tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721663041294114532024-03-27T17:06:51.873+00:00Moto FreakoMOTO FREAKO:
Kickin' Up A Roost!BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-53232150653777038342013-02-02T22:43:00.000+00:002013-08-11T21:05:01.539+01:00An Evening with Graeme ObreeMy usual reaction when I meet one of my sporting heroes, is one of being let down or even disappointed that they are not actually a Superhero, they're just like me really, normal people doing a job they train hard for and more often than not there's no depth there, no knowledge or experience of anything else other than the sport they take part in.... but last night I had my belief in real life Superheroes restored - stand up Graeme Obree, champion cyclist, holder of the World 1 hour record in 1993 and 1994, World 4000m Pursuit Champion in 1993 and 1995 and winner of countless other Scottish and British cycling championships.<br />
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Lakes College in West Cumbria was the unlikely venue for an evening with Graeme Obree, unlikely in as much as we don't usually get such high profile speakers in this part of the country, but thanks to the efforts of sports tutor, Andrew Beattie, the Wild West of Cumbria welcomed him with open arms in a superb venue.<br />
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Unlike many talks by sports personalities, this was not a nostalgic recount of his achievements, neither was it an ego boost for a sportsman wanting to remind himself how popular he once was... far from it... this was a talk from the heart, a talk that put us inside the psyche of Graeme Obree, a talk that made us see the world from the point of view of Graeme Obree, a talk that is obviously part of Graeme Obree's own personal therapy, a way that he can put his demons to rest and get his fears off his chest and a talk that actually got me thinking about my own personality traits and why I sometimes act like I do.... </div>
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For anyone who isn't aware of who Graeme Obree is, I suggest you read his autobiography - <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Flying-Scotsman-Graeme-Obree/dp/1841583359">The Flying Scotsman</a> - , or even watch the film of the same name. Only then will you start to understand what makes this guy tick, his reason for living and the obstacles he has to overcome every day of his life.</div>
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The evening began with a short film montage of Graeme's life and cycling career put together by the organiser, Andrew Beattie, who is obviously an admirer of Obree's achievements. This was followed by Graeme's very entertaining talk, which jumped backwards, forwards and sideways probably just as much as Graeme's own thoughts do. We learnt about his lonely childhood in Scotland, the son of the village policeman, "<i> I was son of the Pig", "Filth", feeling completely isolated and uninterested"</i>. How he left school with no qualifications (apart from an O-level in English just to prove his teacher wrong!) and no ambition. His only escape from everyday life was his bicycle, the bicycle that could take him out of the village and over the horizon... We learnt how he first turned up at the local cycling club on a bike from the junkyard and wearing jeans, a parka and Dr Martens boots. </div>
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The talk covered the many sides to Graeme Obree and he wasn't afraid to tell us about his many complex problems... Bipolar disorder, depression...<i> "like having 20 fire sprinklers going off in my head at once", </i>obsessive compulsive disorder, <i>"At the Olympics we had Ziggy Marley playing a free concert for the competitors but I was in my room reading books on micro-biology"</i>... two suicide attempts, battles with his sexuality, his fear of failure, how even when he had won he would be ashamed that he hadn't done better, his guilt at beating other athletes because he knew how they felt inside...<i>"apart from the guy who peed in my bed... ", </i>his 10 years of therapy,<i> "never mind a gap year, I've had a gap decade!"</i> and his experiences of living in a mental institute,<i> "there's 48kg of lithium inside this body"</i>. We even learnt about his feelings and thoughts towards his rivals and team mates and how he could clear his mind to look at bicycle design without any preconceptions. But then he said <i>"anyway, that was all 20 years ago now, you don't want to hear about that"...</i> The final part of his talk introduced us to his new project. His attempt to break the land speed record on a bicycle he is building in his kitchen - The Beastie. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graeme Obree with "The Beastie". </td></tr>
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After his talk, Graeme bravely asked the audience for any questions... <i>"don't be shy, don't hold back, if there's something you really want to know, just ask"</i>... "What do you really think of Chris Boardman?" ... <i>"He's a very good cabinet maker - next question please?"</i>.... "Should the UCI stand down?" <i>"Emphatically Yes! Get rid of the lot of them, there's too much cronyism and buddyism at every level. For the benefit of cycling the UCI should be disbanded and the sport should start from scratch again"</i>. The subject of drugs in sport raised its head too and Graeme was quite open about his experiences.</div>
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<i>"I joined a professional team in the 90s, but it was made very obvious that I would have to take drugs. I was introduced to the French guys and the Italian guys ... "Ahh, Monsier Obree, welcome welcome,,, what drugs do you take?" "Er None!", "Pah - amateur!"... I was quickly sacked by my team. I feel I was robbed by those bastards taking drugs. I was surprised how resentful I felt when I watched the Tour De France end in Paris. I let those thoughts live inside me for years and that's something else I've had to talk to my therapist about."</i></div>
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Hinting at the recent Lance Armstrong scandal, Graeme told us that he never took drugs but a large majority of professional cyclists did, even down the system to junior club level, riders taking drugs was rife. He also promised that if he signed a poster or book after the show he could guarantee that it would not be tarnished later. You know what? I believe him. I don't think Graeme Obree is capable of lying, and if he did his personal demons would mean that he would have to come clean and tell the truth afterwards. </div>
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Sir Chris Hoy has recently described Graeme Obree much better than I ever could, so I'll leave the last word to that other revered Scottish Cycling Champion...</div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Graeme Obree is a genius in the true sense of the word. His uncanny ability to tackle problems from an angle that no-one else could have thought of, makes him a one-off. An original. He sees the world in a different way to us mere mortals and comes up with ideas and solutions which make you laugh, shake your head and say 'why didn't I think of that?!'</span></i></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Old Faithful"... On display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">An individual beyond reproach, an innovator, an incredible athlete with an indestructible determination are just some of the elements of Graeme Obree's character. To understand the rest you really need to hear it from the man himself - Graeme Obree is a brilliant speaker with a truly captivating story. He is due to return to Cumbria again on Thursday 16th May to talk at the<a href="http://www.keswickmountainfestival.co.uk/speakers/graeme-obree?/speakers/graeme-obree/index.html"> Keswick Mountain Festival</a>, my ticket is already booked :) </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For more information </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.humansinvent.com/#!/6131/return-of-the-flying-scotsman-inside-graeme-obree/">Return of The Flying Scotsman</a> Landspeed Record Attempt.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.obree.com/index.php">Graeme Obree Website</a></span></span></div>
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BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com291tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-42532088139378277902011-11-30T00:05:00.001+00:002013-08-11T21:11:41.638+01:00Sergei Tarabanko - The 1970s Ice King<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Back in the days when Ice Speedway could still be seen on television, commentator Dave Lanning used to call Sergei Tarabanko "Sergei The Sure Guy".This softly spoken PE teacher was ice speedway's equal to Ivan Mauger... totally dominant at his chosen discipline during the 70s and guaranteed a place in the speedway history books. Away from the track, Sergei did not look like the tough guy he was taken for on the track... He was a quiet man who loved fishing and taught PE at a Moscow school for a living, but during the last half of the 70s decade, Sergei ruled the ice racing circuits of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to race... note the cut down tyres to protect his knees. </td></tr>
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Tarabanko arrived on the ice racing scene in 1966 and was trained by Russian ice racing ace Gabdrakhman Kadyrov, who had won the World title an amazing six times. Tarabanko hit the headlines in 1975, when he won the World Championship in front of over 100,000 fanatical Russian fans in the Dynamo football stadium in Moscow. It was an emphatic display from the new Russian ace. A combination of talent, skill, nerve and training and technical advice from Kadyrov meant that Tarabanko was never beaten over the two days, racing to 10 straight race wins. It was mighty lift for the Russians, whose previous dominance of the World Ice Racing Championships had been broken in 1974 by Milan Spinka from Czechoslovakia. </div>
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In 1976, Tarabanko travelled to Assen in Holland in an attempt to retain his title. On day 1 he was invincible, scoring another maximum fifteen points. On day two, he scored thirteen points, but he was already home and dry by the time he dropped his first points of the meeting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sergei Tarabanko warms up his Jawa ice racer in the pits at Eindhoven in 1979</td></tr>
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In 1977, the World Championship final was held at Inzell in what was West Germany. Tarabanko's attempt to win his third consecutive title suffered a setback when he had an uncharacteristic crash during the fist days racing, but another immaculate five ride maximum on the second day gave Tarabanko his hat-trick of World titles. Assen in Holland was the venue for the 1978 World final and another fifteen point maximum on the first day put Tarabanko on the way to a fourth title. Day two cemented his place in the history books as thirteen point were enough to give the Russian ace his fourth consecutive title.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tarabanko leads Vladimir Subotin on his way to World tile No4 at Assen in 1978.</td></tr>
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Tarabanko also played his part in the Soviet Union's dominance of the World Ice Racing Team championship, leading them to victory in the first ever competition in 1979 and again in 1980 and 1981.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80vhgZ3B5zC1C43QbN_-jlQmGVtKjzLyMLC5i86DqqRrtKDT9PBfBGbn44-P73Eafbe_1vidaKqhqCnSnduvDns2FWXqGCXLy59CIJVzdoH1UvkXen4ChltuG9Q2kA-e08m-4VftVovq-/s1600/dohc+jawa+ice+racer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80vhgZ3B5zC1C43QbN_-jlQmGVtKjzLyMLC5i86DqqRrtKDT9PBfBGbn44-P73Eafbe_1vidaKqhqCnSnduvDns2FWXqGCXLy59CIJVzdoH1UvkXen4ChltuG9Q2kA-e08m-4VftVovq-/s640/dohc+jawa+ice+racer.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tarabanko's Double Over-Head Cam, 2-valve Jawa at Den Hagg in 1980.</td></tr>
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<em>(Text adapted from the "On Two Wheels" magazine collection... photos from Speedway Mail archives)</em></div>
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BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-62717959324883790412011-06-05T23:38:00.011+01:002013-08-11T21:13:32.766+01:00"Bob Mac" McIntyre - the Flying Scotsman (2nd Edition)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Robert McGregor McIntyre was born to race motorcycles, he had all the right qualities to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, natural ability, clinical logic and outstanding race-craft. He was also a skilled engine tuner, mechanic and machine-builder, but "Bob Mac" was tragically taken from us while still in his prime. The "Flying Scotsman" was only 33 when he was fatally injured racing in the British Championship meeting at Oulton Park on August 6th 1962.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob McIntyre wearing his custom-made, one-piece leathers, Italian pattern goggles <br />
and his helmet adorned with the emblem of the Mercury Motor Cycle Club.</td></tr>
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Bob McIntyre was born in Scotsoun, a suburb of Glasgow, on November 2nd 1928. (He also had a younger brother, nine years his junior, who never raced bikes and later emigrated to Australia). His father worked on the Clyde in the shipyards and never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, so when Bob left school at 14 years of age, he went to work in a motor garage in Partick to learn a trade. He started his apprenticeship on his 16th birthday and later bought his first motorcycle, a 1931 Norton 16H, which cost £12. He wasn't interested in racing at all at this time, the bike was nothing more than a means of transport and also something he could rebuild and tinker with. He soon had the bike looking as good as new and after six months he sold for £50 - a tidy profit in the 1940s. With the aid of a loan from his parents, Bob's next bike was a 1935 Ariel Red Hunter, a much faster machine than the Norton and the cause of one or two spills for young Bob. Shortly before his 18th birthday, a motor cycling club was formed in Scotsoun and Bob became one of the first half dozen members. The club was the Mercury Motor Club, whose emblem adorned Bob's crash helmet throughout his career.<br />
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At 18 Bob was called up for National Service and eventually found himself posted to Suez, where his experience on a motorcycle got him a job as a despatch rider. Once his service was done, Bob returned to Scotland and continued with his apprenticeship. The Mercury Club had grown during his abscence and some of the members were taking part in trials and scrambles. Bob went to watch one of the scrambles at Airdrie, where he was captivated by the legendary Bob Smith on his AJS and decided he'd like to have a go himself. His first ever race meeting was a scramble at Craigend Farm. not far from his home at Scotsoun, where he raced his own Ariel, minus the headlamp. As the months passed by, the Ariel was modified and tuned, and Bob got steadily better. His fascination with tuning motorcycles had grown too, so as soon as he had completed his apprenticeship, he found a job with Valenti Brothers, a motor cycle dealers in Glasgow. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob in his first ever official race on the Ariel Red Hunter - a scramble at Craigend Farm.</td></tr>
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It was around this time that Bob witnessed his first motorcycle road race too. he went to Kircaldy and thought to himself that he could ride better than most of the guys he was watching, so decided there and then to enter a road race for himself and see how well he could do. Bob's biggest obstacle was not having access to a bike suitable for road racing, but Alan McKenzie, a fellow member of the Mercury Club, offered him the chance to share his BSA 350cc Gold Star at an event at Ballado Airfield near Kinross. The race was held on the old concrete runways, which had seen better days, but Bob's scrambling experience proved invaluable on the loose gravel and he won three events before falling off in his fourth race.<br />
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Bob and Alan entered more and more Scottish races on the BSA and Bob did reasonably well in his first season. The Ariel was sold to fund new parts, tyres and entry fees so the two of them would turn up at the races aboard the BSA with their spares and toolkit strapped to their backs. <br />
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One of Bob's rivals in those early days was Les Cooper, whose family owned Cooper Bro's of Troon. Les rode a brand new AJS 7R, a proper racing bike. Towards the end of the 1951 season, Sam Cooper, the senor partner of Cooper Bro's, asked Bob if he would like to race their Gold Star BSA in the 1952 Isle Of Man Junior Clubman TT. He also asked Bob if he would like a job, so in the winter of 1951, Bob switched jobs and started to ride his racing bike to and from work, choosing the most demanding routes he could find, just to improve his skills and get a better feel for the bike.<br />
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During practice for the event, Bob made an error which almost cost him his chance, He forgot to remove the centre stand and as he descended Hilllberry at speed, the stand hit the ground and threw Bob off, causing the bike some serious cosmetic damage. Sam Cooper was furious and threatened to pack the bike up and return home, but Bob protested and eventually Cooper calmed down and let him take his place on the starting grid, on the promise that Bob would ride with caution! This turned out to be a defining moment in Bob's racing career as he finished 2nd to Eric Houseley and also set a new lap record of 80.09mph, a remarkable feat considering his bike was struggling with carburettor problems, a blown head gasket and young Bob was supposed to be riding cautiously!<br />
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In September of that same year he took Cooper's 350cc AJS 7R and Manx Norton to the Isle Of Man. While he was there he was given the chance to ride a works AJS which he rode to victory in the Junior Manx Grand Prix. Two days later he rode the same bike to 2nd place in the Senior race. This was the beginning of a great career that would see Bob at the top of the road racing game for ten years. </div>
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Bob McIntyre took his racing very seriously and set standards that many still strive to achieve today. Not only did he make sure his bikes were always immaculately turned out, but he made sure his body was in peak condition too. He kept fit by playing badminton and swimming and spent the closed season climbing in the Scottish mountains. He was also teetotal, never smoked and watched his diet very carefully. He was equally concerned with his appearance too. He wore a custom-made one-piece leather racing suit which was snug fitting and unpadded. His boots were also custom made with a supple, fine grade leather and soled with rubber to aid quick push starts. His racing kit was supplemented with wrist length gloves, a white helmet featuring the badge of the Mercury Motor Club and a pair of Italian pattern goggles. If nothing else, Bob was always the fittest and smartest racer on the grid.</div>
