chunky

I've always considered myself a pretty intelligent person, but it's amazing just how much I have learned just from spending a few years on the BSF! Not just about speedway, either... Two of the most important things I have learned are : Winning two World Championships and finishing runner-up in another (which no other British rider has ever achieved) does not even make you ONE of the best British World Champions. Being born in Britain, to British parents, means nothing; just because you spent a few years in Australia because your parents moved there, means you are automatically Australian. Oh, and something else I have learned: Every poster on the BSF is right... Steve

It's not a case of whether Simon Cross rode that year - we know he did - but if he replaced Peter Ravn on any specific occasion. That could certainly have given them a team (on the night) full of World Finalists. Steve

Thanks for the input guys! I did wonder about Cradley 1983, and obviously, they seem the closest - so far - with six World Finalists and a non-riding reserve. Unfortunately, the info for that season isn't available on Speedway Researcher, and the Cradley website only lists lineups for the cup matches. Peter Ravn and Simon Cross appeared together several times (in Cup action), but I don't know if Simon took his place in any meetings. Seems like there are several teams who are missing just one, but with some more research, maybe we can dig up a complete team of finalists! Steve

Okay, here's one for my fellow anoraks - at least the older ones... I had a weird thought the other day when I saw a pic of the Swindon team from 1962, The team was Tadeusz Teodorowicz, Ian Williams, Arne Carlsson, Mike Broadbank, Martin Ashby, Brian Brett, and Neil Street. It hit me that Streety was the only one who never qualified for an Individual World Final (and I know Teo was a non-riding reserve). Of course, there was quite a span between the finals, and not all six had previously appeared in a final (Brett and Ashby were still to appear in a final. So, I did some quick research, and found these : Wimbledon 1959 Ronnie Moore, Cyril Brine, Ron How, Gerry Jackson, Peter Moore, Bob Andrews, Cyril Maidment. Six of the seven rode in World Finals, with Jacko being the odd one out, Wembley 1952 Tommy Price, George Wilks, Bob Oakley, Eric Williams, Freddie Williams, Jimmy Gooch, Trevor Redmond, Bill Kitchen. An impressive seven out of eight, with only Wilks missing out. So, do we know if a team has ever taken to the track with a complete line-up of riders who - at some point in their careers - appeared in a World Final (either before or after)? I'm not just talking about members of a team who rode in the same season, but actually appeared in the same official fixture? Steve

I know that has happened with other teams on occasion, but it does make you wonder how they managed to get the others - which hadn't been used before! Steve

Yeah, I never thought about it! I know that the first action photo of Eddie I bought had the "The Dons" body colour, and then we switched fairly early in the season. Of course, the new design was the basis of the following season's Golden Jubilee jacket, using a gold star instead of yellow. All my progs are in storage, but we used the new design on the cover, although I don't know if we used it from the first meeting... Interesting question... Steve

69 - Mauger 78 - Olsen 81 - Penhall 82 - Penhall 83 - Muller 85 - Gundersen 87 - Nielsen 95 - Nielsen Steve

Okay, here goes... Belle Vue: What can I say? The fairground, the zoo, and what a track. I dropped my hot dog in the car park there, at the 1970 KOC Final. One of our group, Steve Hickmott, got injured on the go-karts one year. Another time, we ended up spending the night at Watford Gap because Hickmott and his cronies stole a road sign on the way up there. They stuck it under one of the seats, and we all forgot about it. Coming home, we heard this dreadful knocking noise, and thought that the coach was about to fall apart. So, we stopped at the services while they sent another coach up there for us! Canterbury: A semi-regular stop for me. Home of the hottest cuppa on the planet, and home to two of the great speedway characters of all time: Dick Jarvis and Les Drury! Cradley: Only went there the once, but as most of you know, the pork and stuffing sarnies - and the pork scratchings - were worth the drive from Surrey. Coventry: Used to go up there for the British Final, and 1982 is the one that stands out for me. Not just a superb performance but Andy Grahame, but queuing up before we went in, Denny Pyeatt came over and was talking to us for a while. Just six weeks before his tragic accident, and what a lovely guy. Crayford: Loved watching teams like Exeter all at sea on the tight circuit, but what a poxy drive around the South Circular. Exeter: Not sure why, but I always enjoyed tracks in the middle of the city. There was one Falcons fan I will NEVER forget. Saw him a few times, both at home and at the County Ground, but it was this older weird fella, and after we had beaten them one night at Plough Lane, he marched over to and was yelling that we were too strong. Then - and this is what haunts me to this day - he said, "Nothing personal, but I hope all your riders crash and get killed..." Terrible that someone could say that. Glasgow (Shawfield): The only British track I flew to. Went up there to see the Dons win in '88, and I have to say, perhaps the greatest and friendliest bunch of supporters I have ever met. Hackney: Another fun drive - particular going there in rush hour - but on the way home, I learned to judge the traffic lights down Whitechapel Rd, and I could get all the way from the Green Man (Carpenters Rd) to London Bridge without stopping! Not the best stadium, but watching Thommo round the third and fourth bends was great fun. Remember dear old Snowy... Mildenhall: Another semi-regular stop for me. Great food, but the single biggest highlight for me was watching an Avro Vulcan from the airbase doing its thing. Totally magical! Peterborough: Thought the Grand Slam/ NL-4TT was fantastic! They had some Honda trikes up there, and a few of the riders were showing us mere mortals how to ride them. I was brave enough, and I am proud to say that I was actually lapping at full throttle - God's honest truth - and mixing it with Sean Courtney, Rob Grant, and Mark Fiora! Until Grant t-boned me, that is... White City: Used to ride over there with Ken Archer and Esther; they would pick me up at Tooting Bec station. Thanks to Jim Tebby (a long-time family friend) being Clerk of the Course, he would let me watch the second-half from the centre-green! Steve

