Bavarian

Fay Taylour first came to Australia at the end of 1928, and she made her racing debut in front of a record crowd at the Claremont Speedway in Perth on January 5, 1929. She made a brilliant first appearance, defeating Frank Brown (N.S.W.) in a match race in a very fast time. Her attempt to break the three-lap record at the next meeting on January 12, unfortunately ended due to bike problems with only a few laps of the opening lap covered. She did not appear again during the evening, and it was announced that she would make her attempt at the next meeting. A considerable stir was caused by the announcement of W.A. Speedways Ltd. that she would not appear at the next meeting on January 19. The following official statement was issued by W.A. Speedways: "After her first ride on her first appearance here, we looked forward to seeing some wonderful racing put up by Miss Taylour. Nevertheless, we were disappointed that she did not fulfill the engagements billed for that night, but we were more disappointed still that she did not complete her ride on the second occasion for which she was billed. This, we understand, was due to mechanical trouble. We think, however, that a person who has been billed to make a record attempt and has brought two machines to the State, would have both in readiness. Apparently Miss Taylour placed all her faith in the one machine. It was announced last Saturday night that Miss Taylour would make her record attempt next Saturday night. At this coming meeting, however, Miss Taylour will not ride." Fay Taylour replied vigorously to the Statement of the W.A.Speedways director (Mr. E. Baker): "His statement is quite unfair, and he has taken the liberty of cutting me out of the programme because he will not agree to put up special prize money ($50) for an international match race between myself and Sig. Schlam. "Mr. Baker has said in his Statement that I did not fulfill my engagements. That is not true because actually I did not have any engagements. Before my arrival at Perth, Mr.Baker, without my consent, advertised me to appear in no fewer than three events, in addition to the usual preliminaries. That is too much to ask of any rider after 40 days' journey aboard ship and taking into account that the riding conditions and the ground were both strange. I told him that on the day I arrived. "Unfortunately I am not under contract with W.A.Speedways. I came to Australia and brought my two machines from England, entirely at my own expense. It was most unfortunate last Saturday that the armature shaft in my magneto broke. I am sure that I was more disappointed than the people who had come to see the racing. I am anxious to appear, but Mr. Baker has cut me out next Saturday. As far as I can see, it is only a childish whim. He knows that I am prepared to ride next Saturday under the same conditions as last Saturday." This is Mr. Baker's reply: "Her complaint that she was entered in three events on her first appearance on Janaury 5 without her authority, was ridiculous. She was entered for the match race, scratch race, and A-grade handicap. These being the three principal events and those which every visiting rider competed in, thus giving them the opportunity of winning the maximum amount of prize money." Mr. Baker said that although he met Miss Taylour on arrival a few days before her first appearance, and saw her frequently after, she did not ask for the nominations to be withdrawn. It was not until she had won her match race with Frank Brown, that she told him she had been advised not to start in the other two events. "Regarding Miss Taylour's statement that she had not been allowed to ride because she had asked for a $50 prize for her match race with Schlam", said Mr. Baker, "this is only partly correct. Miss Taylour demanded a substancial sum as appearance money, and on top of this the substancial prize of $50 for the match race. The management was unable to acede to these extravagant demand, feeling it would be unfair to put her in a position so very different from the other professional riders. She has caused the public great disappointment as she was expected to appear in five events, three on January 5, and two on January 12, but only finished in one. Last week her performance was particularly disappointing. She was advertised to attempt to break a track record and also to ride in a match race with Alf Chick. Her machine broke down, and although she had two machines in the State, she had only taken one to the ground. All experienced riders, who can afford to have two machines, always have both in readiness. When engaged in attempting to break a track record, which is considered a special attraction, a competitor should take every precaution to see that the engagement may be fulfilled." Fay Taylour did not ride in the Claremont Speedway meeting on January 19, but would make another appearance at the track and meet Sig Schlam in a match race in a special association carnival meeting on the following Saturday, January 26. It was in this meeting that Taylour did beat Schlam in the Special International Match Race. In fairness to Schlam, it must be stated that his machine did not function properly. Miss Taylour had the inside and both riders were together for half a lap when the lady shot to the front. She increased her lead to win comfortably by thirty yards. Miss Taylour also made a brilliant, yet unsuccessful attempt to lower the three-lap track record held by Alf Chick. Her time was 1.17 1-5. This was absolutely her last appearance on the Claremont track, as she left for Adelaide by the express on Sunday night. I wonder if Fay Taylour was the very first British dirt track rider ever to race in Australia, or has any other British rider been racing in Australia before her?