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In 1953, Bob was invited to join the AJS works team, but he struggled at first. He had a disappointing TT, failing to finish in any event, but he finally scored his first international victory at the North West 200 where he won the 350cc race on a standard two-valve AJS 7R rather than the 7R3 "triple knocker". He also stood on the podium at the Ulster Grand Prix and recorded his first GP victory at Pau in France. McIntyre appeared to have had his best results on standard machinery and even in the senior class he preferred to ride the production Matchless G45 rather than the works E95 "Porcupine", which he described as <em>"...most horrifying... a camel!"</em></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob McIntyre on the AJS 7R3 "Triple Knocker" at Scarborough in 1954.<br />
Despite finishing 2nd in the 350cc race, Bob did not like the 7R3 as much as the production two-valve 7R.</td></tr>
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For 1954 Bob stayed with AJS, preferring to ride the standard 7R and G45 whenever he could. Once again, he was frustrated with his results and and had another disappointing TT. The 7R3 let him down in the Junior event and he could only finish 14th on the "Porcupine" in the senior race. AJS pulled out of Grand Prix racing at the end of the 1954 season, so Bob seized the opportunity, went back to his privateer roots, and beagn a famous partnership with Glasgow's ace tuner and sponsor Joe Potts, who provided him with 350cc and 500cc Manx models and also prepared a special 250cc Potts Special Norton. <br />
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At the Isle of Man TT Bob rode one of the greatest races of his career. His streamlined Norton had the beating of all the British factory entries and he even beat Surtees on the Moto Guzzi. He actually led the race for the first four laps only to be beaten by Bill Lomas on the last lap. Giulio Carcano was so impressed with his perfomance that he offered him a ride on the factory Moto Guzzi, but Bob stuck with his trusted friend and did not accept the invitation. Despite a brilliant domestic season in 1956, Bob could not repeat his success at the TT, retiring from both the senior and junior races with mechanical problems. 1956 saw the legendary tuner J "Pim" Fleming join the Potts team, adding another dimension to the preparation of Bob Mac's engines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQRGK18RTK85rIzyTkMBiZsE_ky10qdZX59ni7jd0rf5PhUxZzuRB65W5NHyHme9mCsoUeSFkEKeluaB6HQ9b0s_VNm7ESRXCbSSpgSUu3OUT0yWPPixWypJEC5YfxNHXHHfff2smBIvK/s1600/bobmac2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQRGK18RTK85rIzyTkMBiZsE_ky10qdZX59ni7jd0rf5PhUxZzuRB65W5NHyHme9mCsoUeSFkEKeluaB6HQ9b0s_VNm7ESRXCbSSpgSUu3OUT0yWPPixWypJEC5YfxNHXHHfff2smBIvK/s640/bobmac2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Mac at speed on the Pim Fleming tuned Potts Norton at Silverstone in 1956.</td></tr>
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1957 turned out to be Bob's big year. He was invited to join the Gilera works team and mounted on a 4-cylinder Gilera Arcore, he won both the Junior and Senior races at the Golden Jubillee Isle Of Man TT and also became the first rider to do a 100mph lap on the mountain circuit when he completed his third lap of the senior at 101.03mph. The fourth lap was even faster at 101.13mph! During the extended 8-lap race it is estimated that McIntyre reached speeds of around 160mph, so it came as no surprise that he actually caught and overtook the 1956 World Champion, John Surtees on the 500cc MV Augusta and won the race. It was this success that really cemented his place in history as one of the greatest TT riders of all time.<br />
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Bob later described the 1957 junior TT Gilera 350 as <em>"the nicest machine I ever rode... smooth as silk". </em>He also recalled how every time he passed the Guthrie memorial he imagined the fellow Scot urging him on to victory, but during the senior, on that fully streamlined Gilera, he reckoned Jimmy was shaking a finger at him and warning him to slow down!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favourite Motorcycle racing photographs.<br />
Bob McIntyre riding the Gilera Four to victory in the 1957 Junior T.T.</td></tr>
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The 1957 World Championship also looked to be within his reach, but a crash in the Dutch TT at Assen put him on the sidelines for a couple of months. His record for the season was still excellent though, with a 2nd place in the 500cc Ulster Grand Prix and victory in the 350cc Nations Grand Prix at Monza. Bob finished 2nd in the 500cc World Championships and also took 3rd place in the 350cc World Championship. At the end of 1957 the Italian team also quit Grand Prix racing, but in November 1957, Gilera invited McIntyre to ride a 350cc racer around the banked Monza circuit in an attempt to break the one hour speed record. He averaged 141 mph on the bumpy Monza surface, a record that was not broken until 1964 when Mike Hailwood lapped Daytona at 144.80mph on an MV Agusta.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob McIntyre's 1959 350cc Potts Norton photographed at Knockhill in 1993.</td></tr>
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With no works team place for 1958, Bob returned to his roots once again and was back on his trusted Potts Norton and AJS machines, but the TT races ended in disappointment again. He retired from the junior race on the second lap whilst in 2nd place and in the senior, it really looked like McIntyre would become the first racer to lap at over 100mph on a single cylinder bike, but he suffered valve gear problems whilst catching eventual winner Surtees. For the 1959 season Potts prepared a specially tuned 47bhp Norton engine for Bob, which took him to a great victory in the North West 200. He could only manage 5th place in the '59 senior TT and in 1960 it was becoming obvious that the single cylinder British bikes, although still hard to beat in domestic competition, were no longer competitive against the exotica from Germany, Italy and Japan in the TT or on the International scene.<br />
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Bob had a dream of starting his own motorcycle business, building a range of top quality, over-the-counter racing bikes in 250cc, 350cc and 500cc versions. The two smaller machines would be 4-cyclinder models like the Japanese, and the 500cc would be an 8-cylinder job, but partly due to a lack of capital, Bob's dream would remain just that.<br />
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Honda had always wanted to add McIntyre to their stable of talented works riders and they finally got their man when he signed to ride for the Japanese factory for the 1961 season. In the 1961 Isle of Man Lightweight TT Bob raised the lap record to over 99.58 mph but lost his lead when his engine seized. He did finish 2nd in the Senior TT, albeit on on a Potts Norton, becoming the first rider to lap the TT course at over 100mph on a single cylinder engine. Bob also rode 350cc Grand Prix races on Bianchi machines during 1961, gracing the podium in Holland, Sweden and East Germany. He had also breifly led the Junior TT on a Bianchi before engine problems forced him to retire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgrNxPibvToi1MMkvBKxS7a4oQROnBE9CN3gbUpVTx2T_L1b34eeTc-HRERbzbQdgrpS_qtBeKrUT0VMaVTClTtKsz3CMiPF_OKdz4lGJT_ifuYMFRTErOfhwU3O3Z-Iln9AcAq8EpKem/s1600/Bob+McIntyre_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgrNxPibvToi1MMkvBKxS7a4oQROnBE9CN3gbUpVTx2T_L1b34eeTc-HRERbzbQdgrpS_qtBeKrUT0VMaVTClTtKsz3CMiPF_OKdz4lGJT_ifuYMFRTErOfhwU3O3Z-Iln9AcAq8EpKem/s640/Bob+McIntyre_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Racing the 250cc Honda. <em>(photo by J.M.Fyfe, Alloa)</em></td></tr>
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During 1962 McIntyre was blessed with full works machinery from Honda. He finished 2nd in the Spanish, French, Dutch and German 250cc Grands Prix but had little luck at the Isle Of Man TT with a non-start in the Senior TT and mechanical problems in both the 250cc and 350cc events. His best perfomance of 1962 was probably the Belgium 250cc GP at Spa-Francorchamps, which he won in front of 100,000 spectators. A week later he finished 2nd to Jim Redman in the 250cc GP in West Germany and finished a credible 4th on a rare outing in the 125cc GP. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob McIntyre launches the 285cc Honda over BallaughTT during the 1962 Junior TT.</td></tr>
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Then it was back to Britain for the British Championship meeting at Oulton Park over August Bank Holiday. Bob had already won the 250cc event and had briefly led the 350cc race on the 285cc Honda before it packed up on him. He entered the 500cc race on his Manx Norton and after a bad start in wet conditions, he fought his way up to 2nd place and was chasing leader Derek Minter at Clay Hill Corner when the bike appeared to go straight into the bank with Bob still on it! The front wheel hit a ditch and Bob was catapulted into the trees. He was taken to Chester Royal Infimary where he remained unconcious for nine days and eventually died from serious head injuries. Nobody was ever sure what caused the fatal crash, there was talk of a gearbox failure at the time, but when Pim Fleming stripped the bike nothing was wrong. Bob seldom made mistakes either, so we can only assume that the bike must have aquaplaned on the surface water <br />
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Earlier in the year, during the Isle Of Man TT, Bernard Howard had sat with Bob discussing his future plans. It was the day that Bob was attempting to take on the 500cc machines in the senior TT aboard a 285cc Honda. Things weren't going Bob's way that day, but he still wore his heart on his sleeve and gave it everything he'd got. Bernard asked Bob why he kept on racing, especially as his wife was expecting their first child and he'd achieved just about everything there was to achieve. Bob replied... <em>"I may think of quitting at the end of the season". </em>He never got the chance to quit. Bob passed away on August 15th 1962 having never regained consciousness. He left a widow, Joyce and a three month old baby daughter, Eleanor. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Now you can brake" - <em>(photo by Peter Roberts).</em><br />
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BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-63346312022158726202011-03-12T22:28:00.006+00:002014-07-12T23:26:19.474+01:00Harry Skirrow - "The One-Armed Lakeland Wonder"<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i>"Perhaps the least known and most underrated racing car constructor in this country".</i> That is how author Derek Bridgett described Henry (Harry) Skirrow in his book "Midget Car Speedway". That statement is very true. Without a doubt, it was Harry's skill, drive and initiative that produced the UK's most successful midget speedway cars, but there was so much more to this great man than has ever been published before.</div>
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Born in Bradford in 1906, Harry was raised in Westmorland (now part of Cumbria). Harry began his working life as a banker, but he soon became bored with the mundane occupation and opened his own motor garage on Lake Road in Ambleside, close to the shore of Windermere in England's Lake District. </div>
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During their teenage years, the brothers had both been bitten by the motorcycle bug and competed in sand races, speed trials and grass track events and they were both founder members of the reformed Westmorland Motor Club. Harry and Geoffrey were pioneer speedway riders too. Harry had finished 2nd to his brother in the 350cc event at the first Whitehaven meeting in July 1930 and they were both winners of the Silver Goblet and Silver Rose Bowl at Barrow-In-Furness speedway during the same year. At one stage Harry was a promising novice at the Preston speedway track, but then he lost his left arm in a shooting accident and everyone presumed his motorcycle racing days were over - everyone except Harry that is! With the aid of an artificial forearm and a hook, Harry started riding again and even amused himself by riding speedway again, albeit behind closed doors at the famous Belle Vue track in Manchester. He was such a fan of the sport that he would drive down to Manchester to watch the "Aces" most weeks and it was here that he first saw Midget Car Speedway. On May 16th 1935, Belle Vue Speedway presented an "All Car Meeting", which was reported as a failure, but it obviously caught the imagination of some and fired a new enthusiasm in Harry Skirrow.</div>
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Harry returned to Ambleside and built his own midget racer based on the wreck of an old BSA Scout. He returned to Belle Vue as a competitor and despite having the fastest car around the Manchester track, he was still not satisfied. With the help of Walter Mackereth, a blacksmith from Kendal, they built a new car and took it to Flookburgh Sands for testing. They experimented with front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and different wheelbases until they eventually produced a car that they were both satisfied with and turned their attentions to domination of the UK midget speedway car scene.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHqfr0J4L7fSaz1ehBidib_txxm7CZGmaTzBD4m8cAQIn57dMX7w_NPw8kUkLq8H81Ix6QwMEe8qAcUGZGqQzoFLwTu75a2Uh239EwMa_VXtUstuoz8OhRgZ8nw7TYwWvWNqCkPiEk6E/s1600/Skirrow_Advert.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="dhfzrrwdlvpstqmhpush" height="640" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHqfr0J4L7fSaz1ehBidib_txxm7CZGmaTzBD4m8cAQIn57dMX7w_NPw8kUkLq8H81Ix6QwMEe8qAcUGZGqQzoFLwTu75a2Uh239EwMa_VXtUstuoz8OhRgZ8nw7TYwWvWNqCkPiEk6E/s640/Skirrow_Advert.jpg" width="537" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodhYps4r7T_cjb4XrURncj4W5Bc-IeZfsyZ8BEzpOuapn7cQg1DipasopkNl4un5ZXReucCqV-IEhpCO9CboNkFIzvFwFi5BQgKSwvmdzIeDeHOKae8C_3mtv4cS9GBWTho_OhxpHZuM/s1600/Skirrow_1936-37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodhYps4r7T_cjb4XrURncj4W5Bc-IeZfsyZ8BEzpOuapn7cQg1DipasopkNl4un5ZXReucCqV-IEhpCO9CboNkFIzvFwFi5BQgKSwvmdzIeDeHOKae8C_3mtv4cS9GBWTho_OhxpHZuM/s640/Skirrow_1936-37.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fully developed "Skirrow Special" from 1936 <br />
<i>(Photo courtesy of Malcolm Skirrow)</i></td></tr>
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I have a copy of a letter drafted by Harry on various scraps of paper and intended to be sent to Michael Ware at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu that tells the story of how the famous Skirrow Special developed...<br />
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In the letter Harry describes how, with more enthusiasm than judgement, he sold his garage at Ambleside and put all his resources into producing a car that fulfilled the rules of midget car racing in the USA. He then relocated to London and rented a workshop from Victor Martin in Tottenham. Harry had asked the neighbouring firm of J.A.Prestwich to produce a 1000cc air-cooled v-twin engine based on two 500cc speedway J.A.P. units. The two cylinders were mated to a common crankcase and each cylinder had its own twin monobloc Amal carburettor and ran on methanol. This engine became known as the 996cc J.A.P. 8/80. The chassis and pressed steel disc wheels were produced by Rubery Owen and Harry also persuaded John Bull to produce special tyres using the same tread pattern and compounds as the larger 20" speedway bike tyres.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6r-sQPKLDHQCiu1kUhr69kP_j-cTmmTEblDAzcaduGwr9aCgvprwBr0M-TRDzsRHxcToJ3XcvHhC5yVy4S8-RSNitxTzFJaxU3GxEvflGa-eqIsnuXg_5iupT-G7PfXOjMEW3fvDWz3Q/s1600/JAP+8_80+engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="553" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6r-sQPKLDHQCiu1kUhr69kP_j-cTmmTEblDAzcaduGwr9aCgvprwBr0M-TRDzsRHxcToJ3XcvHhC5yVy4S8-RSNitxTzFJaxU3GxEvflGa-eqIsnuXg_5iupT-G7PfXOjMEW3fvDWz3Q/s640/JAP+8_80+engine.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">996cc J.A.P. 8/80 engine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlE7XIkmknmtZxUSSRHpuH3pKY-2n3Trd3GzgGxvACe-SSQ4yduU-F7QvFykXWlOZpuDOqIt_cuo2nPkq5An_88EZ8CqU7y68BF5UEZMDlQqW1ZTPlHCR1YpPGC8tCgY9WDDno9NL0Lw/s1600/Skirrow_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="403" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlE7XIkmknmtZxUSSRHpuH3pKY-2n3Trd3GzgGxvACe-SSQ4yduU-F7QvFykXWlOZpuDOqIt_cuo2nPkq5An_88EZ8CqU7y68BF5UEZMDlQqW1ZTPlHCR1YpPGC8tCgY9WDDno9NL0Lw/s640/Skirrow_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cutaway showing the 4-wheel drive chassis of the Skirrow.</td></tr>
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By the Spring of 1936 Harry had produced his first few complete cars and presented them to Eric Spence at Belle Vue Speedway. At first he wasn't interested as he wanted to produce his own cars based on the American Elto design, so Harry became a partner in Liverpool Speedway which allowed him to race and demonstrate his cars to his hearts content. It wasn't long before the Skirrow was recognised as the best car for the job and Harry eventually joined forces with Jim Baxter and the Belle Vue management to form a national midget car racing league with Harry and his wife promoting their own tracks at Lea Bridge in London and at Coventry in the Midlands. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDTzEhue5ixcxEhmUZFD782_85KuJkZkaIwSz75gA7uRK3txiE-rO9QG4CS8EjxbQOj9qPASiTBHkZ8qmdx5xpc3kqngwBoTIkYDUNo5io_rUu9n0UQrkqEvsR8Cpfsxfz7ZetqJO1uI/s1600/Pashley-Elto%2526Makareth-Skirrow_1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="592" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDTzEhue5ixcxEhmUZFD782_85KuJkZkaIwSz75gA7uRK3txiE-rO9QG4CS8EjxbQOj9qPASiTBHkZ8qmdx5xpc3kqngwBoTIkYDUNo5io_rUu9n0UQrkqEvsR8Cpfsxfz7ZetqJO1uI/s640/Pashley-Elto%2526Makareth-Skirrow_1937.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Action from Coventry in 1937. <br />
Ginger Pashley in an Elto leads Walter Mackereth in a Skirrow.</td></tr>
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Not only was Harry a talented designer, fabricator and a budding businessman, he was also an exceptional driver. In his book "Coventry's Two Speedways", author Colin Parker describes how Harry managed to turn his car onto its side during a meeting at Wembley. He scrambled out, pushed it back onto four wheels with his single arm and carried on racing. The same book also describes how the cars had to be transported from their Tottenham workshops to the Brandon track at Coventry, either on the back of a truck or being towed behind it, with the "driver" exposed to the elements in all kinds of British weather. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiv8cKMgUu2qfI813UBV-akqIG2-XqwVpBZPuWrmVoBZvrPEfwcgpyKOULk8lg0S4_aUIne0qI3m9QJy36R8B4EQzcmNkaAeDjgnx0w15qovRwjsuwbjDHxbPjP7xvf2YpU8jtdaH7pc/s1600/Skirrow_1938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiv8cKMgUu2qfI813UBV-akqIG2-XqwVpBZPuWrmVoBZvrPEfwcgpyKOULk8lg0S4_aUIne0qI3m9QJy36R8B4EQzcmNkaAeDjgnx0w15qovRwjsuwbjDHxbPjP7xvf2YpU8jtdaH7pc/s640/Skirrow_1938.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Harry sitting at the wheel of the final development of the Skirrow Special.<br />
