by GF? Pic - with suggested line-up - at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/space5/news.htm

I have been sent a pic of the Birmingham team of the late 40's / early 50's. It's at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/space5/news.htm (top photo) Can anyone help me identify the riders and officials? And, maybe the occasion that is being celebrated?

Complete heat by heat scorechart at http://www.msc-diedenbergen.de/2008JTDiede...6WM.htm#JTWMSF2

According to my sources, Bert was born Feb 8, 1920 but Harry was allegedly older (Aug 30, 1918). However, I have also seen Harry described as the "younger" brother with a birthdate of 1922. Both were born in Liverpool, both grass-track riders who were "discovered" by Walthamstow in 1949. Bert went on to Aldershot 52, Cardiff 53, Ipswich 54 onwards, and did so well that he rode in all 3 Tests for England against Australasia in 1956. But he suffered a shoulder injury in the final Test at Poole which caused him problems in the following years. Harry suffered badly during the war, being a Japanese prisoner of war for 3 years. Had his own cabin cruiser in the 50's, and missed a speedway meeting for Norwich in 1957 when his boat was marooned on a mud bank for 18 hours - beat that for an excuse! (There was also another "Bert Edwards", a Belle Vue novice 1958 who also rode in France.)

Ah, but weren't league footballers paid about £24 a week in those days? Mind you those Provincial League riders really earned their money on some of the rough, rutted, pot-holed tracks they had to ride on! By the way, I have a 1934 Speedway News in front of me, and tape exclusions were fairly common - more often, it seems, for touching the tapes rather than breaking them.

It has been posted on another speedway group (by Colin Barber) that Bert Edwards died on the 13th June at the age of 91. He rode for Walthamstow, Aldershot, Cardiff, and Ipswich during the late 1940's and 50's. R.I.P

Kev, Armando rode 6 matches for Poole in 97, scoring 29+7 from 30 rides, CMA 4.80

GB would love to have a "problem" like that!

Sportowe Fakty at http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/2008/06/...zesi-poczekaja/ has the same result as speedway.org - but point scorers are different!

Yes, I think you're right, spanner, the date was changed. Not sure what the start time was at Miskolc, but usually it's 11am on Sunday mornings. IF that was the case yesterday, then Greg would have had about 12 hours to get from Gothenburg to Miskolc. Don't know how many flights there are from Sweden to Hungary on a Sunday morning, but not many I should imagine! In any case, I think Greg has done more than many riders for their country over the years. At 38 he is entitled to take a back seat. Nevertheless, full marks to the USA for turning up with a full 5-man team for a meeting which, in all honesty, they had very little chance of winning.

Feel sorry for the Latvians. Two of their potential team were riding in a World U-21 Qualifier in Slovakia today. (Dosen't excuse Korolev's absence though) Major cock-up by the idiots at the FIM to schedule these events on the same day (but no more than I would expect!)

Well, our political leaders are frightened to hold a referendum on that subject, thats for sure! Actually, GB does have a couple of places reserved in the European U-19 Championship semi-final at Krsko, no idea which riders will fill those places though. But the main reason for the lack of GB riders in the European Championship is that the BSPA don't encourage them to compete, as they have more than enough problems with absent riders already! Well, that's how it seems to me, anyway.

I remember seeing Sonke Petersen riding in the UK back in 2001! He was with the German U-16 team and he was, I think, the youngest in the team at just 12 years old. What happened to the rest of that team ? Michael Hertrich - didn't he pack up speedway a year or two ago? Stefan Kurtz Tobias Genz Christoph Demmel - riding for Pfaffenhofen Max Hacker

Tomaz, I see that Matija Duh rode for Austria - was he a "guest"? Or is he no longer Slovenian?

West German (rather than East), rode for them in the 1990 World Team Cup, see http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedway2/wtc90.htm

I feel like that going to one or two of our run-down, mostly empty speedway stadiums ...

That's the one. It comprised 5 (or 7?) USA v The World matches, plus the Israeli Open Championship. Stay out of the cellar, Doug (never know what you might catch down there!). He contacted me too, and I've emailed him Briggo's Speedway Star articles about the trip, which make it clear that Frank Shuter was resident in Israel at that time.

One thing about Oyvind that is unique - he was the first and only champion of Israel. That was on April 3, 1976 in Tel Aviv. Not easy either - he had to beat Fundin and Penhall in the final!