nothing on YouTube, but there is a book about him

Should be Enrique Moyano, who rode for the Huracan Speedway in Buenos Aires in 1930/31

From what I remmeber, 1933 was the year when speedway racing (Class C) really got going in the USA (East Coast and West Coast). That was the time when one of the local Mafia bosses in New York City got the idea that there was money to be made with this speedway thing. Hoskins had a meeting in one of the Skyscrapers in down town Manhattan with that man, and afterwards decided that this was not for him and got out of New York pretty quick.

Thanks, that is a great photograph of that opening meeting of the 1933 season at Hamburg I can add an aerial picture of the Dirt-Track-Bahn at Hamburg-Lokstedt

The fatal crash of German rider Walter Diener on Sunday, August 17, 1986 happend in an international grass-track meeting at Schwarme.

Just discovered the same with another German rider Herbert Bauer, who lost his life at Pfarrkirchen on September 7, 1968. He is listed twice, the second time as Herbert Farmer, which of course is only the English translation of the German word "Bauer".

Seems that THIS is the place in Patagonia, where Armando Castanga feels an SGP could take place in the near future. He is already over in Argentna to talk to some influential people in Bahia Blanca and Neuquen. Lot's of work to do at both places. https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanueva.com%2Fnota%2F2019-12-23-21-27-0-speedway-armando-castagna-se-llevo-una-gran-impresion-tras-conocer-la-nueva-pista and https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fneuquendeportes.com%2Fel-referente-maximo-del-speedway-estuvo-en-la-zona%2F

Right, that was the lovely Nanae Okamoto back in 1964 - and here are some motion pictures of her riding on an Australian speedway track ! https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVACC3RI6JBIDVE9J2LVYSV237CM-JAPANS-SPEEDWAY-GIRL-IN-AUSTRALIA/query/PRETTY

Örnskoldvik look the tougher of the two qualifiers.

Does anybody know if there will be any ice speedway in Switzerland this winter ?

This week's Speedway Star has an interesting 4-page feature story about the future of sports & speedway on television.

Castagna says he will soon go to Argentina to take a look at a potential new track for SGP there, in the remotest of provinces - Patagonia ! Local speedway enthusiasts, including the former rider Claudio Schmit and current rider Mariano Diaz, had built their own track down there about ten years ago. It is located near a small village called Cervantes, several miles east of the town of General Roca, and about 100km east of the region's major city called Neuquén, which has an urban population of 225,000. The city and surrounding area have a population of more than 340,000 making it the largest in Patagonia. See Wikipedia for more information about the City of Neuquén https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuqu%C3%A9n See Google maps for the exact location of the speedway at Cervantes https://www.google.de/maps/@-38.9760665,-67.7428178,34373m/data=!3m1!1e3 The speedway track at Cervantes (Rio Negro Province) is not much more than a dirt oval track with hardly any facilities, and they have not even held any Argentinean national champioship meetings so far. But since Neuquén has hosted a few FIM Motocross World Championship meetings in recent years, Castagna thinks they might want to host a Speedway Grand Prix there, too. That's why he is travelling there to have talks with local polititians. Another nice trip for Castagna, shortly after he and SGP race director Phil Morris had been in Australia. I quote a short passage of what Castagna said in the Speedway Star interview: " [...] In Australia I have been based in Adelaide for three days. We had meetings there and ran an FIM Oceania training school. Phil Morrris and Leigh Adams ran it. I was just there supervising and having meetings. Soon I am going to Argentina and I will visit a completely new Stadium. I am also visiting Bahia Blanca, but I am going to visit a new track very far from Buenos Aires, which is in a state called Neuquén. They are already staging other FIM World Championships there. I am going to have a meeting with the polititians there looking toward the future. My dream is to have a GP there in 2023 or 2024 [...]" The complete interview with Castagna in this week's SS makes interesting reading. Here is a link to the Rio Negro Speedway facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FOXMOTOSCIPOLLETTI/ And this is a YouTube Video of the speedway track at Cervantes how it was five years ago in 2014. They are currently completely re-building their speedway track, so we will have to wait and see what they come up with. But will we ever see a SGP in Patagonia? With the F.I.M. and Castagna You never know!