<i>(Photo courtesy of Malcolm Skirrow)</i></td></tr>
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In his letter Harry continues to describe the diffficulties he faced. Despite being totally under capitalised and running into severe financial difficulties during the recession of the 1930s, Harry did not give up on his dream and persevered with developing his Skirrow Special and promoting racing or "Doodle Dicing" as it had become known, at more venues. He had plans to introduce his "Doodle Bugs" to the Moorville Speedway in Carlisle in partnership with Roland Stobbart and Jimmy Baxter, but the venue never recovered from the financial disaster of its one and only motorcycle speedway meeting and the proposed project never materialised. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aPdsjDKfzGjYt0UUInc3vOJdWEzRh-TMTuhln7vYU6m85QxyqTsvoYwEH-xZpBK126m2TV_Z5gBbSPIIbgzv17wJCvFaNBEUrsCAtxVKcUNq5Gs6W771Cvx35WWOTZt3-99t3jSPWWk/s1600/Frank+Chiswell_skirrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aPdsjDKfzGjYt0UUInc3vOJdWEzRh-TMTuhln7vYU6m85QxyqTsvoYwEH-xZpBK126m2TV_Z5gBbSPIIbgzv17wJCvFaNBEUrsCAtxVKcUNq5Gs6W771Cvx35WWOTZt3-99t3jSPWWk/s640/Frank+Chiswell_skirrow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coventry driver Frank Chiswell in his Skirrow No 77.<br />
<i>(Photo courtesy of Roy Chiswell)</i></td></tr>
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Walter Mackereth and his Coventry team were crowned League Champions in 1938 and Harry was just beginning to reap the rewards of his dogged determination. Crowds were increasing and Harry had been invited to tour Australia over the winter of 1939/1940, but the events that followed were completely out of Harry's hands. Poor summer weather in 1939 had caused a lot of meetings to be rained off and combined with gathering war clouds, the midget car league was abandoned in July 1939. Consequently, the trip to Australia was also cancelled. Fate dealt another blow in 1940 when Harry's house was completely demolished during an air raid, destroying all of Harry's records, drawings, photographs and press cuttings. At this point Harry sold his business to Victor Martin, paid off his debts and relocated back to the North West to join his son Malcolm, who had already been evacuated from London and was living with an Aunt in Bowness-On-Windermere. The family eventually settled into a house just south of Lancaster and Harry turned his attentions to producing aircraft parts for the war effort. He joined forces with William "pops" Kitchen, a former partner of his at Liverpool speedway and the father of Belle Vue speedway star Bill Kitchen, in a small factory unit in the village of Galgate.</div>
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After the war had ended there was no immediate resumption of midget car racing and Harry found that he had lost touch with his associates and his cars. More importantly, Harry wasn't willing to take any more financial risks having lost everything in the 1940 air-raids. Bill Kitchen and his brother Jack were due to be demobbed from the Army and would be returning to the family business, so Harry decided it was time to move on again, this time to Devon.<br />
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The family bought a house in Maidencombe, just outside of Torquay and Harry persuaded his brother Geoffrey to join them. The two brothers bought a market garden and then sold it for a hefty profit in 1947. Their next venture was to buy the Loughton Motor Company in London together with some war surplus Nissan huts, which were erected next to the garage and rented out as storage. <br />
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Harry had managed to recover three badly damaged Skirrow cars from the remains of his garage at the bombed out house in London and had taken them to Devon where he rebuilt two and sold them. The third chassis became a donor for a single-seat sports car that Harry built in order to travel to London and back whilst overseeing his business. The car was described as looking like a miniature Allard. It used the same 996cc 8/80 J.A.P. engine as the midget racers with the addition of a 4-speed motorcycle gearbox, which Harry modified to give the car a reverse gear. Unlike the racing cars, this road legal Skirrow was front wheel drive, ran on petrol and could return 70mpg at a steady 60mph. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQ1hvHLmFftBdfJ60OVUgdOh2d33HDOu4tiIxq3xIVdOhav9dm6iK3ueYPdfti4NXQbuGau5T79Y9DYemSocb2cN9mLT69fBOmEXARV-mQpQEOlRCxGVY0iFlM_wec4zqjMCHU74kIRc/s1600/Harry_Skirrow_Car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="459" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQ1hvHLmFftBdfJ60OVUgdOh2d33HDOu4tiIxq3xIVdOhav9dm6iK3ueYPdfti4NXQbuGau5T79Y9DYemSocb2cN9mLT69fBOmEXARV-mQpQEOlRCxGVY0iFlM_wec4zqjMCHU74kIRc/s640/Harry_Skirrow_Car.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry with his home-made sports car, which he drove to London and back on a regular basis. </td></tr>
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Eventually a compulsory purchase order was put on the garage to allow for the construction of a new road and harry and Geoffrey were out of a job. Geoffrey found some part-time work helping out at the local service station at Chudleigh and Harry spent most of his time indulging in his new hobby - sailing, but they both became bored without regular work and bought the Maidencombe Service Station in 1952. <br />
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Harry sailed a 14 feet redwing yacht with the Babbacombe Corinthian Sailing Club, where he built and installed a motorised winch to haul the boats up the beach and also built trailers for other club members. Harry still had a strong competitive streak too and was awarded the prestigious Sir Reginald Leeds Trophy in 1959 after nine consecutive race wins in the Torbay Regatta and two race wins at Falmouth. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9v8-W6wW4_Z7qcplGGhmhLPMV-LnX8EYsf-Qhip04utOhkNXsNVjuog6Jg09DfQnI5SuVZXhGtNHH9kG9OGVHbVMNBHzcPLS7Iy6Ro3huIaEDGcIS9rvTkaI8MJ677bXVbBIHrJcwiU/s1600/Harry_1953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9v8-W6wW4_Z7qcplGGhmhLPMV-LnX8EYsf-Qhip04utOhkNXsNVjuog6Jg09DfQnI5SuVZXhGtNHH9kG9OGVHbVMNBHzcPLS7Iy6Ro3huIaEDGcIS9rvTkaI8MJ677bXVbBIHrJcwiU/s640/Harry_1953.jpg" width="499" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry out sailing in 1953.<br />
<i>(Photo coutesy of Malcolm Skirrow)</i></td></tr>
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When Geoffrey died, Harry sold the garage and gave half the proceeds to his widow. He then went to work for his son Malcolm at his garage in Babbacombe, travelling to work and back every day on a 90cc Honda Cub. Even though Harry always said he never wanted to retire, his Doctor had other ideas and in 1984 Harry finally went home for a rest aged 77 and eventually passed away in 1991 at the age of 84.<br />
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He was once asked in a newspaper if having only one arm had made life difficult... <i>"Oh no"</i> he said,<i> "If I had another arm I just wouldn't know what to do with it, I can do most jobs and if I'm beaten I just ask for help. With this hook I can hold a welding rod right down to the last bit without burning my fingers, but there are some things that are on the official list of things I can't manage, like the washing up".</i><br />
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Shortly before he died Harry said to his wife...<i> "I think I've done just about everything in life that I wanted to",</i> to which his wife replied...<i> "Yes - You bloody well have!".</i></div>
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But what became of the Skirrow cars? Victor Martin continued to provide service and spares after the war under the name of "Skirrow Special Cars Ltd" and his friend and colleague Walter Mackereth continued to race with great success in Hamburg and Paris. Most of the remaining cars were purchased by David Hughes, a midget car racing enthusiast from the East Midlands, who had built his own racing track in 1949 at Brafield in Northamptonshire. Hughes then took the Skirrows on tour in 1950 followed by the formation of the Midlands Midget Speedway Car League in late 1951. Sadly, the league featuring teams from Birmingham, Cradley Heath, Coventry and Leicester was short lived and was abandoned before the year was out. By the end of the 1950s the cars were beginning to wear out and Victor Martin was no longer able to provide back-up. Some of the cars were cannibalised to keep others going but Hughes eventually had to admit defeat. Thankfully a few Skirrows have survived and are now in the hands of enthusiasts and collectors who acknowledge the historical importance of the Skirrow Special.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUboNIx0zMQ0kddj-Bk_3JCOheJEAZYzuLSJBwMrTEFRv6TaX0tZ6QVgFvNbsC6-C3gfo5kdd51IldpTsBhjQea00uC7-KaFsK51pUDRmjcIikPzDlXdGffgadA5xvJ9x-XrZdHU7s9Ek/s1600/1938+Skirrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUboNIx0zMQ0kddj-Bk_3JCOheJEAZYzuLSJBwMrTEFRv6TaX0tZ6QVgFvNbsC6-C3gfo5kdd51IldpTsBhjQea00uC7-KaFsK51pUDRmjcIikPzDlXdGffgadA5xvJ9x-XrZdHU7s9Ek/s640/1938+Skirrow.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOVGqbiP1K419OghmAvkVGyjPyR31BqagXGF1A3WmsQC4W51a-AjwTrujZNFLTZybrHyq8mezmVbZiaLAJQGoayykO79iL8IPnsuktWod3Hv7BVb-VJVkjxafRUWgJ7Q4a7G_jMP0cl0/s1600/1938+Skirrow_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOVGqbiP1K419OghmAvkVGyjPyR31BqagXGF1A3WmsQC4W51a-AjwTrujZNFLTZybrHyq8mezmVbZiaLAJQGoayykO79iL8IPnsuktWod3Hv7BVb-VJVkjxafRUWgJ7Q4a7G_jMP0cl0/s640/1938+Skirrow_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A preserved 1938 Skirrow Midget Speedway Car. Originally from Canada, this car was recently sold at auction and is now in Australia. Although not completely original, it does represent Harry's later development of the Skirrow vey well. This particular car has been discussed at length on Midget Car Panorama (see link at foot of page).</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Massive thanks to Harry's son Malcolm Skirrow for letting me have copies of Harry's letters, photographs and giving me a potted history of Harr'y life. Thanks also go to Derek Bridgett, Colin Parker and Roy Chiswell, and also to Percy Duff and the late Bernard Crabtree for sharing their memories of Harry.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">References:</span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://midgetcarpanorama.proboards.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Midget Car Panorama</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> - A Forum for Midget Car Racing.</span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Midget-Car-Speedway-Derek-Bridgett/dp/0752438700"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Midget Car Speedway</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> by Derek Bridgett</span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=48698"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Coventry's Two Speedways</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> by Colin Parker</span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speedway-North-West-100-Greats/dp/0752431927"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Speedway In The North West</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> by Adrian Pavey</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">and various Stock Car Racing articles by John Hyam.</span></i></div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-16597479575810728722011-02-27T23:09:00.001+00:002013-08-11T21:25:31.766+01:00Barrow Speedway - A (very) brief illustrated history<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The origins of speedway and dirt-track racing on the Furness peninsular can be traced back to he beach races organised by Barrow & District Motor Club in the 1920s. The club later held a grass track meeting at the Little Park Rugby Ground in Roose on May 26th 1928. The winner of the unlimited races at this meeting was local hero and future Belle Vue and Wembley star Frank Charles , who literally lived over the road from the stadium on North Row, Roose. In 1930, the Northern Motor Sports Club introduced Speedway racing to the Holker Street football stadium. A track made of rolled ashes from Vickers Shipyard was laid around the football pitch and a total of seven meetings were held before the Football club needed to re-turf their pitch in readiness for the new season. The winner of the opening meeting on 12th June 1930 was Eric Airey from Lancaster and over 7000 spectators watched the final meeting on July 28th.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOKL_sKsQ9t5f0UPfLhBt2T55SW7n8IZZcsfQZdSQM5cbm4e39avNHPlB3ZBm8QPoKRw1MRfPCBbhAn65zFeVAYdSWaouogplyCkqTbj6KXxgnUKep2bwbIemQZLVAfhJA52IgnI1SFc/s1600/barrow-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOKL_sKsQ9t5f0UPfLhBt2T55SW7n8IZZcsfQZdSQM5cbm4e39avNHPlB3ZBm8QPoKRw1MRfPCBbhAn65zFeVAYdSWaouogplyCkqTbj6KXxgnUKep2bwbIemQZLVAfhJA52IgnI1SFc/s640/barrow-1.jpg" width="595" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfe9Bxs3I6O3ajSZ6tcYMksg3f43pf7dnGqONQwv8FysZ-DUaEX4O0rZaUknDqsW1lqFw7L6SIncQPQsDGPPv1nRBTraBCSs53478EjdybD4zSoNiC3ENXbjIXBxAw9mAx9noB-D4kI/s1600/barrow-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfe9Bxs3I6O3ajSZ6tcYMksg3f43pf7dnGqONQwv8FysZ-DUaEX4O0rZaUknDqsW1lqFw7L6SIncQPQsDGPPv1nRBTraBCSs53478EjdybD4zSoNiC3ENXbjIXBxAw9mAx9noB-D4kI/s640/barrow-3.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Charles and Eric Airey get ready for a match race at Holker Street in 1930</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFr9_KNAXcseUfhlM_Iw4LcuXa-a8mKT8nRiGmaeCuykCy9uqzYsJc0dHBP7dk-kwlmdMG8_2yOCwVCej2GWqB07BJ8q_4P9yTg3ogh80jD5C6lxssQghelDgrMDl03bzmAqB8INrGPA/s1600/barrow-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFr9_KNAXcseUfhlM_Iw4LcuXa-a8mKT8nRiGmaeCuykCy9uqzYsJc0dHBP7dk-kwlmdMG8_2yOCwVCej2GWqB07BJ8q_4P9yTg3ogh80jD5C6lxssQghelDgrMDl03bzmAqB8INrGPA/s640/barrow-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure of the rider in the white jersey, but the other 2 riders are Roland Stobbart and Frank Burgess.<br />
A rare action shot from Holker Street in June 1930</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYX2xdlo15dqrG81tlBphxTiO1aJPq6_Y1r9D_gYevK6PJx8v8HcH0MQQ-bQN_XnywKO1O2HlFAWxP-1YPuy-KJLfBLFHgX-50vokryUZfDjUoQhBokzTB9_ky6etdvF1bFOJA0WDqVI/s1600/barrow-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYX2xdlo15dqrG81tlBphxTiO1aJPq6_Y1r9D_gYevK6PJx8v8HcH0MQQ-bQN_XnywKO1O2HlFAWxP-1YPuy-KJLfBLFHgX-50vokryUZfDjUoQhBokzTB9_ky6etdvF1bFOJA0WDqVI/s640/barrow-5.jpg" width="393" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During the 1950s, Cliff Hindle, a local motorcycle enthusiast, built his own private circuit where he and several other enthusiasts could practice prior to riding at Belle Vue and Sheffield, but it wasn't until 1972 that speedway racing returned to Barrow-In-Furness. A new track was constructed around the pitch at Holker Street and Barrow enjoyed three unsettled seasons of league racing at the football stadium, firstly with the Barrow "Happy Faces" who finished 9th in the 1972 second division, and then the Barrow "Bombers" who finished around mid-table in the 1973 and 74 seasons. The football and speedway clubs were uneasy partners though and talks broke down right on the eve of the 1975 season and Holker Street closed its doors to speedway again.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQXJRKeB-VvOiNJoG3mt229nSnrLyqampCH2VdDUeKxWsR1fhTKpUJZsrXQlBkfrwnSBzqBMEfpzRvfle4qnPbpMiATLtECxWDwl1FvF4BHbu6h6HRGly-v1XoiW_bxkkDnx0o7ttxsc/s1600/barrow-6-mike+watkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQXJRKeB-VvOiNJoG3mt229nSnrLyqampCH2VdDUeKxWsR1fhTKpUJZsrXQlBkfrwnSBzqBMEfpzRvfle4qnPbpMiATLtECxWDwl1FvF4BHbu6h6HRGly-v1XoiW_bxkkDnx0o7ttxsc/s640/barrow-6-mike+watkin.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Watkin - 1972</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FT-XC_OoOZxUBwLsGCIPVrQPeitEvpdWEm4ggdtiN2cwZdkwAg7JiXfYZMo5MK5tfam5PJHRwnosIj9CbWxmW8gk0q76aeIsvH5N1paqcJC9INaE1rF9p9FeZXYqJirQ0VO6czgAMnc/s1600/barrow-7-bob+coles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FT-XC_OoOZxUBwLsGCIPVrQPeitEvpdWEm4ggdtiN2cwZdkwAg7JiXfYZMo5MK5tfam5PJHRwnosIj9CbWxmW8gk0q76aeIsvH5N1paqcJC9INaE1rF9p9FeZXYqJirQ0VO6czgAMnc/s640/barrow-7-bob+coles.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Coles - 1972</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7rkoihHqXdas9df3_0vu7J-1vYS0ZRHu_mNbOST_phOvVcbbfPnfmWq4HallmDHVNyey33l6gCGeRw8aEC6tHdoaP_3_82fxknbwL8sQNNGtTUlRngjMIaFWTkBM1IDWwRD2aZrExjw/s1600/barrow-8-ian+hindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7rkoihHqXdas9df3_0vu7J-1vYS0ZRHu_mNbOST_phOvVcbbfPnfmWq4HallmDHVNyey33l6gCGeRw8aEC6tHdoaP_3_82fxknbwL8sQNNGtTUlRngjMIaFWTkBM1IDWwRD2aZrExjw/s640/barrow-8-ian+hindle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local rider Ian Hindle - 1972</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU_g70IBCNceYhMEIydNa-aTS_jPvpl0CRtv8lxIqddPfEkEe5rwI7_ZgObhAwtIZVvpChfl_aySAWWKAt0xMWvIp31D_9aAH9tR9WMyimnJ1j3MLSmgSlygqmUtSxC6nwRbRl834e8I/s1600/barrow-9-tom+owen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU_g70IBCNceYhMEIydNa-aTS_jPvpl0CRtv8lxIqddPfEkEe5rwI7_ZgObhAwtIZVvpChfl_aySAWWKAt0xMWvIp31D_9aAH9tR9WMyimnJ1j3MLSmgSlygqmUtSxC6nwRbRl834e8I/s640/barrow-9-tom+owen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Owen - 1973</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHk08rhiUrgXOXOFVERFJl4hBpUJcrTvV_ge-jDy7Txa9yVfxPDfy9NfRS8xZvzpfHb_vUkdBXxtrgsuGjoUlVRPlsPdxoCPoSOj9fm7yy3E459fq7v3Vd_qqamGQ61B6iwLrXKHDksc/s1600/barrow-10-terry+kelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="449" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHk08rhiUrgXOXOFVERFJl4hBpUJcrTvV_ge-jDy7Txa9yVfxPDfy9NfRS8xZvzpfHb_vUkdBXxtrgsuGjoUlVRPlsPdxoCPoSOj9fm7yy3E459fq7v3Vd_qqamGQ61B6iwLrXKHDksc/s640/barrow-10-terry+kelly.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry Kelly - 1973/74<br />
<em>(Photos above all by R.Spencer-Oliver)</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfW5lgGra4UWdik8vaWmJZJo9PPhS5Fn_j6zwZHDK-AT0lH6tkv4YTQ-fw9XX18Q5PZ4nzNYFKy_d7npkNWU7OsAFeTriuApqYU27yngmLLvxIauH9ghRpKCahKIz50s_mQltOQ3egpg/s1600/barrow-11-sid+sheldrick+1974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfW5lgGra4UWdik8vaWmJZJo9PPhS5Fn_j6zwZHDK-AT0lH6tkv4YTQ-fw9XX18Q5PZ4nzNYFKy_d7npkNWU7OsAFeTriuApqYU27yngmLLvxIauH9ghRpKCahKIz50s_mQltOQ3egpg/s640/barrow-11-sid+sheldrick+1974.jpg" width="564" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid Sheldrick in action at Holker Street 1974.<br />