Yeah, I came up to Groveway one night to watch you in that junior championship won by John Bostin from Nathan Simpson! Steve

Yeah. It was to get all the idiots on the BSF into a tizzy! Seems to have worked, as 29 pages - so far - is massive! Steve

While Ray Cresp may be the only Australian speedway rider to drive in F1, there was plenty of other speedway interest in these events. Doug Serrurier, Syd Van der Vyver, and Trevor Blokdyk all competed. Steve

Have to agree with you there! Of course, it also mentions speedway, so we are protected from the "OT Brigade"!!! Of course, all the books listed on the SpeedwayPlus website are relatively recent issues. I have plenty of other books that aren't listed there, including Tom Stenner's fabulous "Thrilling the Million". Steve

Why have you simply reposted the link that iris posted less than an hour and a half ago (post 51)??? Steve

There were some great looking bikes around back then! In fact, there are quite a few board-racers tucked away in numerous motorcycle museums around the United States, and I am going to try to visit some of them. The first museum I want to visit is the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, and that's only a couple of hours from me. Of course, that also includes some speedway stuff. Hope I can get some good pics, Steve

Absolutely true. The actual "boom" years for motorcycle board racing was in the early-to-mid-teens, with tracks actually being one of two types; the circular, short (usually less than half a mile long) motordromes, and the much bigger (one to two miles) ovals, The first of the great tracks was the Playa del Rey (one mile motordrome) in Los Angeles, which was opened in 1910, although owner Jack Prince had previously built the quarter-mile Los Angeles Coliseum. While these board tracks captured the imagination of participants and spectators alike, it would be foolish to think that most of the riders weren't already engaged in "dirt-track" action, most notably on horse-trotting tracks. It was on such a track (Hawthorne in Chicago) that Charles Balke lost his life when he ran into a horse-drawn roller that was obscured by clouds of dust. That was in June 1914. One particular incident that I am currently researching is the double fatality of Bill Goudy and Frank Montgomery in January 3, 1916. The legendary board-racer Otto Walker was also injured in that incident. It took place in Bakersfield, California, and from what I can see, there are no official records of a board-track in Bakersfield (despite owner Paul Derkum stating that he had previously advised riders to "stay off the boards"). It does appear that it too was a dirt track, so make of that what you will. In addition, the Dodge City 300 (first held in July 1914) was the biggest motorcycle race in the US, and was held on a two-mile oval dirt track just outside the town. That attracted many of the top board racers. Clearly the two disciplines ran side-by-side - or perhaps hand-in-hand - but dirt-tracks certainly came first. The larger oval board-tracks outlasted the motordromes as car racing was becoming more popular, and of course, these tracks were far more suited to cars than the steeply-banked circular tracks. Plus, these tracks were much safer for spectators, as they could watch from the relative safety of the grandstands, rather than peering over the edge of the track and getting hit by machines or splintered wood. One other thing... There is a remarkable similarity between traditional board-racing bikes and the modern speedway machine - no brakes. It was actually considered too dangerous to brake on a rough board track! Steve

I agree with grachan - no need to hide it. If you think we should hide everything that has errors and inaccuracies, then we wouldn't have ANY historical speedway sites! Or books for that matter... Unfortunately, when dealing with historical matters, it's not always easy to find information, and sometimes mistakes will creep in. There are often discrepancies with the fantastic Speedway Researcher website, and the same with the proboards database, and even my own In Memoriam website - despite many hours of research - is not safe from incorrect information. All we can do is the best we can, and hope that any errors are brought to our attention. Steve