German rider Gerhard Kamm, who was killed in a long-track race at Pfarrkirchen on Sept. 29, 1974, is listed TWICE on this website. Firstly under his correct name of "Kamm", but also under the name of "Comb" which in fact is simply the English translation of his name ("Kamm" in German means "comb" in English)!

Yes, and at the age of 39 he was still one of the best riders in South Africa when he lost his life in that fateful car crash. In fact he was due to ride in a speedway meeting at Walkerville on that day, Saturday, February 26, 2011. Deon was on his way to the speedway meeting (Rd.1 of the Northern Regional Championships, won by Byron Bekker) when the accident happened.

One name I can't find on the list is that of Deon Prinsloo, who was killed in a road accident driving in his transporter car on the way to compete in a speedway meeting at the Walkerville track near Joahnnesburg on Saturday, Febnruary 26, 2011.

This website deserves its own thread here on the BSF http://speedwayinmemoriam.yolasite.com/

There is an interview with Castagna in this week's Speedway Star, and he promises us "big changes" from 2022 on, when Discovery/Eurosport/OneSport take over the sport at world level. It is anyone's guess as to what they are up to!

By the way, Frank Arthur is in the Australian Speedway Hall of Fame http://www.speedway.org.au/a-c/frank-arthur

here is some more info about Eric Langton http://www.motorsport-fanatic.co.uk/speedway-langton.htm

It's a shame that back in 2007 the F.I.M. did absolutely nothing to help the Malaysians to establish the sport in Southeast Asia. They did make a genuine effort to get speedway started in Malaysia, but struggled badly without much outside help and expertise. Ivan Mauger was the one instructor and coach for the Malaysian speedway riders, but Mauger was already struggling with his heath back then.

The F.I.M. North America Final at Perris, California, on December 7 was rained-off ! The re-staging date is January 11, 2020

Totally irrelevant, these SGP qualifying practise sessions are worthless.