<em>(Photo by Roy Dixon)</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4TTTUk0aqc_sjLs37Qbef4RQanT3Vihyphenhyphen44S_8dW140gjPKPkRfrmyIG0tDeMfg8OgpinxMeuloGG3V4Njctv07Qb6NjFYEWRLhHSfD9HUD2MCdQ1QnCZYeGmePRFRN2UZHot9T0UgaI/s1600/barrow-12-+cpusey.croynon1974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="433" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4TTTUk0aqc_sjLs37Qbef4RQanT3Vihyphenhyphen44S_8dW140gjPKPkRfrmyIG0tDeMfg8OgpinxMeuloGG3V4Njctv07Qb6NjFYEWRLhHSfD9HUD2MCdQ1QnCZYeGmePRFRN2UZHot9T0UgaI/s640/barrow-12-+cpusey.croynon1974.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Pusey of Belle Vue leads Chris Roynon at Holker Street in 1974<br />
<em>(Photo by Roy Dixon)</em></td></tr>
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Cliff Hindle enters the scene again in 1977 by building a brand new track and stadium at Park Lane on the outskirts of Barrow. After a season of challenge matches, the "Furness Flyers" entered the 1978 National League, but a weak team finished bottom of the league with only 18 points to their credit and the track did not reopen in 1979. Speedway did make a brief return to Park Lane in 1981 when the temporarily homeless Berwick "Bandits" used the track for 5 league matches and 1 KO Cup match.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQx3gxDx58CkfFD0_FWWOl61AMJuHX93aqKXA_TzfEEAqO9TA8W-dBc65nyZBoZY8LtYv2J_BAR1NeYXVmXUwrvDcEI7UkRB-QpyEUNEqhlISmntTNmxx1JsM1cT67BxoQiyOEEg-YUbo/s1600/barrow-13-croynon-areid1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQx3gxDx58CkfFD0_FWWOl61AMJuHX93aqKXA_TzfEEAqO9TA8W-dBc65nyZBoZY8LtYv2J_BAR1NeYXVmXUwrvDcEI7UkRB-QpyEUNEqhlISmntTNmxx1JsM1cT67BxoQiyOEEg-YUbo/s640/barrow-13-croynon-areid1978.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Roynon and Andy Reid - 1978<br />
<em>(Photo by R.Spencer-Oliver)</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyL4hSaI0BzZ4hD7Oh0SEJWVNJjPG18luSv679niF2qMl8mqt_saO1yxk7K5X2n2olhM0aft0eOUfFzEFvkXzVdpzVM-bApol-a9nWcZedHARQEfguGGS-dVixBw30v0HKH_oJSNk32I/s1600/barrow-14-geoff+pusey+1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyL4hSaI0BzZ4hD7Oh0SEJWVNJjPG18luSv679niF2qMl8mqt_saO1yxk7K5X2n2olhM0aft0eOUfFzEFvkXzVdpzVM-bApol-a9nWcZedHARQEfguGGS-dVixBw30v0HKH_oJSNk32I/s640/barrow-14-geoff+pusey+1978.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geoff Pusey - 1978</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV-Of-L_KUoUy-fjDY7D1xtu87nh5EO7unlsPNKX_2X3UuAa500ojN1psiwvjYYUnJXyaoonMZNsaJI69dj2MF6C9AwU1vdauYgfZIPwaRkyL_lb2PfCZaZCWtsJVq_ffwyaqIRtk2Ts/s1600/barrow-15-+chris+robins+1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV-Of-L_KUoUy-fjDY7D1xtu87nh5EO7unlsPNKX_2X3UuAa500ojN1psiwvjYYUnJXyaoonMZNsaJI69dj2MF6C9AwU1vdauYgfZIPwaRkyL_lb2PfCZaZCWtsJVq_ffwyaqIRtk2Ts/s640/barrow-15-+chris+robins+1978.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Robins - 1978</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 1983, Chris Roynon purchased the derelict stadium from Cliff Hindle and rebuilt it. Throughout the year he ran monthly stock car meetings and occasional speedway training sessions. A series of seven "open" meetings were then staged in 1984, four of the matches featured the Barrow "Blackhawks" racing in challenge matches and another featured the Barrow "Braves", a team comprised of junior riders. The "Blackhawks also competed in one away fixture at Edinburgh. The Barrow "Blackhawks" entered the 1985 National League, but this was possibly the weakest team ever seen in National League speedway and they were expelled from the league in May. Roynon continued to promote challenge matches and individual trophy meetings at an intermediate level, culminating in the Cumbrian Open Championship on Sept 24th 1985. The last ever speedway meeting to be held at the venue. Stock meetings continued until 1987 when the track was covered over with a greyhound track. Prior to demolition in 1994, local motorcycle dealer Martin Crooks and teenage prospect Grant McDonald used the old track for practice session, but the bikes have remained quiet ever since.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNknqXr-3O6UgfBKvgCnusH2mnKgTUn9tFmJd1swRvib7Pkmify-IxGnK3Dv5ZpDhp_AR5YfgM8_PXieGh44kNHBM-a_-wa9DLKVHD-JZFUSFzD_sZfEzFkEyDjk01SBBTiRhSYHXFyXw/s1600/barrow-16-1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNknqXr-3O6UgfBKvgCnusH2mnKgTUn9tFmJd1swRvib7Pkmify-IxGnK3Dv5ZpDhp_AR5YfgM8_PXieGh44kNHBM-a_-wa9DLKVHD-JZFUSFzD_sZfEzFkEyDjk01SBBTiRhSYHXFyXw/s640/barrow-16-1985.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob Grant of Berwick leads Kevin Armitage and Gary O'Hare - Park Road 6th May 1985</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3gVESS1S1ctMbAabw8GqynCWtIZVt6E3lAo2iLIU6yj1zLS2jgUh6AHyHK5bmHPwM74-apqZvY6P1_CA05zuVWCONSqY3Ktvtqc_kxxDhy_Pe1Uqn-bGTGsMIv5Rub-qzBBQ7BIqIe8/s1600/barrow-17-1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3gVESS1S1ctMbAabw8GqynCWtIZVt6E3lAo2iLIU6yj1zLS2jgUh6AHyHK5bmHPwM74-apqZvY6P1_CA05zuVWCONSqY3Ktvtqc_kxxDhy_Pe1Uqn-bGTGsMIv5Rub-qzBBQ7BIqIe8/s640/barrow-17-1985.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Mcmillan and Rob Grant lead Gary O'Hare and Paul Price - Park Road 1985<br />
A Fabulous view out into Morecambe Bay too</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PhQBSFyYKz3oWg0HxoppeP9AUsp-nQkV_9hsbzajJOnb7_EqWqTLkLR8IME4rLgW2q2eQUc74_bSeo6jNA3vrw-fTKOSR4zIQ1xZn4r8yGzYXP9OR3L5PCcCrpzrdZ4o0LCbW7Amb4E/s1600/barrow-18-1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PhQBSFyYKz3oWg0HxoppeP9AUsp-nQkV_9hsbzajJOnb7_EqWqTLkLR8IME4rLgW2q2eQUc74_bSeo6jNA3vrw-fTKOSR4zIQ1xZn4r8yGzYXP9OR3L5PCcCrpzrdZ4o0LCbW7Amb4E/s640/barrow-18-1985.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric Broadbelt, Rob Grant, Bernie Collier, Bruce Cribb - Park Road 1985<br />
<em>(Park Road photos by Philip Haynes)</em></td></tr>
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<br />
<div>
Update; February 2013: Due to the feverish enthusiasm of Barrovian John Earnshaw, Barrow "Bombers" will return to the track in 2013. On Sunday September 8th at 2pm, the new Barrow "Bombers" will take to the track in an amateur challenge match at Northside Speedway, Workington. John has designed a new bib for the grand occasion and the team has already booked Rob Shuttleworth from Askam to represent his local team.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeTbDsGysBBkKdRiSYLxeMSZEDn76DyMn4kCxlFvBffA6vkneLZ9TmxtA4ShPbWIcAhUHHg5WdZRzPqqfj9hYeL0obKjTphNtlzZSqdX_kgSVU4OBtL2D4ta64MOHdoxt_bCrFMv3BmFr/s1600/936135_570284033003200_2115919094_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeTbDsGysBBkKdRiSYLxeMSZEDn76DyMn4kCxlFvBffA6vkneLZ9TmxtA4ShPbWIcAhUHHg5WdZRzPqqfj9hYeL0obKjTphNtlzZSqdX_kgSVU4OBtL2D4ta64MOHdoxt_bCrFMv3BmFr/s640/936135_570284033003200_2115919094_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new race bib for the 2013 Barrow Bombers... </td></tr>
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This is the first step towards his ultimate goal of bringing speedway back to Barrow-In-Furness. Check out the <a href="http://thebarrowspeedwaywebsite.shutterfly.com/">Barrow Speedway website</a> or take a look at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barrow-Speedway/162207403810867">facebook page</a> for more information and nostalgia. </div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-52297430422337874352011-01-23T00:44:00.010+00:002011-01-23T10:34:09.364+00:00TOWNELEY SPEEDWAY - BURNLEY. A very short lived venue...<div style="text-align: justify;">The speedway at Burnley opened to a huge 12,000 crowd on March 30th 1929, but faded away less than four months later... Despite the fact that the club had Frank Charles, Joe Abbott and "Ginger" Lees (three of the biggest names in the North) spearheading their team, a fabulous stadium and over 40 riders at their disposal, it just wasn't to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only six speedway meetings were ever held at the Towneley track before it closed for good and although the Burnley team completed five of their English Dirt-track League matches, only one of them was at home. The home match on April 27th was cancelled due to "building work",the match against Leicester on June 29th had to be abandoned and the proposed match against Leeds on June 6th was cancelled due to a shortage of riders! They also had to change the team when the format and rules of the league were changed (some things never change in speedway!), and the original promotion went into liquidation by the end of May and sold out to Percy Platt from Rochdale speedway. Platt's first match in control was really the nail in the coffin of Towneley Speedway as it only lasted 3 heats before it was abandoned due to the excessive dust. The hot weather had brought water rationing to Burnley, so there was no water for the track. The league match against Leeds was quickly re-arranged as yet another Individual Trophy meeting and although it was another successful day for Golden Helmet winner Frank Charles, it was a financial disaster for the new promotion and speedway was never seen in Burnley again. The Towneley stadium continued to host greyhounds until 1933 before it closed down completely.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QAq9Ja13y8HJu7x0wfpYxxWcqgAdEV2bxmUCedT4Z10veQk5OxP4phJGPET_0PdTwRy4xaZrzMD6Hn5egZAyBgdxa79JkK9_KpT2PehV5VI1_q-U0MApQvzlE3HdY45uD7Dv4XHAmYY/s1600/Burnley_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="397" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QAq9Ja13y8HJu7x0wfpYxxWcqgAdEV2bxmUCedT4Z10veQk5OxP4phJGPET_0PdTwRy4xaZrzMD6Hn5egZAyBgdxa79JkK9_KpT2PehV5VI1_q-U0MApQvzlE3HdY45uD7Dv4XHAmYY/s400/Burnley_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper Reports of the Towneley Speedway due to open at Easter 1929<br />
Team photo l-r; Ernest Ingham, E.Thistlethwaite, Jack Lund, Joe Abbott, I.Sanders, J.Rushworth, and Les Martin.<br />
Joe Abbott practising on the Burnley Track and Frank Charles poses with his Douglas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEHf3mdT8PZmQXKM9u1QxmBEbUwEy3BRz5Qh4sN85YnJb5mIN-jbcaol4Rn15BBiQHTnBH-0AWVddb7_nQ-NQaENCMw1WbpTVbGb2GNd-vNSRTq8E4I-xwwhL9Om92uEUe3KvjD_ICEw/s1600/Burnley_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEHf3mdT8PZmQXKM9u1QxmBEbUwEy3BRz5Qh4sN85YnJb5mIN-jbcaol4Rn15BBiQHTnBH-0AWVddb7_nQ-NQaENCMw1WbpTVbGb2GNd-vNSRTq8E4I-xwwhL9Om92uEUe3KvjD_ICEw/s400/Burnley_4.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mayoress of Burnley cuts the tapes to open Towneley Speedway<br />
The bottom photo shows Arthur Wilcock broadsiding around a fallen rider.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfAeIB3abVopwMJZtGUX60TZb4uuyYAh1iH0-13K5D4bkKsMMyt8iIuTfviMI53uE6qDsstMCHm_fVHmMWGoESxbX-xRfjE_eehAvN8QpiSInICNWN0T8ktIWoVPzKknzowITsqHfj-s/s1600/Burnley_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfAeIB3abVopwMJZtGUX60TZb4uuyYAh1iH0-13K5D4bkKsMMyt8iIuTfviMI53uE6qDsstMCHm_fVHmMWGoESxbX-xRfjE_eehAvN8QpiSInICNWN0T8ktIWoVPzKknzowITsqHfj-s/s400/Burnley_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Burnley Team who beat Salford Albion 41-22 at Towneley on May 11th 1929.<br />
"Ginger" Lees, Arthur Wilcock, Cyril Wilcock, Billy Howard, Jack Lund, Frank Charles, Ernie Ingham and Joe Abbott </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObsfStrxGbTUOdAdebbrEWteFOCZmZ2FsxXqQps0RE497_AMKLWgKIt9fRLY009eTK2I7Z-NIvRAbFnYFQlrn5rS39nsLtF8iqjPAPhpsPAXPuLv4o6RneQ3f7jTTScYrhVxFnbfNF2o/s1600/Burnley_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObsfStrxGbTUOdAdebbrEWteFOCZmZ2FsxXqQps0RE497_AMKLWgKIt9fRLY009eTK2I7Z-NIvRAbFnYFQlrn5rS39nsLtF8iqjPAPhpsPAXPuLv4o6RneQ3f7jTTScYrhVxFnbfNF2o/s400/Burnley_7.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harold Riley "Ginger" Lees was the Captain of the Burnley team. <br />
Ginger went on to find fame and fortune with Preston, Wembley and England<br />
He was also a big star at Hamburg.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdVIGwIqAG79spUsdwihDOyX7O0mwIR6LQIED-vLYHq4EH2ASfUgnoMi5YpKzTlb4swyZsyefdgVqvtDYbKjzhQqHAH_SbBxDF_86i9wdAYEi7jdZM1USsZHNW8JCXD1yVfYHEvMqkrI/s1600/Burnley_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdVIGwIqAG79spUsdwihDOyX7O0mwIR6LQIED-vLYHq4EH2ASfUgnoMi5YpKzTlb4swyZsyefdgVqvtDYbKjzhQqHAH_SbBxDF_86i9wdAYEi7jdZM1USsZHNW8JCXD1yVfYHEvMqkrI/s400/Burnley_6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Charles won the Golden Gauntlets on April 13th, and the Golden Helmet on July 6th.<br />
Frank Charles eventually became a huge star at Belle Vue and Wembley and finished 4th in the very first World Final. He was eventually killed in a gliding accident in 1939.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgyi0KBcRN-gTnNJSPLzaChVpZeAMRcqNrrELAVjn14QM12PZLJCP1K6FPtHDahg7o65il9kljeScXdtAYkr188do_-SskghPrHQHb6PSks_9So99vw4Jxf_cjRCMlYP-fsqktTnqhZA/s1600/Burnley_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgyi0KBcRN-gTnNJSPLzaChVpZeAMRcqNrrELAVjn14QM12PZLJCP1K6FPtHDahg7o65il9kljeScXdtAYkr188do_-SskghPrHQHb6PSks_9So99vw4Jxf_cjRCMlYP-fsqktTnqhZA/s400/Burnley_8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Abbott was another local lad made good. apart from his free scoring for the Burnley team he went on to become a star for Preston and Belle Vue, and eventually lost his life on track riding for Odsal in 1950.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoQKtpEDtyZIvlmIRaE5jlUOyRCi0VwGPOJMEXX25Gl4LkcCIa1D2ADzSqnuh3K-hUxXT6KEGwyBsjWvjU-biDy3RAdz1YMAex18madOwedSclzjNGULx3FPwBQd6eFSI2UuCW2ew8Oc/s1600/Burnley_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoQKtpEDtyZIvlmIRaE5jlUOyRCi0VwGPOJMEXX25Gl4LkcCIa1D2ADzSqnuh3K-hUxXT6KEGwyBsjWvjU-biDy3RAdz1YMAex18madOwedSclzjNGULx3FPwBQd6eFSI2UuCW2ew8Oc/s400/Burnley_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burnley Speedway Team 1929<br />
l-r Frank Charles (kneeling), Arthur Taylor (manager) , Arthur Wilcock, Ginger Lees, Jack Lund, Cyril Wilcock (on bike), Ernest Ingham, Joe Abbott and Percy Platt (promoter).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlClql15uy26A57we0Ga5S-8NTbF1h9z4QLuJ8PsyKFZoA0zCMvJpi__BpKL-ctb2pJZ0eH3Q4VSPBGXYDXx4ZVWbl6nFuswJ8VABof1hTGadCp7W5_EJIOLGiZFNdAkb3hO4U-ARrz0/s1600/Burnley_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlClql15uy26A57we0Ga5S-8NTbF1h9z4QLuJ8PsyKFZoA0zCMvJpi__BpKL-ctb2pJZ0eH3Q4VSPBGXYDXx4ZVWbl6nFuswJ8VABof1hTGadCp7W5_EJIOLGiZFNdAkb3hO4U-ARrz0/s400/Burnley_5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Programme for the EDL match against Leicester on June 29th.<br />
The match was abandoned after heat 3 due to excessive dust. Burnley were leading 13-8.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_GHZN6bVWKb4kxpPQ1-A6xOxo7Hh8yxoAfIKufbMyO_EZAw2wacCteA8xqziThMY-UB212h2Mky185PFVGccSOsBsHihv_DjuhS8M8KV5WXUNiClQxHOZrhWaGcm3pSplfJ9u4x79q8/s1600/Burnley_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_GHZN6bVWKb4kxpPQ1-A6xOxo7Hh8yxoAfIKufbMyO_EZAw2wacCteA8xqziThMY-UB212h2Mky185PFVGccSOsBsHihv_DjuhS8M8KV5WXUNiClQxHOZrhWaGcm3pSplfJ9u4x79q8/s400/Burnley_9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1929 Map showing Towneley Stadium, the home of Burnley Speedway</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiGDIdpy34TI2lx8oERW0RdOvG534QC4nGhmwTXdgKgMnFkFSm29YmFOgJGQXyigs2ymQSeZoUblRyliUjYKWh0ag4LtxzAt8CMAq12riSSrU_-BQJUS_Xql3mdAP9yN4G7nsOPp2ijo/s1600/Burnley_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiGDIdpy34TI2lx8oERW0RdOvG534QC4nGhmwTXdgKgMnFkFSm29YmFOgJGQXyigs2ymQSeZoUblRyliUjYKWh0ag4LtxzAt8CMAq12riSSrU_-BQJUS_Xql3mdAP9yN4G7nsOPp2ijo/s400/Burnley_10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and this what the site looks like today. <br />
The pits were just about where the white arrow is and the footpath running across the centre of the photo is the same path that runs across the back of the pits wall in the 1929 map. The track is now under part of the municipal golf course.<br />
The road running down the right hand side is the drive to Towneley Hall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-43531498181937968362011-01-19T23:53:00.003+00:002012-02-19T20:54:34.061+00:00"SMOKY" STRATTON - Speedway Trailblazer...<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have a fascination with the pioneer dirt-track riders of the 1920s and 30s, some of whom have featured in previous blog posts, but there are three in particular who have really captured my imagination - Frank Charles, Clem Beckett and "Smoky" Stratton. They all led wildly different lives and were much more than just successful speedway riders. My interest in Stratton was awakened when I discovered he was killed in a road accident just a few hundred yards from my first home in the Lake District. I then discovered that he was buried in a local cemetery and have continued to research his career and visit his grave ever since.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFNdmaozRyDaTcLOHjIYuYKr387gPsSmuA1RUQ5dsh8IkLbjwoNlaLj3ssSFqJ478SpODUU-AMpYVl4l_-rQWvMmCz9BQ4fL_g6swcquJbGL96exuBFW9xknGZ6KRTd8Qu81nOAlBgG4/s1600/smoky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFNdmaozRyDaTcLOHjIYuYKr387gPsSmuA1RUQ5dsh8IkLbjwoNlaLj3ssSFqJ478SpODUU-AMpYVl4l_-rQWvMmCz9BQ4fL_g6swcquJbGL96exuBFW9xknGZ6KRTd8Qu81nOAlBgG4/s400/smoky.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spencer Charles Stratton, pictured in the UK in 1928.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Spencer Charles Stratton was a true speedway pioneer and a real-life motorcycling free-spirit, always searching for a new and exciting challenge. He left his New Zealand homeland in 1923 aged just 19 to go racing in Australia. Less than 12 months later sailed half way around the World to the USA to try his luck on the American board tracks and eventually landed in Britain in 1928 to join the speedway revolution and quickly became one of the sports first international superstars. He risked his life racing motorcycles on every type of circuit, grass, board, cinders and even concrete, so how ironic that he was tragically killed in a road accident, driving home from a speedway meeting in rural Northern England, a meeting where he wasn't even racing.</div>
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Born in 1904, Stratton was the second youngest of 8 children and spent his early years on the family sheep farm at Colyton, just outside of Palmerston North, New Zealand. He was a bright kid, but had a lust for adventure and mischief too, which often got him into trouble. In an effort to control his behaviour he was sent away to Scot's College in Wellington, but managed to get himself expelled!<br />
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What drew him into the world of motorcycle racing I do not know. but his racing career appear to have begun in 1922 when he was just 17. One of his earliest meetings was at Marton on February 11th 1922. He made great progress and his first notable victories included the North Island Grass Track Championships and the 1923 New Zealand Middleweight Championships at Stockton. At the age of 19 he travelled to Australia to race and was soon bagging trophies, titles and records virtually everywhere he appeared. One Australian newspaper described him as <em>"the most promising rider of the season"</em> and predicted that Stratton "... <em>will be the leading figure in motorcycling ... next season</em>."</div>