It had been covered in several speedway books over the years, most notably Cyril May's Ride It : The Complete Book of Speedway. That was where I first stumbled upon it, and although very different from speedway, I am fascinated by the sport. In fact, I have included a number of board track racing fatalities on my In Memoriam website, and more than any other motor sport, board track racing was robbed of so many of its really top stars. Here in the US, it was a hugely popular - but short-lived - motorcycle discipline. The main reason for that - as cited on the wikipedia article - was the danger. Not only were riders at risk, but the spectators too. Unlike the beautiful little cement track pic posted by iris123, most of the tracks were monsters of over a mile in length, and with the spectators peering down on the track from above, it was asking for trouble. While Eddie Hasha's fatal accident at Newark (where four spectators were killed, in addition to Hasha and Johnny Albright) was well publicised, how about this one in Ludlow, Kentucky - just over the river from where I now live? In July 1913 Odin Johnson lost his life when he crashed, but his fuel tank ruptured and ignited, and seven spectators were burned to death. Instead of "Velodromes", these tracks became known as "Murderdromes". Yeah, no wonder they didn't last long... Check out these links: http://dlmracing.blogspot.com/2013/11/motordrome-racings-darkest-days-newark.html http://imgur.com/gallery/LER6e Steve

I was getting ready to go to school that Friday morning, when the papers were delivered. I picked up the Mirror, and saw the headline on the front page - "Speed Star Killed". It was all over the back page. I will never forget that day... I was at the Laurels that night; it was the last time I saw Tommy. I didn't go to Plough Lane at all in early '76, and my first meeting back was the challenge against Swindon the week after the tragedy. I know some people drifted away from speedway as a result of losing Tommy, but it actually got me going again. Not sure why, but it could have been the fact that I was devastated at not having seen him since the previous season, and felt guilty and/or disloyal. Steve

I can't say that it was the worst performance overall - as we did fight back to get a draw - but watching the Dons go 16 points down after 4 heats in the 1989 KOC semi against Poole was pretty horrifying! Funny thing is, we - the "Pit Bend Loonies" - never lost faith, and kept behind the team 110%; we even had a neutral send a letter to the SS the following week commending the Wimbledon team AND fans on the fighting spirit we showed! A particularly depressing performance I witnessed was at Halifax in 1982 (I think), when we showed absolutely no fight (we held an emergency meeting of the supporters' club in the Shay Hotel afterwards!)... Steve

Well, it's just that we've seen Gollob do things on a bike that we've never seen anyone else do! Steve

I wouldn't necessarily say it's my FAVOURITE race (I think the Penhall clashes with Olsen and Knudsen at Wembley are actually better), but the Gollob/Nilsen race is the ONE race that always takes my breath away whenever I watch it - which is very frequently! I have never ever seen a pass even remotely close to that. Steve

Ah, but what if Red Bull started their own helmet line? That would be okay, wouldn't it? Of course, who would want to admit to having a Monster helmet??? Steve

Unfortunately - and it disgusts me to say this, being the anorak I am - I can't remember the details, but I did see one a few weeks ago on the Speedway Researcher website. The winner scored 10 points!!! Steve

Nobody mentioned David Cheshire... Steve

Now, if we can get back to the subject, how about this? I think that this will probably prove conclusive with regard to the following : 1) That the West Ham Barry Lee (of the early 1960's) went on to a successful career in autocross and hot rods. 2) That there were TWO riders called Barry Lee. 3) The other Barry Lee (Canterbury and Rayleigh) was not a champion on four wheels. The following quote is taken from Barry Lee's own website, and the full article can be viewed at http://www.barrylee.co.uk/history.aspx "Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, in 1944. At the age of 9 he began horse riding and won may rosettes for show jumping and gymkhana. In 1962 at the age of 18 he took up speedway riding, achieving good results until an accident at the West Ham speedway stadium in 1964. When recovered, Barry decided to give four wheels a try and, after buying a 105E Anglia, he entered the world of Autocross, racing in the Players No.6 for three years and won every year. In 1967 Fords competition manager - Henry Taylor, and Bill Mead - Fords chief engineer, took the talented young Lee to their headquarters at Boreham in Essex and signed him up in a new project. His mission was to prepare and race a brand new car, code named J25, in the first ever-televised race at Croft Autodrome. The car was the Mk1 Escort Twin Cam. In 1968 the planned route for the International Rally was through Wales, but due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease the stage could not be run. A substitute for this section involved setting a track over various types of surface: mud, wet chalk, gravel, etc. Rallycross was born and Barry entered the fray, eventually winning the British championship. Although Barry was doing very well in the world of Rallycross, around 1971 he decided to enter Hot-Rod racing as well. In his first year he won the British National, South African, Northern Transvaal and Danish championships." Steve