This appeared in the Auckland Star on Wednesday, March 31, 1920 : DEATHS FINN - on March 30, 1920, at Takapuna, as the result of a motor cycle accident, Hans Peter Finn, aged 37 years. The funeral will leave the mortuary of Messrs. C.Little and Sons, Hobson Street, to-morrow (Thursday), at 2 p.m., for Waikumete Cemetary. It appeared along with the report of the inquest: MOTOR CYCLE RACING. FATALITY AT TAKAPUNA. The death of Hans Peter Finn, as the result of an accident at the motor cycle races at Takapuna on Monday last, formed the subject of an inquest at the morgue this morning, before Mr. J. E. Wilson, S. M.. Evidence of identification was given by Julius Gotfred Jensen, who said that deceased was a native of Denmark, and was a stonemason in the employ of Messrs. Parkinson and Co. Dr. Maxwell Ramsay, medical officer in charge of the Narrow Neck Camp, gave evidence of the admission of the deceased to the hospital, where it was found that, in addition to his other injuries, he had sustained a fracture of the base of the skull. He gradually became worse and died yesterday morning. Percy R. Coleman, professional motor-cycle rider in the employ of Mr. E. S. Pees, Palmerston North, said he was one of the competitors at the motor-cycle sports held on the Takapuna racecourse. In reply to a question from the Coroner, as to what was the condition of the track, and whether any special preparations had been made for the races, witness said that there had been no special preparation. They rode on the ordinary track, which was in good order. The Coroner: Had the track not been prepared at all? - No, but it was in pretty good order. The Coroner: This is the second inquest at which I have had to move in connection with motor-cycle racing. This is the second man who has been killed. In reply to a further question, witness said they had been riding on the grass track for about eight years. This track was as good as any in New Zealand. The Coroner: If that is the case, it seems to me that this kind of sport will have to be barred so as to prevent these accidents. There are different tracks, are there not - tracks specially constructed for motor-cycling? Witness replied that there were none in New Zealand. He had ridden on motor-cycle tracks in America, and was of the opinion that the track at Takapuna compared very favourably with tracks of the same kind in that country. Continuing, witness said that he and deceased both rode in the President's Handicap. WItness was on the scratch mark, and gradually overhauled deceased. As witness was passing him, he suddenly swerved out, and witness brushed the latter's arm with his left. This caused witness' bicycle to skid about, but he did not know deceased had fallen until he had gone another lap, as it was against the rules of racing to look behind. As soon as he noticed the accident he pulled up and informed the stewards. At the time of the accident witness was travelling at about 80 miles an hour, and deceased at about 65 miles. Witness was on the right side of the track. Henry N. Anderson, member of the motor ambulance corps, said he drove the deceased to the Hospital at Narrow Neck. The latter was then quite conscious, and in reply to a query as to how the accident happened, said: "When I was going round the back of the course, the front wheel of my bike seemed to strike a rut. This caused me to swerve, and while recovering I seemed to get a tap on the arm. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground." The Coroner returned a verdict to the effect that deceased died as a result of a fracture of the skull and other injuries received from a fall from a motor-cycle while riding in a race on the Takapuna racecourse on March 29. He added: "If You gentlemen will engage in this kind of sport You will have to recognise what an extremly dangerous sport it is. This is the second inquest I have had in connection with motor-cycling during the past few months. I cannot stop You yet. I have no power to do it, but someone will have to stop You if this kind of thing continues. I can only find the cause of death, and say what I think of sport where men are liable to be killed in this manner." Subsequently Mr. R. E. Champtaloup, captain of the Auckland Provincial Motor-Cycle Racing Club, made a statement to the press. He pointed out that the previous accident, which occured at Alexandra Park, had nothing at all to do with the club. The track had been closed for the day, and the men were really on the ground without authority from the club. The track at Takapuna was considered one of the best of its kind, and was similar to the tracks used in America. He held that the proportion of deaths from motor-cycle racing was relatively small when compared with the deaths resulting from horse-racing.

The following report was published in the Auckland Star on Tuesday, March 30, 1920 : MOTOR SPORTS FATALITY. INJURED CYCLIST DIES. AFTERMATH OF COLLISION. An untoward incident, resulting in the death of one of the competitors, Mr. Hans Finn, marred the motor cycle sports held at the Takapuna Racecourse yesterday afternoon. The unfortunate man was contesting the President's Handicap, and when a few laps had been covered was observed to come to grief. An ambulance was soon in attendance, and conveyed Finn, who had obviously suffered severe injuries, to the Narrow Neck Military Hospital. Here examination revealed that he had sustained injuries to the head in addition to a fracture of each thigh. An anaesthetic was administered and the limbs set, but the injured man fell into a comatose state, from which he failed to rally, and he died soon after nine o'clock this morning. Deceased lived at Brixton Road, and it is understood had no relatives in New Zealand. The origin of the mishap was a slight collision. One of the competitors in passing Finn touched him with his arm, and the Impact was sufficient to upset the machine. It dashed through the outer rails, and over a ditch, where it lay for some minutes, issuing a volume of smoke. The machine, which was considerably damaged, had been ridden in two previous races by H Blyth. An inquest will be conducted at the morgue at 9 a.m. tomorrow.