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On 7th May 1924, he left Sydney aboard the SS Ventura arriving in San Francisco on May 26th. The challenge? To try his luck on the infamous board tracks of the USA. Whilst he was there he found work in the R&D department at Indian Motorcycles and also acted as a test rider helping to develop the Indian Prince. He also raced on the famous American fairground dirt-tracks, which is where he perfected his broadsiding skills. He returned to Australia later in the year, winning the 15mile Championship of Queensland and setting 6 World Records over 1 mile, 3 miles and 5miles at Brisbane on August 24th using both his 350cc and 1000cc Indian motorcycles. Stratton was also quite an exponent riding his Indians on the fabulous 1 mile banked concrete Olympia Motor Speedway at Maroubra, in Australia and held the track record with an average speed of 103mph. Spencer was also married during his time in Australia, his bride was Monica Agnes Barry and they tied the knot in Melbourne in October 1925.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcXs4Jgwx1Ym8mM8sequ28Mu_jY6wZj0wTyA7ZjD3ppbpbyr59AtS_NCpELMRKVRyRrzv4v4tr94sos0cQCgToh5WxC0tTJheLwGOPWpuNu1HadGjwJcV-SIQdiUIRELdFsG96uZhsww/s1600/maroubra8450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcXs4Jgwx1Ym8mM8sequ28Mu_jY6wZj0wTyA7ZjD3ppbpbyr59AtS_NCpELMRKVRyRrzv4v4tr94sos0cQCgToh5WxC0tTJheLwGOPWpuNu1HadGjwJcV-SIQdiUIRELdFsG96uZhsww/s400/maroubra8450.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The infamous Maroubra Speedway in New South Wales, known locally as the "Killer Track". Stratton set a record of 103mph on the 5/6 mile concrete track riding his 997cc Indian. </td></tr>
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Following this second successful spell in Australia, Stratton returned to the USA in April 1926 in the company of American racing legend, Cecil Brown. Their destination was Springfield again, the home of Indian Motorcycles. Stratton had obviously made a big impression on his first visit to the company as he was soon riding with the Indian Works team and recorded some notable performances on the Milwaukee dirt-tracks and the Altoona, Rockingham, and Fresno Board Tracks. In September 1926, Spencer was to be found racing at the famous Rockingham Speedway in New Hampshire where he was racing against the likes of Art Pechar, Eddie Brink, Reggie Pink and Chuck Remington. He returned down under before the year was out and it was reported in the Canberra Times dated 2nd December 1926 that <em>"... Speeding Stratton registered 95mph on his Indian across the Bredabane Plains". </em>Always pushing himself and his bikes to the limit, Stratton survived an horrific crash at the Hamilton Speedway in Newcastle, NSW, promoted incidentally by another New Zealander, the legendary Johnnie Hoskins. He remained unconscious for 23 days but eventually recovered, got right back on his bike and continued to set records and win titles at tracks in both Australia and on the 1 mile grass tracks in his homeland.</div>
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Dirt-track racing (soon to be re-christened Speedway) had arrived in the UK amid a blaze of publicity in 1928 and a flood of Aussie riders made their way to Britain to try and earn their fame and fortune. Smoky was amongst the first to join the exodus, joining promoter and good friend Johnnie Hoskins aboard the SS Oronsay as it set sail from Sydney bound for Southampton. Stratton most likely left the ship at one of the Mediterranean ports and traveled across Europe by train in order to arrive in the UK much earlier. He arrived in the UK sometime during May 1928. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wZgXeFpJc7SsWS6sPqBYv6u7oj3EgA5hOGzb4bYytyikV9X_ssAsYWIOgQrwtIuz9lgYP8DenwVdQD1i7t-4CFBC6SeRQGK3qRHIfL51M7hC1UBMgHF_HoN9Dj004uXoryyi64r5EtQ/s1600/Indian+350_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wZgXeFpJc7SsWS6sPqBYv6u7oj3EgA5hOGzb4bYytyikV9X_ssAsYWIOgQrwtIuz9lgYP8DenwVdQD1i7t-4CFBC6SeRQGK3qRHIfL51M7hC1UBMgHF_HoN9Dj004uXoryyi64r5EtQ/s400/Indian+350_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">350cc Indian single, similar to the one used by Smoky Stratton</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPgdz4EyowMMrQtz42mZ4FOIiz97mr0b0zmPa30Sm6XZwQaK7BT6iNacV6VcAG2SHq4IgEJbUUGULnvnVpdttX3DNMc_l-snAlH3Hg3BV75mkpLOCpXhrgSP2Y3T1SsaDir3EaYmh_6I/s1600/Indian%252B1920%252BDaytona%252BPower%252BPlus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPgdz4EyowMMrQtz42mZ4FOIiz97mr0b0zmPa30Sm6XZwQaK7BT6iNacV6VcAG2SHq4IgEJbUUGULnvnVpdttX3DNMc_l-snAlH3Hg3BV75mkpLOCpXhrgSP2Y3T1SsaDir3EaYmh_6I/s400/Indian%252B1920%252BDaytona%252BPower%252BPlus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoky loved his 1000cc V-Twin Indian Daytona</td></tr>
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At this stage of his career Stratton had been exclusively racing two Indian motorcycles, a 350cc single and a 990cc Daytona Indian Chief, but he switched to riding the famous 347cc Harley-Davidson "peashooter" when he first landed in the UK, switching to the British dirt-track Douglas later in the season. He was one of the first real "Broadsliders" to appear on the British tracks and his name adorned the billboards all over the country - from Stamford Bridge in London to Marine Gardens and Glasgow in Scotland.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLLmNfawxRtXCa3BTwy2Z6tccr2TvtuGfdyZebn3gSzqbwBRkNVa9co0_Z-rDZm3daNJEfYHeSC5RIgq3462J67mu2-__MQowsIqce746M_hOFGB58noH49m441YN23Qu9snkW3L8AUWj/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLLmNfawxRtXCa3BTwy2Z6tccr2TvtuGfdyZebn3gSzqbwBRkNVa9co0_Z-rDZm3daNJEfYHeSC5RIgq3462J67mu2-__MQowsIqce746M_hOFGB58noH49m441YN23Qu9snkW3L8AUWj/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoky aboard his Douglas in the UK 1928.</td></tr>
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"Smoky" Stratton never really got to grips with the tighter tracks in the UK and reports in the speedway press during 1928 often mention his failure to complete races. He soon spread his wings onto the continent where he could earn a fortune racing for Dirt Track Speedways Ltd. On June 10th 1928 he appeared in front of over 8000 spectators at the Red Star Stadium Speedway in Paris. He also ran his own track in Cologne in front of crowds in excess of 75.000! Motorcycle historian Cyril May described the spectacular German venue in an article in the Speedway Star and News dated 17/12/1967. <em>"Stratton's track gave a lap of 400 yards and was built immediately inside a concrete cycle racing track. The cycle track was banked almost vertically on the bends and on top of this banking, the front rows of spectators stood and looked down. ... Quite a lot of trouble was experienced in the matter of obtaining a permit from the police, who then controlled everything in Germany. Two weeks elapsed before they would give permission for a private demonstration and when some of the boys were at last allowed to put it over, the police ran for cover! It was only when things had been going on smoothly for about ten minutes, free from any slaughter, that they could be induced to spectate. In the end they were all for it."</em></div>
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In 1929 Stratton became a partner in Provincial Dirt Tracks Ltd, the company that built the Owlerton Speedway Stadium at Sheffield in the UK and the White City Speedway at Cardiff in Wales. His partners included fellow riders Clem Beckett and Jimmy Hindle and a businessman named Edgar Hart. Even though his wealth and business portfolio were starting to grow, Smoky still had a thirst for speed and danger and continued to race all over the World, never settling in one place for too long and always looking for the next big challenge. As well as being part owner of Sheffield, he also rode for the Yorkshire team in the 1929 English Dirt Track League and competed in the beach races at New Brighton near Liverpool. In one match report it was said that he flew to Cardiff from Sheffield to take part in a series of match races, but once again, he failed to complete any of his programmed rides. At the end of the British season he returned to the USA where, reunited with his beloved Indians, he continued his excellent form racing on the board tracks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuLeJwKXiCK8z1OyD741N1CN7WNwt4FoARkVO25ExJZxGevmVxsJ1WmId3dXR765Kd56G0d_IZYLzD2HeLNG4rDCUsQZvgaaqy0TzOSb-BFXBR2scL0KeiWMGyFTHM0XE-EHpiSKVSrs/s1600/Smoky_Stratton_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuLeJwKXiCK8z1OyD741N1CN7WNwt4FoARkVO25ExJZxGevmVxsJ1WmId3dXR765Kd56G0d_IZYLzD2HeLNG4rDCUsQZvgaaqy0TzOSb-BFXBR2scL0KeiWMGyFTHM0XE-EHpiSKVSrs/s400/Smoky_Stratton_2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another portrait of Smoky on his Douglas. This looks like the pits area at Sheffield.</td></tr>
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Back in the UK in 1930 he joined the Nottingham speedway team and by December of that year he had returned to Australia where he set another World speed record at the Ashfield Autodrome, covering a quarter mile in 17.8 seconds. Whilst in Australia he could often be found riding on the same bill as another New Zealander, Ken Stratton. So far I have failed to determine whether this was Spencer's youngest brother Howard Kenneth Stratton, who was born in 1908. Howards family do not believe that Howard ever raced motorcycles, but who knows for sure?<br />
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Spencer returned to the UK again in April 1931 and rode in couple of challenge matches for the non-league Plymouth speedway team, but his performances were well below par. He was still a very active businessman and was seriously considering opening new speedway tracks at Derby and Reading, neither of which came to fruition. Smoky continued to ride on the continent too, and appears to have spent most of the 1932 season riding in Germany and Austria. One such meeting was the very first dirt-track meeting to be held in Vienna on September 1st 1932.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxilNU3-rrndFR4_VVu8NSVF2aTlkstv_cO9r9gdhdpb56TNaBA6I9oG6wLeFqr50MZ2cDpfBj3dAGbxzsmHM8EKyLVuy1bTjFu1Jj8k72ZKdbsS2ZxTyQA-vHGpTL5Y-mKiYlIzOHwVh/s1600/Smoky+Stratton+-+Austria+-+1932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxilNU3-rrndFR4_VVu8NSVF2aTlkstv_cO9r9gdhdpb56TNaBA6I9oG6wLeFqr50MZ2cDpfBj3dAGbxzsmHM8EKyLVuy1bTjFu1Jj8k72ZKdbsS2ZxTyQA-vHGpTL5Y-mKiYlIzOHwVh/s400/Smoky+Stratton+-+Austria+-+1932.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Smoky" (sitting on the bench), tends to his bike in Vienna 1932. <br />
(© Artur Fenzlau/Technisches Museum Wien - <a href="http://www.technischesmuseum.at/">www.technischesmuseum.at</a> )<br />
.</td></tr>
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This is the point where Smoky's exploits have become lost in the mists of time. I have no record of the date he returned to the UK, but I do know that at the tail end of 1932, he once again set sail from the UK heading back to Australia. During 1933 he made a brief visit to his youngest brothers home in New Zealand, accompanied by his wife Monica, but Spencer's globetrotting appears to have taken its toll on his marriage too as he and Monica were divorced in Sydney in December 1935. Other than these small facts I don't know his whereabouts or activities until he turns up back in the UK in 1938. I do know that his address was listed as Portsdown Rd, Maida Vale, London when he accepted a calling from his old pal Johnnie Hoskins to take on the role of general manager at the newly re-opened speedway at Brough Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne.<br />
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The Newcastle squad included eight Canadian riders at the time and also featured Roland and Maurice Stobbart from Cumberland. Roland was also promoting speedway at the Lonsdale Park track in Workington and had invited some of the Canadian riders to participate in a challenge match at the non-league venue on June 4th 1938. "Smoky" came along as team manager for the night and also acted as driver for the three Canadians, but on the journey home, driving along the Workington to Cockermouth Road, their car was involved in a head on collision with another car near to the village of Brigham.</div>
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Stratton was killed instantly, he was only 33 years old. The three Canadian riders, Bruce Venier, Ellwood Stilwell and Robert Sparks all suffered head and facial injuries, as did the occupants of the other car, local driver John Roan and his passenger, George Smith of Whitehaven. All five were taken to the cottage hospital in Cockermouth. Ironically, another Canadian rider was also injured in a car accident that very night. George Pepper, the Newcastle captain, had turned down the chance of riding at Workington as he was due to ride at Edinburgh on the same night. He was involved in a head on collision on his way to Edinburgh and suffered cuts to his leg. The meeting he was due to race in was subsequently cancelled. </div>
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Maurice Stobbart had the sad task of identifying Smoky's body at the inquest, which was led by Inspector Woolcock. As "Smoky" had no family living in the UK, it was decided to bury him locally at the cemetery in Cockermouth. <br />
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The Inspector and one of his officers escorted the funeral cortege out of town and along the Lorton Road to the cemetery. The whole population of Cockermouth lined the streets to pay their last respects to this great sporting legend. Riders, officials and supporters from the Newcastle and Workington speedway tracks attended the funeral, along with his personal secretary, Miss McQuillan, Mr Ivison, the secretary of the Speedway Control Board, Jimmy Fraser, director of the Edinburgh Speedway and his great friend Johnnie Hoskins. Hoskins had played a big part in Smoky's life and it was only fitting that he should be there at the end too. Hoskins was so upset over Smoky's untimely death that he paid for a gravestone to be erected to commemorate his friend and colleague. <br />
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Whenever I visit Smoky's grave I am always pleased to see fresh flowers laid there, but my inquisitive mind wanted to know who put them there as he had no family in the UK to my knowledge. Questions in the newspapers, on the Internet and through the speedway fraternity had led nowhere, but a chance remark by Johnnie Hoskins in a 1967 edition of the Speedway Star and News gave me a clue. Hoskins said... <em>"I still often think of Smoky when he was with me at my Newcastle track in Australia, riding the big Indians in the mid twenties and also of his exploits on the big concrete track of Marouba. Neither have I forgotten those two devoted speedway supporters that corresponded with me for quite a time after the Stratton tragedy ... they were the ones who so kindly tended 'Smoky's' grave in the little town of Cockermouth"</em><br />
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Then. out of the blue, I received a reply to a note I had left at Smoky's grave, which gave me all of the answers. Inspector Woodcock, the man who had led the inquest and escorted Smoky's coffin to the cemetery, was a speedway fan from the Workington track. His young daughter was also a big speedway fan and felt so sorry for Smoky being buried so far away from his family and homeland that she promised to care and tend to his grave. Both of them wrote to Johnnie Hoskins and through him they traced his family in New Zealand and began to correspond with them too - This young lady kept her promise and laid flowers at the grave every weekend until she passed away herself a few years ago and now her daughter and grandaughter are carrying on the tradition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7iYGTD22LjD1BrpqMP9WWUjzifHjsmAK2fWnn2PGPOiBIc8ODrSYNs57a9arKU2RH-qksqtgsO9s8WCzMhbwrssVf4PvG0bVgI1AOLn9nRFfz0edbeIj0kRW8H6lFdpRg8_kuJmUIiY/s1600/smokygrave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7iYGTD22LjD1BrpqMP9WWUjzifHjsmAK2fWnn2PGPOiBIc8ODrSYNs57a9arKU2RH-qksqtgsO9s8WCzMhbwrssVf4PvG0bVgI1AOLn9nRFfz0edbeIj0kRW8H6lFdpRg8_kuJmUIiY/s400/smokygrave.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnnie Hoskins paid for a headstone to be erected on Smoky's grave. Fresh flowers are placed there every week.<br />
The inscription reads...<br />
<br />
TO THE MEMORY OF<br />
SPENCER CHARLES STRATTON<br />
SPEEDWAY RIDER<br />
FROM NEW ZEALAND<br />
WHO WAS KILLED AT BRIGHAM<br />
4th JUNE 1938 AGED 33 YEARS</td></tr>
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So Spencer Charles Stratton is not alone and I too will continue my little pilgrimage to the quiet, lonely grave of "Smoky" Stratton and pay my respects to a true motorcycling Trailblazer.<br />
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<em>(With huge thanks to Dave Gifford, Ross Garrigan, Nigel Bird, Leitha Martin and relatives of Spencer himself for their input, research and information).</em></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-28838263191394690142011-01-16T00:02:00.003+00:002011-01-17T00:11:53.499+00:00Harry Hawker - Racing the Boards...<div style="text-align: justify;">I've just finished reading an excellent biography of Harry Hawker, the famous Australian aviator who flew the Atlantic in 1919 and was also the co-founder of the Hawker Aircraft company. He had moved to England in 1911 and ended up working for the Sopwith Aviation Company who were based at Brooklands. Inevitably, with some spare time on his hands he also raced cars and motorcycles around the legendary banked track.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiBH7RgTN5cBww6SOPh5bXJC5We8Dz4HUsqRKXjjPlO2A87LJO_aa9QnUKC_2qWFmuW_L-A5bbLsWiNDInjb5pwGl3HVa1TwYCX9zDZ86qVKtRrEEN4SvAB4Pq51yF-kZTPkZUAr10qA/s1600/Harry_Hawker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiBH7RgTN5cBww6SOPh5bXJC5We8Dz4HUsqRKXjjPlO2A87LJO_aa9QnUKC_2qWFmuW_L-A5bbLsWiNDInjb5pwGl3HVa1TwYCX9zDZ86qVKtRrEEN4SvAB4Pq51yF-kZTPkZUAr10qA/s400/Harry_Hawker.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like so many people obsessed with machines and speed, Harry also had a love of motorcycles and built two of his own in a small workshop in Melbourne. His favourite project was a high-powered motorcycle which used a v-twin engine that Harry built himself in 1909. The design was based on the British J.A.P v-twin engine with a few Hawker modifications. I was interested to read that Harry raced this bike on a board track in Australia, just like the great board tracks of America at the time. The biography says that...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>"Harry raced against his friends Harry Busteed and Cecil De Faga who also built their own machines. Busteed's machine had enormous cyclinders but used a simpler side valve design. They raced on a steeply banked wooden track which was built for racing pedal cycles... The track was only an eighth of a mile and the high powered motorcycles soon started to shake the wooden structure to pieces"</em> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were eventually barred from using this track and took to racing on the country roads around Melbourne instead. Here's a few photographs of Harry Hawker and his friends with their homemade racing motorcycles at the Princes Park track, Melbourne, Australia.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHH8d2Dl96eQA60kfDso4dy0RM5dkBV1K7QA9kP5hYwXl1K2u1SrtcN74e2Tdj20P5HnZI31LhH1RYmzsLm4QA_BUNzY0wEnZ1_fIm_yUKRgrcGfnz6fsRslL8La4xsbOrSw2BujGr4ic/s1600/Harry+hawker+and+Cecil+De+Fraga+racing+the+boards+at+Princes+park-melbourne-1910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHH8d2Dl96eQA60kfDso4dy0RM5dkBV1K7QA9kP5hYwXl1K2u1SrtcN74e2Tdj20P5HnZI31LhH1RYmzsLm4QA_BUNzY0wEnZ1_fIm_yUKRgrcGfnz6fsRslL8La4xsbOrSw2BujGr4ic/s400/Harry+hawker+and+Cecil+De+Fraga+racing+the+boards+at+Princes+park-melbourne-1910.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry Hawker and Cecil De Fraga racing on the Princes Park board track in 1910 <em>(Bob Chamerlain)</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF37X90Y7kgl4kkVbaYTVUHhvgj2Lst5LK1ItwkZsi09E29-u4ZfbP8jTuFeNCaJFB3vKpNuALs639-ML1MKJGk3t8Yl1esh_4-l6M3eajutajsIBVsYUKzftwpEOeJN7G-ux0hY9j-U/s1600/Cecil+de+Fraga-1909-princespark-melbourne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF37X90Y7kgl4kkVbaYTVUHhvgj2Lst5LK1ItwkZsi09E29-u4ZfbP8jTuFeNCaJFB3vKpNuALs639-ML1MKJGk3t8Yl1esh_4-l6M3eajutajsIBVsYUKzftwpEOeJN7G-ux0hY9j-U/s400/Cecil+de+Fraga-1909-princespark-melbourne.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cecil de Fraga with his v-twin Bouchet at Princes Park in 1909 <em>(Bob Chamberlain)</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwB5ch8SN9P-UTXhPRgIGx6q8KN9WQ-Nroy9CVW77CyfXaLfWrJ400OohHdBETyv41UQptDB9LSrKiTFlL2zFBVvpPySLI4MVNIY6pkLfDeqM_B5fZETPxhH9V2SVcMsib8RewT8HnhM/s1600/Harry+Busteed-1909-princespark-melbourne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwB5ch8SN9P-UTXhPRgIGx6q8KN9WQ-Nroy9CVW77CyfXaLfWrJ400OohHdBETyv41UQptDB9LSrKiTFlL2zFBVvpPySLI4MVNIY6pkLfDeqM_B5fZETPxhH9V2SVcMsib8RewT8HnhM/s400/Harry+Busteed-1909-princespark-melbourne.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harry Busteed with his home made racing motorcycle. The engine was so large that Harry had to sit over the rear wheel and use long handlebars <em>(Bob Chamberlain)</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Information and photographs taken from<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hawker-Biography-Harry-L-K-Blackmore/dp/185310437X"> "Hawker" A Biography of Harry Hawker by L.K.Blackmore.</a> Published in 1990 by Airline Publishing Ltd. ISBN 185310437X.<br />
<br />
Click the link for more information about the fascinating life and times of <a href="http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/hawker.html">Harry Hawker</a>.BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-3068345189719960072011-01-02T22:30:00.032+00:002011-01-17T00:04:34.127+00:00JAWA-CZ MOTORCYCLES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAplJ8X6uhSIJD9TILYd1sVJpUlfCphcdPKz2z7UdlQKkOUJAZh88ht4YRGe8a6j1pvswjZz20rufWzxrCkpCf0uTO7opF9WTBdCRMT_B858Wus0Gh13gGgvdJhlLFgZtbXL0GyXjdSZg/s1600/Jawa_CZ_Motorcycle_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAplJ8X6uhSIJD9TILYd1sVJpUlfCphcdPKz2z7UdlQKkOUJAZh88ht4YRGe8a6j1pvswjZz20rufWzxrCkpCf0uTO7opF9WTBdCRMT_B858Wus0Gh13gGgvdJhlLFgZtbXL0GyXjdSZg/s320/Jawa_CZ_Motorcycle_Poster.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have a real soft spot for most Eastern European motorcycles, even if they do have a reputation for being a bit like grey porridge; you know what I mean, stodgy, bland and even ugly in some peoples eyes. This may be the case when it comes to the simple commuter machines that have always been designed to be affordable and utilitarian, but when it comes to competition machines, the Czech machines have a record to be proud of.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ceska Zbrojovka factory in Strakonice began production of armaments in 1918 diversifying into bicycle production in 1930. It wasn't long before engines were added to these bicycles, progressing to complete motorcycle production within a couple of years. The CZ98 of 1934 was the first machine to go into mass production and continued to be produced for many years. Over the next 5 years 125cc, 250cc and 50cc machines were produced and 1938 saw the first appearance of CZ sidecars.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIq3a6q5qv0jkVrnZWz8TV5TVVZzJLc1yUwd0kuyW2TLaQcWoPGf8iUA9KUZ0ffm82GrWA5JVS7yODcDjtn4_hfPvDx0KBFIEYL0OwnRFaB_7Ak6EGfZv3ImS0SPNoJ1gYzHsCpBsvMsc/s1600/jamesCZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIq3a6q5qv0jkVrnZWz8TV5TVVZzJLc1yUwd0kuyW2TLaQcWoPGf8iUA9KUZ0ffm82GrWA5JVS7yODcDjtn4_hfPvDx0KBFIEYL0OwnRFaB_7Ak6EGfZv3ImS0SPNoJ1gYzHsCpBsvMsc/s200/jamesCZ.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can this really be James Dean on a CZ?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The German army took control of the factory during WW2 and no motorcycles were produced at all, but production did resume in 1946 with the CZ125 2-stroke twin. In 1949, CZ was brought under the control of the CSAZ (Czech Auto Industry) which brought the Czech motorcycle industry together under one banner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Included in this new organisation was JAWA, a company formed by Frantisek Janecek in 1928 to produce a motorcycle based on the German Wanderer machine. The name JAWA is taken from the first two letters of JAnacek and WAnderer. The machine proved to be overly expensive though and Janecek had to re-evaluate his business and design a new, more cost effective machine. Ironically, it was Englishman George.W.Patchett who set him on the path to success, designing a 175cc machine that used a British Villiers engine and an Albion 3-speed gearbox. This was quickly followed by a 250cc version and the JAWA quickly became the most popular motorcycle on the Czecoslovakian roads.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmVBH4n-52Ga_-lmgb79rEBuyvUC4ESv1_mGY5YPGy8MmOct3lKRw1WNoNV_pxKBhO1ZfZnOwlCBryp4899FuU0NmCWGyTSZZ4FSXNye8PbANUFYEJwlWTaRI7BLkGR7dlvSVIQ5zFjQE/s1600/Patchett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmVBH4n-52Ga_-lmgb79rEBuyvUC4ESv1_mGY5YPGy8MmOct3lKRw1WNoNV_pxKBhO1ZfZnOwlCBryp4899FuU0NmCWGyTSZZ4FSXNye8PbANUFYEJwlWTaRI7BLkGR7dlvSVIQ5zFjQE/s400/Patchett.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Patchett on a JAWA at the 1932 Isle of Man TT</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking the Villiers engine as a model, JAWA began production of their own 175cc 2-stroke engine in 1932 and by the late 1940s, JAWA were producing their own 175cc and 250cc 2-strokes and also a range of 175cc, 250cc and 350cc 4-stroke models. In 1946, JAWA designed an advanced 250cc 2-stroke engine that was to become the basis of JAWA motorcycles for many years to come. When CZ and JAWA were joined together in 1949, both factories were able to utilise each others best design features, including this engine design and CZs proven forks, suspension and brakes. The iconic JAWA-CZ design was more or less set during this period and even today, many JAWA-CZ models retain some element of that classic 50s look.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCW0BPvlLEruYaOKytiu-wLOv5ZZacS3efBCChLKO8b21z_e9KMBhQofqwPpzVT9WDiyFjVwJdsaHP6rqfyY3cMyCa5DuMeTRpAz4M1oWPD7tHS02LrC5vdD_g8mEKu9m_KupNIsfNxCs/s1600/1171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCW0BPvlLEruYaOKytiu-wLOv5ZZacS3efBCChLKO8b21z_e9KMBhQofqwPpzVT9WDiyFjVwJdsaHP6rqfyY3cMyCa5DuMeTRpAz4M1oWPD7tHS02LrC5vdD_g8mEKu9m_KupNIsfNxCs/s400/1171.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Sporting success has always been important to the Czech manufacturers and the ISDT (International Six Days Trial) models and motorcrossers produced throughout the 1960s and 70s were pure "form and function" in their design and very successful they were too. CZ had taken the Silver Vase in the 1947 ISDT and during the next 15 years they had added 7 Gold Medals to their trophy cabinet. JAWA-CZ machines also came 1st in the 500cc World MX championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968 and the legendary Joel Robert won his first World title on a Czech machine too. JAWA-CZ machines were also at the forefront of road racing in the 60s, the most famous example being the highly advanced 350cc R67 ridden by Bill Ivy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlugkrRPrEEsJS8sU9TFsaFQUOaIQuRe6Qg27Teiezu4-8fFFs1ndHGscLzL_hmlK9btUSv9TS6o6X43PzcEhH6M4XPHMMBl7XOrJd3W2bMPwqySKHKgdP80tXkIYqa56-9ue7WboPxM/s1600/Jawa_sweeps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlugkrRPrEEsJS8sU9TFsaFQUOaIQuRe6Qg27Teiezu4-8fFFs1ndHGscLzL_hmlK9btUSv9TS6o6X43PzcEhH6M4XPHMMBl7XOrJd3W2bMPwqySKHKgdP80tXkIYqa56-9ue7WboPxM/s400/Jawa_sweeps.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpA1BDwGhl8Chgy7caaYhazEIiSkvYBMTHn2-6bLi2tOBiyEVgxJFK8zl5hT4s_fSDvwMGOC7iAAFDV2_jIVWz9HlA9wT7my0Es5jQsCoksrJ8QRZ7PGj_TdaQxmtY6pAmgfJ1wfN5Uk/s1600/jawa+4-cylinder+350cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpA1BDwGhl8Chgy7caaYhazEIiSkvYBMTHn2-6bLi2tOBiyEVgxJFK8zl5hT4s_fSDvwMGOC7iAAFDV2_jIVWz9HlA9wT7my0Es5jQsCoksrJ8QRZ7PGj_TdaQxmtY6pAmgfJ1wfN5Uk/s400/jawa+4-cylinder+350cc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JAWA 4-cylinder 350cc racing machine</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The third manufacturer to become part of CSAZ in 1949 was the ESO factory from Divisov. ESO were well known in Czechoslovakia at the time for their 250cc, 350cc and 500cc 4-stroke motocross and speedway machines. The 500cc ESO DT5 speedway engine was quickly gaining a reputation outside of Czechoslovakia too, especially in the hands of riders like the legendary Barry Briggs. In spite of its sporting success, the ESO name was not internationally recognised, so in July 1966, CSAZ re-branded the ESO DT5 as the JAWA type 680 and a legend was born. The JAWA has become synonymous with success in speedway at all levels and has won numerous World Championships in speedway, longtrack and ice speedway.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwvWd59AbdpURGZ4RxLP-Nucnnzn_mBEBEIX3G2CBqfiZjJHM7pcHX_pBMbLecsDB1TFpUc435FhZph4F5Io-suaKjSX4mNff5FeHFKWIdXQlK9-tjOU3nfZDFyxSnGGPhD1_BCwL4eQ/s1600/1972+Jawa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwvWd59AbdpURGZ4RxLP-Nucnnzn_mBEBEIX3G2CBqfiZjJHM7pcHX_pBMbLecsDB1TFpUc435FhZph4F5Io-suaKjSX4mNff5FeHFKWIdXQlK9-tjOU3nfZDFyxSnGGPhD1_BCwL4eQ/s400/1972+Jawa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1972 JAWA Speedway Racer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FWSmBlarXKbdNo1jxiJp5U8T8UQ4a4K67ZeeQr_nw2SlZsf5RIb4sAsK4_rE_pDjy5VF3vdiafyebqCEl7BegVpBDf5JzNNcTe8AG5_vIiqczh1FEd9qEyi5VgTmW_xlVf_K4nnFxDY/s1600/Jawa_1980_Ice_track_racer_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FWSmBlarXKbdNo1jxiJp5U8T8UQ4a4K67ZeeQr_nw2SlZsf5RIb4sAsK4_rE_pDjy5VF3vdiafyebqCEl7BegVpBDf5JzNNcTe8AG5_vIiqczh1FEd9qEyi5VgTmW_xlVf_K4nnFxDY/s400/Jawa_1980_Ice_track_racer_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980 JAWA Ice Speedway racer</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> The modern day JAWA speedway engine has recently had another name change and is now known as JRM (Jawa Racing Motorcycles) to differentiate it from the JAWA roadsters.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5Ii_KVxdIZIJAd2K9JhfAc8KnnwXCQ6hLf8GfjtRDdTJruTzs98nfK-24svV7x0R6iERNqcsrjvx8BuVhoH0BjDjPmpNnvC-TZNf3TqpDyGFTvW7Ce4KRvBLHJgxgmHN3cxv7FjAOiE/s1600/Jawa_350_Motorcycle_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5Ii_KVxdIZIJAd2K9JhfAc8KnnwXCQ6hLf8GfjtRDdTJruTzs98nfK-24svV7x0R6iERNqcsrjvx8BuVhoH0BjDjPmpNnvC-TZNf3TqpDyGFTvW7Ce4KRvBLHJgxgmHN3cxv7FjAOiE/s400/Jawa_350_Motorcycle_Poster.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-49606134384378353802010-11-07T21:37:00.005+00:002013-08-11T21:34:11.470+01:00SCOTT - 1928 dirt-track model.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ReCMg9_uhEzM9FYIM8NgqAkuk3kHAIK2nEzXYyKBsF3LFZ0Vk3JrZ4WydtcVMR9B21wzOTJc6YZ-g0PhG8vxlZnqVNLWFTH6ml1gG4FDLSvWyJnzQvYx8A8534cF7H_IUMp3SKm5lZU/s1600/Scott_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ReCMg9_uhEzM9FYIM8NgqAkuk3kHAIK2nEzXYyKBsF3LFZ0Vk3JrZ4WydtcVMR9B21wzOTJc6YZ-g0PhG8vxlZnqVNLWFTH6ml1gG4FDLSvWyJnzQvYx8A8534cF7H_IUMp3SKm5lZU/s640/Scott_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Back in 1928, there was a brand new motorcycle sport sweeping the nation, dirt-track racing, or speedway as it soon became, was a major attraction. Top riders were earning big money and every bike motorcycle manufacturer in the country wanted a piece of the action. Some of the bikes were very good, some were a total failure whilst others were just plain bizzare. Many of them didn't look like speedway bikes at all and were simply road bikes stripped of their lights, brakes and mudguards. It says a lot for the bravery of the pioneer riders that they actually raced some of these bikes on the cinders at all! </div>
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One bike that should never have been a success was the Scott... a 500cc twin cylinder two-stroke with water cooling and an unusual low slung frame. Produced in the Yorkshire town of Shipley, this was one bike that definitely did not look anything like a speedway bike... but amazingly, in the hands of a select few riders, the yowling Scott has gone down in history as one of the legendary bikes of the cinder sport.</div>
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Jeff Clew described the origins of the dirt-track Scott in his excellent book "The Scott Motorcycle - The Yowling Two-stroke". </div>
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<em>The Scott Motor Cycle Company's involvement with dirt track racing occurred in a quite unexpected way. When Frank Varey was detailed to join the Scott riders party to the Isle of Man in the capacity of machine cleaner. Allan Jefferies begged him for the loan of his three-speed Super whilst he was away. Unfortunately, the Super was written off completely in a road accident that followed, when Allan was run into by the rider of a Scott sidecar outfit whose sidecar wheel lifted on a left hand bend. The crash did not do Allan much good either, for he suffered a fractured skull, cheekbone and jaw. </em></div>
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<em>When he ultimately emerged from hospital it was obvious that a machine would have to be built from scratch, since even the Super's crankcase had been cut in two by the force of the impact. Putting their heads together, Frank and Allan decided they might as well build a machine that could be ridden on the cinders. And so, from a quite calamitous beginning, a dirt track Scott began to take shape. To assist with the finances, Allan promoted two meetings at the nearby Greenfield Dog Track and at various tracks in Lancashire.</em></div>
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<em>According to Allan, it was Frank's superhuman strength and courage, coupled with their complete ignorance of steering geometry that made Frank such a spectacular favourite with the crowds. His lurid style of riding and the scream of the Scott on full power drew spectators in large numbers and soon word got around to Harry Langman, who took such an interest in the project that it was decided to add a dirt track model to the official Scott range. Cecil Knowles of the Frame Shop organised production, using a frame that was a cross between that of the Flyer and the Super, a formula worked out by Frank and Allan the hard way.</em></div>
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<em>The dirt track model neared completion one Saturday lunch-time, on the day when Frank was due to ride his own model at Bolton the same afternoon. Anxious to give the new model an early try-out, Allan agreed to remain at work so that the new model could be completed in time for delivery to Rochdale Town Hall Square by tea-time, to enable Frank to try it at an evening meeting in Salford. In return, Allan would take over the old machine, so that he could have a ride at Rochdale.</em></div>
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<em>Like all deadlines, the completion of the machine was met with some difficulty, but Allan eventually set off for Rochdale, just in the nick of time. Both riders agreed to meet up towards midnight at a much-favoured steak pudding shop in Littleborough, where there was a parrot they were teaching all kinds of quite unmentionable phrases. When they finally got together, Frank was clutching a Golden Helmet, the major award presented to the star of the meeting at Salford. The parrot learnt much that night during the session that followed.</em></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFR-zkVIZnJVEC-8s0mgFcTJ5FLzxihXT0oPWK-emAKTwJ8GrUkngP5gbXSVHIhZi-m7yNkj0Nb4Owyqni1LP0DJHDHghVpRQgGS_PuAyGWEE-WOjdmmHxJhIXNXVF8c2XvPFgCBvq3I0/s1600/Frank_Varey_and_his_1929_Scott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="579" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFR-zkVIZnJVEC-8s0mgFcTJ5FLzxihXT0oPWK-emAKTwJ8GrUkngP5gbXSVHIhZi-m7yNkj0Nb4Owyqni1LP0DJHDHghVpRQgGS_PuAyGWEE-WOjdmmHxJhIXNXVF8c2XvPFgCBvq3I0/s640/Frank_Varey_and_his_1929_Scott.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Diablo Rojo - Frank Varey on the Scott that brought him glory as a pioneer speedway star.</td></tr>
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The Scott employed an open frame and a TT engine, and it was said that the Heart-rendering yowl of this particular machine was terrifically exciting. The dirt-track model had a 3-speed gearbox, specially braced Webb forks of the old type, (later fitted with "Super Squirrel" type forks) a smaller than standard radiator and a very neat exhaust system. There was no Kick start on these Scotts and the entire Primary and magneto transmission was enclosed, the abscence of exposed mechanism was a noteable feature. The cost of a brand new machine in 1928 was £95.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLB61YN7OSwBMiSRbK_DMy4l50wGAQmCX83tvTDIVFqdIgw6FV7gxRwIecN5pORWhM6SBHrdShrm12QFJHYzrOdmEdZ1Eo1tHSnZRmajisUlle_cRzIJG-ZoBX_zxuLkZCXJLlkCOgECU/s1600/P1020717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLB61YN7OSwBMiSRbK_DMy4l50wGAQmCX83tvTDIVFqdIgw6FV7gxRwIecN5pORWhM6SBHrdShrm12QFJHYzrOdmEdZ1Eo1tHSnZRmajisUlle_cRzIJG-ZoBX_zxuLkZCXJLlkCOgECU/s640/P1020717.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The legendary Frank Charles from Roose near Barrow-In-Furness aboard his Scott in 1929</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juan Pagano, another Belle Vue rider who favoured the Yorkshire built Scott</td></tr>
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The bike really did require an unorthodox riding style and mighty muscles to manhandle it around the cinder bends. Very few mastered it, but Frank Varey, "El Diablo Rojo" as the fans called him, (yes the Red Devil himself) got the necessary technique off to a tee, even though it's lack of ground clearance led to chamfered frame tubes after every meeting. Other riders who rode the Scott included Arthur Franklyn, Frank Charles and Oliver Langton. Wilf McClure even raced a banking sidecar outfit using a dirt-track Scott. Frank Varey must have liked unusual bikes because when he eventually fell out with the Scott owners he changed his steed to a Norton, another bike with a short production run and featured in my earlier post<a href="http://blackcountrybiker.blogspot.com/2010/06/norton-dirt-track-1930.html"> here.</a> His Scott eventually ended up in the hands of another Belle Vue rider, Frank Burgess who rode the bike with some success at Workington and Barrow in the early 1930s.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Frank Burgess in action at the Holker Street track, Barrow-In-Furness, 1930.</td></tr>
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*Footnote* Even though Frank Varey is always associated with riding a Scott, he only actually rode the machine on the dirt-tracks for 18 months. He rode it throughout the 1929 British season and took it to Argentina with him during the winter. When he returned to the UK in the spring of 1930, Varey was dismayed to find that the factory had done nothing to improve the DT Scott at all as they had been concentrating on developing a brand new 5-cylinder car engine. Varey walked out on Scott and after a brief flirtation with Norton he turned his allegiance to the Rudge. Ironically, Scott went into recievership shortly afterwards.</div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-9010930245051900552010-09-23T13:58:00.001+01:002011-04-10T21:21:20.023+01:00Eddie Crooks; 1931-2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It saddens me to say that yet another motorcycle legend from Northern Britain has passed away to the great workshop in the sky. Former Suzuki dealer and road racer, Eddie Crooks passed away on August 6th. He was 78. Eddie had been suffering from prostate cancer, something that he had battled against for the past nine years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eddie rose to fame as a trials, scrambles and road racing star in the 1950s, representing the army in the International Six Days Trials and achieving three gold medal awards. A regular podium finisher in the Manx Grand Prix for many years, he won the 1959 Senior race achieving lap and race records in the process. In the 1960 TT he rode an experimental works Norton and was drafted in as part of the East German MZ factory team.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxkywCQ5-5qqlq6gvyaakTC9FzhWjTfZ1b0jMDdAPqznUjl4433-ihlG1CeJLaBErwDU-5gYgjZ4pdvBHmjd44NQwAIxn6UHv2GZn6LrcVC7tnW12YtzAdq9h6NPVnMc4ZRZGwSiyvAQ/s1600/1163007919_EddieCrooks54S-ISDT-hills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxkywCQ5-5qqlq6gvyaakTC9FzhWjTfZ1b0jMDdAPqznUjl4433-ihlG1CeJLaBErwDU-5gYgjZ4pdvBHmjd44NQwAIxn6UHv2GZn6LrcVC7tnW12YtzAdq9h6NPVnMc4ZRZGwSiyvAQ/s400/1163007919_EddieCrooks54S-ISDT-hills.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eddie in the 1954 ISDT</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">When Eddie retired from racing he started his own motorcycle business in Barrow-in-Furness and became one of the first Suzuki dealers in the UK. Due to his love of road racing he saw the potential for turning Suzuki road bikes into race winners and that is what he did with his race team. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eddie’s “Crooks Suzuki’s won at National and International level, including Manx Grand Prix, TT and Thruxton 500 mile events. In 1968 Eddie raced again at Monza, Italy with his team in a bid to beat the 350cc 24 hour world record, this was done on an oversize 250cc Suzuki T20 road bike. The record, an average speed of 91.055mph over a 24 hour period, still stands to this day - testament to the reliability of the Suzuki T20 and the sterling efforts of the record-breaking team of riders.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1969 TT</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">When Eddie moved back to the Isle of Man in the 1990s he did not retire, he ran a newspaper shop for some years and also enjoyed being an extra in the Manx film industry, notably riding an old MZ naked for a part in the film "Waking Ned". He still kept his links with the motorcycling fraternity and I had a fabulous afternoon reminiscing with him a few years ago at a reunion near Kendal. In fact three generations of the Crooks family arrived at that event, Eddie, Martin, Tom and Elliot, all aboard a Suzuki GS850 sidecar combination. Crooks Suzuki is still thriving today and is now run by Eddie's son, Martin Crooks. It's great to see that it retains the genuine family motorcycle businesses atmosphere and is still operating out of the original shop on Crellin Street in Barrow.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPiGdYB8wcnvAhTpZQLBipF9g4EakdWFYAG3xw2p1G6ftodzW1pXOAI3sZQNuB4ZOF_LIz5JrNZ9G8w8_aBZCjve7fxh4SaMuE_OGptlqDv_46JJMuD6F_aQ2XX_GQcZeQoMp-vGwVkCYQ/s1600/sidecar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPiGdYB8wcnvAhTpZQLBipF9g4EakdWFYAG3xw2p1G6ftodzW1pXOAI3sZQNuB4ZOF_LIz5JrNZ9G8w8_aBZCjve7fxh4SaMuE_OGptlqDv_46JJMuD6F_aQ2XX_GQcZeQoMp-vGwVkCYQ/s400/sidecar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin, Tom, Elliot and Eddie Crooks at Devils Bridge, Cumbria;</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Eddie’s funeral took place on Friday 13th August at St.Mary's RC Church, Hill Street, Douglas, Isle of Man. For more detailed history of Eddie Crooks and his career take a look at<a href="http://www.crooks-suzuki.com/index.php?p=98"> this section of the Crooks Suzuki website</a>, where Martin has uploaded dozens of historic facts and photographs of his late, great Dad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmpXBCXThnFAJTqbU1m0wcYaTXpytlqNMYyJ_U9SlVX_dslBWAg5fo5olOFmj6xup1rGPmFPmkmd9ZqQCf1nj4eOOGqVDahVGRzH81SukXacbL3MG4gcXoB_0G-_GwLFwfX2NsuRjHkA/s1600/eddie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmpXBCXThnFAJTqbU1m0wcYaTXpytlqNMYyJ_U9SlVX_dslBWAg5fo5olOFmj6xup1rGPmFPmkmd9ZqQCf1nj4eOOGqVDahVGRzH81SukXacbL3MG4gcXoB_0G-_GwLFwfX2NsuRjHkA/s400/eddie.jpg" width="397" /></a></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-24712257227307624532010-09-05T22:05:00.001+01:002012-02-18T22:01:19.300+00:00Jack Young - Speedway Star<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Jack Young was a true speedway hero during the 1950s, popular with the fans, especially in Scotland, and also popular with his teamates and rivals. He has also gone down in folklore as the only Second Division rider to win the World Championship, but he should be remembered for much more than that, he should also be remebered as a great speedway rider who never let success go to his head.</div>
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Jack Ellis Young first rode speedway in 1947 after his elder brother Wally had given him his bike. Wally had been a promising rider himself until he was forced to hang up his boots through ill health The bike was actually a stripped down road bike and Jack spent most of his first season in a special class for stripped down road bikes at his local Kilburn Club alongside another of his brothers, Frank. However it was not long before Jack's enormous natural talent was noticed and he started to gain sponsorship, notably from Fred Jolly who gave him the use opf an unusual AJW machine in 1950. The AJW was named after it's founder, Arthur John Wheaton and used a 500cc J.A.P. speedway engine.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack recieves a brand new AJW "Speedfox" from his sponsor Fred Jolly</td></tr>
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British clubs were allerted of this enormously talented young rider and started to show interest but Jack hesitated as he was still not sure if he had what it takes to succeed in British speedway. Eventually, another Aussie rider, Clem Mitchell phoned him with an offer to join him at second division Edinburgh for the 1949 season, an offer that he accepted. Ironically, he recieved a written offer from a new second division club at Walthamstow a few days later and Jack later admitted that if Walthamstow had contacted him earlier he probably would have gone there instead. The London clubs loss was definitely the Scottish clubs gain. He took 18 wins from his first 18 starts and eventually finished the season as the Monarchs second highest scorer and made his International debut too</div>
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Jack continued his superb form for Edinburgh in 1950, setting himself up for his first World Championship Final at Wembley where he finished with a credible 7 points. He admitted that the pace was a bit too hot for him, but racing against world-class competition was honing his talent.</div>
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Fast-forward a year to the 1951 World Championship Final. Pre-meeting favourite Jackie Biggs had collected 4 wins from his first four rides and only needed a point from his last race to take the title, but to the shock of the massive crowd he trailed in last and faced a run-off with Jack Young and Split Waterman for the title. Jack kept his cool and came to the tapes full of confidence that the title was his for the taking. Biggs made the start but Jack Young was right with him and soon forced his way through, followed by Split Waterman. Thus the man from the Second Division became the 1951 World Individual Speedway Champion. Such was his popularity that on his return to Adelaide it is reported that over 10,000 fans turned out to welcome him home. </div>
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1951 had been an outstanding season for Jack who had ridden in 39 league and cup matches for Edinburgh and dropped just 9 points. but when Aub Lawson left West Ham it was time for Jack to move up to Division 1 for 1952. His incredible form continued in the higher division with 19 maximums from 38 league matches, a successful run in the British Match Race Championships and a brilliant second World Title, leaving no doubt that he was the best and most consistent rider in the world at that time.<br />
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Jack came 4th in the 1953 World Final after inexplicably finishing last in his final ride. Engine problems may well have been the cause of this, but he bounced back in 1954 with a win in the London Riders Championship and was the top point scorer in the qualifying rounds for the World Championship but that years World Final heralded the beginning of a new era. The Trophy was won by a 21 year old genius from New Zealand named Ronnie Moore. The riders in that World Final also included Barry Briggs, Peter Craven, and Ove Fundin, four riders who would dominate the sport for years to come. Just as Jack Young had swept the old guard aside a few years earlier, he now had to play a supporting role to the younger men. </div>
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As far as Jack was concerned, speedway was not the be-all and end-all of life. He was a family man who liked to enjoy life's simple pleasures. He never won an Australian National Championship because he preferred to go fishing rather than spend days travelling across Australia. For all his brilliance on the track he remained a typical laid-back South Australian, at heart just an ordinary bloke who never assumed any airs and graces as World Champion. He was also a keen cyclist and often performed tricks on his bicycle and it was so typical of the man that after he retired it was reported that he took a job in an Adelaide brickyard and was using one of his his World Championship Trophies as a storage jar for his fishing weights! </div>
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When West Ham closed at the end of the 1955 season Jack Returned to Australia for a couple of years, returning to the UK to ride for Coventry in 1958 and then again in 1960 and 1961. He was still a class act, but now in the twilight years of his career he was finishing mid-field in World finals rather than on the podium. Nevertheless, he still scored more than 1000 points in his three seasons at Coventry. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Young in action "Down Under"</td></tr>
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During his last season in England, 1961, he was able to work the old magic one last time when he won the Tom Farndon Trophy at New Cross, beating a top class international field. After two more years racing in Australia he announced his retirement in December 1963. Jack died of a lung disorder on 28th August 1987 aged 62. It had been a remarkable life. From humble beginnings he had risen to become the most outstanding speedway racer of his generation and one of the top three Australian riders of all time. His name is still revered by older fans in Edinburgh and he has a street named after him in West Ham.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Young with the 1952 World Championship Trophy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2GHVLFalP3wJZ-t2B_Yc2XPJgs0Z3wD4hNA9q_KrAPR6y3AZJJEQ5ZZ6sRsOIl0wPPHU_1noy2EbNQDwKiovC2xekmGeeAT2jYq8CgO4hGSsSUaIfqIBpjJfhDqJXGqBK9jk3_EZOYc/s1600/JackYoungJAP1951WC+winning+maghine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2GHVLFalP3wJZ-t2B_Yc2XPJgs0Z3wD4hNA9q_KrAPR6y3AZJJEQ5ZZ6sRsOIl0wPPHU_1noy2EbNQDwKiovC2xekmGeeAT2jYq8CgO4hGSsSUaIfqIBpjJfhDqJXGqBK9jk3_EZOYc/s400/JackYoungJAP1951WC+winning+maghine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The J.A.P machine that took Jack Young to the 1951 World Individual Speedway Championship at Wembley.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-18480824344541504292010-08-27T22:50:00.001+01:002011-01-17T00:02:43.835+00:00Henny Kroeze - Hell On Wheels<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I Couldn't resist these photos from <a href="http://bubblevisor.blogspot.com/">Bubblevisor</a>. They show the Dutch "Hell On Wheels" Wall Of Death show featuring 10 times Dutch Speedway champion and former Sheffield and Bristol rider Henny Kroeze. Henny also restored the vintage <a href="http://blackcountrybiker.blogspot.com/2010/06/norton-dirt-track-1930.html">Norton speedway bike</a> that I featured in a previous post. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlmTS933_okWzcQdbW2FB2dwWG3vFIydjPcW7B1-cf2hGjcRYJpKmr-n2hDfOxfydtXJ6H_i72DYU0MebJw8gC0o5oUKlEG5hAknyVH-4GvzCQp_jfyx6_UBUzomvORMHYuMyF9nP0So/s1600/HENNY+KROEZE_WoD_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlmTS933_okWzcQdbW2FB2dwWG3vFIydjPcW7B1-cf2hGjcRYJpKmr-n2hDfOxfydtXJ6H_i72DYU0MebJw8gC0o5oUKlEG5hAknyVH-4GvzCQp_jfyx6_UBUzomvORMHYuMyF9nP0So/s400/HENNY+KROEZE_WoD_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFO0t5-oC_88Yi3-f1CeRmuYZe8BINmTqaIbuq6mSBik7-6vHQHsZLNMCHT1JNKApItUrdQEevSBbKi1MGkuv_jvI6TlRebkR1bRSBX4Yww2ZeatJyeNz8D4it8dsJJuUxdKyKAfUUk4/s1600/HENNY+KROEZE_WoD_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFO0t5-oC_88Yi3-f1CeRmuYZe8BINmTqaIbuq6mSBik7-6vHQHsZLNMCHT1JNKApItUrdQEevSBbKi1MGkuv_jvI6TlRebkR1bRSBX4Yww2ZeatJyeNz8D4it8dsJJuUxdKyKAfUUk4/s400/HENNY+KROEZE_WoD_2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Bubblevisor took these pictures at the Vehikel Oldtimer show at Utrecht in Holland, where you can find all manner of vintage and classic cars, bikes, mopeds and parts... well worth a visit, as is the <a href="http://bubblevisor.blogspot.com/">Bubblevisor blog</a> too where you can find more photos from Utrecht and a truck-load of other motorcycle related images.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NRtKXn0uSYPRXVOwK7X0LsXRKvmTocFAsWWeVnTfJpMzzeVMhBiYBh5ClBTDcJNWKOQaJMy-PMDDbqcmiz19q3E29jrxkL-8K-RglFhCoRZNytU_kTVyMqXFhYFzZr0X06Rh6eraKcI/s1600/Henny+Kroeze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NRtKXn0uSYPRXVOwK7X0LsXRKvmTocFAsWWeVnTfJpMzzeVMhBiYBh5ClBTDcJNWKOQaJMy-PMDDbqcmiz19q3E29jrxkL-8K-RglFhCoRZNytU_kTVyMqXFhYFzZr0X06Rh6eraKcI/s400/Henny+Kroeze.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former Speedway Star Henny Kroeze with his Wall Of Death Indian.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-10211834420859009262010-08-04T23:34:00.006+01:002011-01-25T23:14:08.463+00:001932 EXCELSIOR J.A.P.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFTa85xDUzr7ODNOmhfy9eOpQNJd6WDl32P9lLJbzdFo8rxjQxtqTE-PDPWZmLHqII4EP-k3EPMigJ8hiVH0RZe-JXlruGgGciOoSmvkZzz-zAGPCmawDccio-ODt0Bt3-t_LgRQl3kk/s1600/P1020737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFTa85xDUzr7ODNOmhfy9eOpQNJd6WDl32P9lLJbzdFo8rxjQxtqTE-PDPWZmLHqII4EP-k3EPMigJ8hiVH0RZe-JXlruGgGciOoSmvkZzz-zAGPCmawDccio-ODt0Bt3-t_LgRQl3kk/s400/P1020737.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This amazing bike is an original and genuine TT machine from 1932, as ridden by Roland Stobbart from Aspatria, Cumbria. The bike is an Excelsior B14 Racer with a special long distance return sump engine. The original J.A.P engine has since received some modifications though. The brothers were both of speedway stock and utilised some speedway parts and technology to make the engine more competitive. The barrel is a home-made item cast from low expansion alloy, bored out and fitted with a steel liner. The 80mm piston is a speedway item as is the cylinder head <strike>and all of the crankcase parts on the drive side</strike>. <strike>The parts on the timing side are all home-made items again,</strike> <em>(please read the comments from Paul Ingham at the end of this post)</em>. The engine was set up to run on methanol (speedway style) via an Amal carb, and the drive to the rear wheel was delivered through an Albion gearbox. The engine delivered nearly 40bhp at 6000rpm</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The bike has remained in the family ever since and when Roland died in 1981 it moved into Maurice's workshop. The bike continued to be used in anger and has been ridden in classic hillclimbs by Maurice's youngest son Stuart Stobbart. Maurice cared and nurtured this bike as if it were his own and continued to fettle it right up until his death in 2001 aged 87.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I called round to see Maurice one Sunday afternoon and was surprised to find him sat quietly in the living room. "What's up Mo, why aren't you in the garage today?". "I've had a wee fall lad, nowt to worry about". Apparently, he'd collapsed while carrying the engine across his workshop and like a mother with her baby he'd resisted dropping it in case it got damaged and held it on his chest until his wife got home from church. An amazing man and an amazing bike.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">* The bike was once featured in <em>Performance Bikes</em> magazine but was incorrectly labelled as a 1930 Excelsior Manxman - (hence the caption on the photograph at the top of the post). Paul Ingham has since been in touch and corrected this error. The bike is from 1932 and is not a Manxman - the "Manxman" was not produced until 1934. Thanks Paul</div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-34919147124889048482010-08-03T23:56:00.000+01:002010-08-03T23:56:50.578+01:00GLASGOW SPEEDWAY 1946<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kfZtQFT_LQI1wHwvpsY8xvy4nbhTvz0j1NdvE32pVKa13VW4_W8vQLRWvKdxb3rEoeICOjvJQdY9GjCrD-D9KCyXB0xyHxRziENv7TTckgRddVpnwGh4FOM9eng9TDDVydRvAgHgt_Q/s1600/P1020729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kfZtQFT_LQI1wHwvpsY8xvy4nbhTvz0j1NdvE32pVKa13VW4_W8vQLRWvKdxb3rEoeICOjvJQdY9GjCrD-D9KCyXB0xyHxRziENv7TTckgRddVpnwGh4FOM9eng9TDDVydRvAgHgt_Q/s400/P1020729.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Gruff Garland - An old fashioned leg-trailer and a joy to watch.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1aTJ-q0bmbhv2SzM6P0W2w2N_7XLMtDsfpXVUNH2oMdCNMKmVNuKcnicvKFzstrZk2EUUSFEYCNH9yGWoiO9w4rVCMPt_2vnj2VtDfdVDR2wOBCB9eQNrQZG1FSxvROVwy_M4Mh4gtU/s1600/P1020728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1aTJ-q0bmbhv2SzM6P0W2w2N_7XLMtDsfpXVUNH2oMdCNMKmVNuKcnicvKFzstrZk2EUUSFEYCNH9yGWoiO9w4rVCMPt_2vnj2VtDfdVDR2wOBCB9eQNrQZG1FSxvROVwy_M4Mh4gtU/s400/P1020728.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Joe Crowther - As a novice he couldn't afford leathers and practiced in his trousers and cardigan!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu21gBeX9ALqBAl0zsFAjZhfQhn0091ZyBrWZ2KYNaePJ1Itp7JEW_ovRZqsJFYftsdMYtDNFT7-yjl8pab-hTX-XpRHjBk1jHkuYDloJF8Wg95XhcqCHmMldvaltUdmr7egdwPQGYuw/s1600/P1020727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu21gBeX9ALqBAl0zsFAjZhfQhn0091ZyBrWZ2KYNaePJ1Itp7JEW_ovRZqsJFYftsdMYtDNFT7-yjl8pab-hTX-XpRHjBk1jHkuYDloJF8Wg95XhcqCHmMldvaltUdmr7egdwPQGYuw/s400/P1020727.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bill Baird - Former Steelworker turned speedway star</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WfYEfp_y1jA8Ix-JDg3xuksNrYFVI0b4DFF58nTJ-JuN6ExvHIRCiSjZxMLUXJsMnEiHeX4YpHomD0IZwfk3YnkxbUx2V88QT1by03gIKliECCWfxDwBBepjz5wlyCuI_f2MpG0WCO0/s1600/P1020730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WfYEfp_y1jA8Ix-JDg3xuksNrYFVI0b4DFF58nTJ-JuN6ExvHIRCiSjZxMLUXJsMnEiHeX4YpHomD0IZwfk3YnkxbUx2V88QT1by03gIKliECCWfxDwBBepjz5wlyCuI_f2MpG0WCO0/s400/P1020730.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Will Lowther - ex Newcastle "Diamond". He only had half a left foot due to a racing accident.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbuZXnBJgFDQZox0J1d4cCjPcquP-AYYxOXgmZeNen61Pr0-DuDQjp64etT8ckyQQN-OT-E5kkWzA0RMterEfytudyF0PU057RfYXgRLKxvKpZRmZurxKp63OdxF24QX_LlAEH1hTmbk/s1600/P1020731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbuZXnBJgFDQZox0J1d4cCjPcquP-AYYxOXgmZeNen61Pr0-DuDQjp64etT8ckyQQN-OT-E5kkWzA0RMterEfytudyF0PU057RfYXgRLKxvKpZRmZurxKp63OdxF24QX_LlAEH1hTmbk/s400/P1020731.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wal Morton (Captain) - Apparently his wife hated speedway and only went along to Glasgow to stop Wal falling asleep on the way home.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcSYx90wUDkU5xrnr-Had75VU4qqOMgxZ7OJ0GmETSih1fAW-F_o8_G2ZCrpR4M5cjozKjxoUy5i6bv7RssqYEwzF6BrS-xO9IGhJpcfTIinoXaMTfyrHBNgpp8RPcUxs2b7ZUBGnGSI/s1600/P1020732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcSYx90wUDkU5xrnr-Had75VU4qqOMgxZ7OJ0GmETSih1fAW-F_o8_G2ZCrpR4M5cjozKjxoUy5i6bv7RssqYEwzF6BrS-xO9IGhJpcfTIinoXaMTfyrHBNgpp8RPcUxs2b7ZUBGnGSI/s400/P1020732.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Eddie Lack</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGtIoi47K0ajMaTpXsvsU4VgrjxEZlDN6ICHxsS7keWdlf_C_d1UG_9FJunl5x-8CrIf4rej7Q7ow1ryKdRuCh1zQnYWxX2pfbvol7vypuzRnUDHAwAq9g9e16lrUv3KyfBb8LxrCafQ/s1600/P1020734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGtIoi47K0ajMaTpXsvsU4VgrjxEZlDN6ICHxsS7keWdlf_C_d1UG_9FJunl5x-8CrIf4rej7Q7ow1ryKdRuCh1zQnYWxX2pfbvol7vypuzRnUDHAwAq9g9e16lrUv3KyfBb8LxrCafQ/s400/P1020734.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maurice Stobbart - Besides racing speedway, Maurice had his own drift mine near to his home in Cumberland, an orchard in his back garden and co-owned a haulage business with his brother Roland. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtot2mQUCNg6EyXCgJNj3r6M9nXyLL7mTGQfuMW-n8eu6d5WjX364aDmQ3gxfnAkv39isl8W-uAql18RkVDIpGUneWXHe5bKC0J7OrrubCkUyE3ST6gKUAgGaeOLv8WfnGDb23ZuKrkHE/s1600/P1020733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtot2mQUCNg6EyXCgJNj3r6M9nXyLL7mTGQfuMW-n8eu6d5WjX364aDmQ3gxfnAkv39isl8W-uAql18RkVDIpGUneWXHe5bKC0J7OrrubCkUyE3ST6gKUAgGaeOLv8WfnGDb23ZuKrkHE/s400/P1020733.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Charlie Oates - Learned his skills on Southport beach.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzgKRkbQknnxIE-Ezg8_wjM5nGPfu-QcgeJDUAYkpK2uz-UmOPDmmw7ROCdh9EQeNTy_E80io68VqQuKyPfraa7PmlZcespKr2kFW0SqIAlaqp2bCBwZGCrkjArHqTMs0YA2ImJR_TUg/s1600/P1020726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVzgKRkbQknnxIE-Ezg8_wjM5nGPfu-QcgeJDUAYkpK2uz-UmOPDmmw7ROCdh9EQeNTy_E80io68VqQuKyPfraa7PmlZcespKr2kFW0SqIAlaqp2bCBwZGCrkjArHqTMs0YA2ImJR_TUg/s400/P1020726.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-11451435825788361012010-07-31T09:41:00.005+01:002013-08-04T21:40:21.147+01:00BSA SAND RACER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLgqSdltaln87EVvVsDoSvNtbAX18Swl1sSIXpY6mONgO_sX-iq359HdrXQyv2um4RmqCg1Mr_4cTt2im4MCRTcCCiSWEsA5jYZY05yo-24vo8MFALVKRj73mG_rvwQGNNJYG8FMttMU/s400/P1020495.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Scott's B31 BSA Sand Racer <br />
<em>(Photo by - MotoFreakoFoto)</em></td></tr>
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The years immediately following WW2 were some of the best for grass track and sand racing in Lancashire and Cumberland. Even some of the smaller events could attract crowds of 5000 or more. </div>
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Sand races were held on the wide open sands of the Solway Firth and Morecmbe Bay, from the famous beach races at Southport Sands up to Skinburness near Carlisle. The bikes were mainly stripped down roadsters, with a smatttering of pre-war speedway and grass track bikes thrown in for good measure. The races were a mixture of straight line sprints and half-mile and one-mile ovals.</div>
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This particular bike is a single cylinder 350cc BSA and was raced by Jim Scott on the beaches at Skinburness, Morecambe and around Barrow-in-Furness. Jim had also been a novice speedway rider at Workington's Lonsdale Park during the early 1930s. This bike was rescued from a house clearance by John Fisher of Wiltshire and has now been restored as a B31 road bike. Personally, I think that's a shame. I would have kept it in its mean looking Sand Racing trim and preserved a bit of British Racing history.</div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-84847877854118310782010-07-17T23:25:00.000+01:002010-07-17T23:25:42.185+01:00Speedway in Dublin - 1950s style<div style="text-align: justify;">In the summer of 1950, Speedway Racing came to Dublin. The showman and promoter Ronnie Green brought members of his Wimbledon Dons team to Shelbourne Park each Sunday where they raced as the The Shelbourne Tigers against other English teams. In 1951, a group of the non-Wimbledon riders set up a midweek rival attraction on a new track at Chapelizod where they raced as the Dublin Eagles. The popularity of the sport was short lived and Speedway racing in Ireland was finished by the middle of the decade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fionnbar Callanan, a noted photojournalist since 1950, was there to witness and record the racing and these are just a few of the speedway images that can be found on the <a href="http://www.fionnbarcallanan.com/index.html">Fionnbar Homepage.</a> Click on the Arcives link at the bottom of the homepage and then look for speedway. This is an extensive and still growing collection of photographs from over half a century of people, places and events from around Ireland and the world. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtmx3nxXzWE-LKtoBLyVf77lJrG9y3M1ZIRha2kTqCgwSWanqaK-SRuDcMGRZm2BOmkMNyT3-C3cHZtp6U7sw3ZnStFOhBz_wO_mff1nyX-n9Zo_8g0XZn6DACanoUwUN5PHFfOIwDHs/s1600/Shelbourene+Park+1950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtmx3nxXzWE-LKtoBLyVf77lJrG9y3M1ZIRha2kTqCgwSWanqaK-SRuDcMGRZm2BOmkMNyT3-C3cHZtp6U7sw3ZnStFOhBz_wO_mff1nyX-n9Zo_8g0XZn6DACanoUwUN5PHFfOIwDHs/s400/Shelbourene+Park+1950.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Shelbourne Park 1950</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_NkX-EyGk4pqCSPHG9gah3iFf2rV6CxVdJ6zoh6Bozy1dXI1YPIHZn38ZxWTKfprYp-N5qfq0la4whmaZW-1AUimyCigsDRvJq2w5-xOBrgrkVC8QSMDHysx1jmwwaVVlXkCrtElz7M/s1600/Freddie+Williams,+Split+and+Howdy+Byford+Chapelizod+1951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_NkX-EyGk4pqCSPHG9gah3iFf2rV6CxVdJ6zoh6Bozy1dXI1YPIHZn38ZxWTKfprYp-N5qfq0la4whmaZW-1AUimyCigsDRvJq2w5-xOBrgrkVC8QSMDHysx1jmwwaVVlXkCrtElz7M/s400/Freddie+Williams,+Split+and+Howdy+Byford+Chapelizod+1951.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center">Freddie Williams, Split Waterman and Howdy Byford fettle a bike at Chapelizod in 1951</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0MuKEp24vpumMfIg9FlCdHlpqRYe65nwiyu5FKFh6RCZh4AgNDe-OiBDrFFUgUNjZjkFKlmxrcT8-2NfMFw6eQTivEYUChUu4vPWLXLgxr2aSY0oZAWfgK4o0iqXgOFgoMmH59zf32w/s1600/Freddie+Williams+1950WC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0MuKEp24vpumMfIg9FlCdHlpqRYe65nwiyu5FKFh6RCZh4AgNDe-OiBDrFFUgUNjZjkFKlmxrcT8-2NfMFw6eQTivEYUChUu4vPWLXLgxr2aSY0oZAWfgK4o0iqXgOFgoMmH59zf32w/s400/Freddie+Williams+1950WC.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Freddie Williams (1950 World Champion) at Shelbourne Park</div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-48633295070520720232010-06-13T22:26:00.002+01:002010-06-13T22:29:31.121+01:00NORTON DIRT TRACK - 1930.<div style="text-align: justify;">During 1930, Norton motorcycles, a company far more famous for it's road racing machines, produced a dirt-track model for the new sport of speedway. The sport was enjoying a real boom era and most of the British manufacturers tried to produce a machine that would put them in front of the considerable crowds gathered around the cinder ovals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPW8rcA-5Ncg_R8UujP40CRWs9Icnd7nYihmOct5gC-MM5mztN7s00wVwRzWVxFOhA2RTnirOMgJik6ix8VmT0M4WUXefAMxA-8zMv_1G7rQzJikEJIA8C8aH5JRNIDMAZtA3Dnk20LY/s1600/norton1930_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPW8rcA-5Ncg_R8UujP40CRWs9Icnd7nYihmOct5gC-MM5mztN7s00wVwRzWVxFOhA2RTnirOMgJik6ix8VmT0M4WUXefAMxA-8zMv_1G7rQzJikEJIA8C8aH5JRNIDMAZtA3Dnk20LY/s400/norton1930_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Norton used a modified version of their ES2 engine and a simple countershaft fitted in a standard sturmey archer gearbox shell. The front forks were Webb speedway items and it was all attached to a modified diamond frame. It was not a success though. Unfortunately for Norton, J.A.Prestwich of Tottenham had launched their legendary speedway motor at around the same time and by August of that year, the J.A.P had become the engine of choice for most speedway riders.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eqDofWDVHsMTuflfIFBVaPZnoNs8tIrfOZHDVrpQ_AEjWV9uICpjRSgjqiUSxUUdwnzdLQN1NJhSFz3-upwqaqm34VMSX5GEQyEeGl-WCm8LuLQt_Xuy-c6t0HBsgDZEUEJG7UP5qU0/s1600/norton_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eqDofWDVHsMTuflfIFBVaPZnoNs8tIrfOZHDVrpQ_AEjWV9uICpjRSgjqiUSxUUdwnzdLQN1NJhSFz3-upwqaqm34VMSX5GEQyEeGl-WCm8LuLQt_Xuy-c6t0HBsgDZEUEJG7UP5qU0/s400/norton_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One speedway model Norton was still in regular use into the 1980s as a Wall of Death machine in the Netherlands. The machine was almost original too only missing the stand and the lower chain stays. The owner had also fitted a set of gears into the gearbox shell.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCiZKdTRgbF_XVzmGD60WimbyldxH8xH0-iVzrBobVx5l08Bz6AMMwFNEuVwStA7g-kXwbhLQhNTHqCFWS7qtIl-fTdNQUoQy3bKISYS6P66uFaOlSv9W0JFCYoAqxzg5ZLD3s14n4YA/s1600/norton_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCiZKdTRgbF_XVzmGD60WimbyldxH8xH0-iVzrBobVx5l08Bz6AMMwFNEuVwStA7g-kXwbhLQhNTHqCFWS7qtIl-fTdNQUoQy3bKISYS6P66uFaOlSv9W0JFCYoAqxzg5ZLD3s14n4YA/s400/norton_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This illustration is taken from my friend <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffspiccies/sets/72157624186813828/">Jeff Wilson's photostream</a> on flikr where you will find many more illustrations of vintage dirt track machines. Information taken from "The Pictorial History of Norton Motorcycles" by Jim Reynolds. Published by Temple Press in 1985. (ISBN 1 85152 905 5)</div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-73813531339732717922010-05-21T22:06:00.004+01:002010-05-21T22:47:45.451+01:00MAY 21st - A GOOD DAY TO FLY THE ATLANTIC!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5SUB8vJMSzGzT_MjuoqRNQbCeMnVmybNC1mptTcJVb_VYA5VqsE7qzQpwSRGOzz7Y0hM5-EXymWlKLk-Eqz_m6GcHECFqEUPrTdLh3yhNQqg4xHViwllGWK8c6h9adeHAu4pWvjSna0/s1600/charles_lindbergh_052909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5SUB8vJMSzGzT_MjuoqRNQbCeMnVmybNC1mptTcJVb_VYA5VqsE7qzQpwSRGOzz7Y0hM5-EXymWlKLk-Eqz_m6GcHECFqEUPrTdLh3yhNQqg4xHViwllGWK8c6h9adeHAu4pWvjSna0/s400/charles_lindbergh_052909.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At 7.52am on May 20th 1927, Charles Lindbergh gunned the engine of the "Spirit of St Louis" and aimed her down the dirt runway of Roosevelt Field, Long Island, USA. Heavily laden with fuel, the plane bounced down the muddy field, gradually became airborne and just about cleared the telephone wires at the end of the field. A small crowd of 500 well-wishers thought they had witnessed a miracle. On the evening of May 21st, he crossed the coast of France, followed the River Seine and after 33.5 hrs and 3500 miles, he touched down at Le Bourget Field, Paris at 10.22pm where he was mobbed by a crowd of 100,000. Lindbergh - <a href="http://www.acepilots.com/lindbergh.html#top">"The Lone Eagle"</a> - the first to fly across the atlantic solo, became an instant hero. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeVOeWXqKv6f97a5_GaFSGrEIUPkzhuO-IBBCbCZnutPsJKAioPqa_s3euu0v1UO6tK_L8tSPS0x1nl7GEd-E-ktsa9hX5OgBWocSg_cqpU9ftyo9E92EEDq1SKKNBn1ri51v4NdaBc4/s1600/Lindberg+Paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeVOeWXqKv6f97a5_GaFSGrEIUPkzhuO-IBBCbCZnutPsJKAioPqa_s3euu0v1UO6tK_L8tSPS0x1nl7GEd-E-ktsa9hX5OgBWocSg_cqpU9ftyo9E92EEDq1SKKNBn1ri51v4NdaBc4/s400/Lindberg+Paris.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On his return to the USA, New York City gave him the largest ticker tape parade ever and the president awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross. More importantly, Lindbergh was the inspiration for aviators all over the world to test man and machine to their limit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysEEflPf4SJRnd1WfKQgZQ2nrjf8vQDo3Yl886uumGjGJSM_ZqBixokHeuC6H76Ho2Awt-3Iu2S9C3Njf_YFi6YDhlF6mI3Mk9yFKyg9qmeWiICnkTIZeX-LMEZ2gdY72-2GVyaFdp28/s400/Lindbergh-Charles-001.jpg" width="297" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">On May 21st 1932, the 5th anniversary of Lindberg's Atlantic flight , Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 14hrs and 56min. She was awarded the National Geographic Society's gold medal from President Herbert Hoover and Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross. The world's most famous female aviator disappeared in 1937 as she attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world. She was last heard from on July 2nd 1937, about 100 miles from the tiny Pacific atoll of Howland Island. President Roosevelt authorised an immediate search but no trace was ever found of Eahart or her navigator, Fred Noonan. The disappearance of Amelia Earhart has spawned almost as many conspiracy theories as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the Kennedy assasination. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEV0V0s0wBt7RocnHjzb1tRNdajOWnIXyl2mJ30qiCW1dwp-DdCYHnuu7AAOzLpWYC3KDGpV4l9lEDc7ogBzza70XI5LHsQEvrOUcYDGzGSGgY2OC4d25TAbQ329h2F70pWVPuvrxcN7A/s1600/amelia_earhart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEV0V0s0wBt7RocnHjzb1tRNdajOWnIXyl2mJ30qiCW1dwp-DdCYHnuu7AAOzLpWYC3KDGpV4l9lEDc7ogBzza70XI5LHsQEvrOUcYDGzGSGgY2OC4d25TAbQ329h2F70pWVPuvrxcN7A/s400/amelia_earhart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-34116710445963862562010-05-17T23:12:00.003+01:002013-08-11T21:32:52.955+01:00YES THERE'S MORE - AUTO RACE BIKES FROM THE 70s<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I really can't believe how many motorcycle and bicycle images I've collected over the years. I have just bought myself a diskette reader and transferred literally hundreds of old images to my laptop, most of which I had completely forgotten about. My previous posts about the Japanese auto race bikes prompted me to find these particular pictures again. I have no idea where most of them came from but they do prove that there's more to the Japanese motorcycle industry than just Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSFk3wDdr_DzUU8eE88PytFWqinUeYUdTxAjXCJrc4JCVdWMF9W7fW4ObEGbwD2sAX4z2BWttq-hYIZDC-Iyo0tlg__3Z-_celOGx-xC4hXXQhpoTHZpEHOHTyhq5GDudu_bCcQU6XHE/s1600/kyokuto_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSFk3wDdr_DzUU8eE88PytFWqinUeYUdTxAjXCJrc4JCVdWMF9W7fW4ObEGbwD2sAX4z2BWttq-hYIZDC-Iyo0tlg__3Z-_celOGx-xC4hXXQhpoTHZpEHOHTyhq5GDudu_bCcQU6XHE/s640/kyokuto_350.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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350cc Kyokuto KT</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx1s2cMdiV5AhvzU83Wnr30DJ-wj_SJ5nkcj3R37oX1BMPxUGiQUt7Od5MT6odLHOOlQ0yBXKl9hv70Gx0DDdqQrq3IzME2SKJavNdgw0RA6xjAQbnVpEjQb7tME0mokPkh_Spa2cxA4/s1600/Meguro_1q_dart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx1s2cMdiV5AhvzU83Wnr30DJ-wj_SJ5nkcj3R37oX1BMPxUGiQUt7Od5MT6odLHOOlQ0yBXKl9hv70Gx0DDdqQrq3IzME2SKJavNdgw0RA6xjAQbnVpEjQb7tME0mokPkh_Spa2cxA4/s640/Meguro_1q_dart.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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Meguro... Eventually became part of the Kawasaki empire. This engine bares a remarkable resemblence to the British J.A.P. unit</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbSnMD42RskGLEe6i7mTZE8hqdXFJgQDPLBsDMVJfKiwpFnjJyqVcA2U-iZ-Lp72cB4_s1cxf-58G0vJi4_MHffg9YtsR_w_rfGKYiXS54HqThXgPdkKFAN-Rn6AKheSxER765zTRgho/s1600/Meguro_1qmf77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbSnMD42RskGLEe6i7mTZE8hqdXFJgQDPLBsDMVJfKiwpFnjJyqVcA2U-iZ-Lp72cB4_s1cxf-58G0vJi4_MHffg9YtsR_w_rfGKYiXS54HqThXgPdkKFAN-Rn6AKheSxER765zTRgho/s640/Meguro_1qmf77.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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Another Meguro, this time with external cam-chain instead of the push rods in the previous picture.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaGraTBQUjq0CBAoF1s3wSOPV4xbU9Qc29i5OYmRI36T91bI2n0QvKfimn1QDi2rsdpVItNXr6qAwvMGPZXK96nHXWjxCIf8fIdmv6hYo92W9fVamjlv6YHzTK-FAtly0rKb8uoT0gMc/s1600/toyo-1q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaGraTBQUjq0CBAoF1s3wSOPV4xbU9Qc29i5OYmRI36T91bI2n0QvKfimn1QDi2rsdpVItNXr6qAwvMGPZXK96nHXWjxCIf8fIdmv6hYo92W9fVamjlv6YHzTK-FAtly0rKb8uoT0gMc/s640/toyo-1q.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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TOYO - I really don't know much about this make at all, but they were succesful on the pre-1960 Japanese dirt tracks and continued to be so on the tarmac auto race tracks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUonPca8GdkyTLuCH-Nwcjr4gFYtzfV5_hS_qd_dEdnurZg1f-y50VajjOWyxpEni9lfnx9I8dE5Y1pQtpr1T8avhMP0NWCIFhq3l-Qc36C5rRyuXG_0oG1qWqwzgPiFU8WZSc3aQ51rQ/s1600/toyo-2q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUonPca8GdkyTLuCH-Nwcjr4gFYtzfV5_hS_qd_dEdnurZg1f-y50VajjOWyxpEni9lfnx9I8dE5Y1pQtpr1T8avhMP0NWCIFhq3l-Qc36C5rRyuXG_0oG1qWqwzgPiFU8WZSc3aQ51rQ/s640/toyo-2q.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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Another TOYO from the 1970s</div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-17828413943903305362010-05-17T22:36:00.004+01:002013-08-11T21:32:16.780+01:00AUTO RACE - THE BIKES "UPDATE"<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20AX-jBiwxxwOPoFTPPXpZbyeHsE8kV2Fy8AD6f4d3UvblUS9XB81BL1JxNj74y8vKlNsy2iskqWLDxVGaD2j6eA4VRtFkuOZAeOXpLkf6b-VO9E-dht4jRVVbYZBa1i_XFm__lV5c-0/s1600/090831k13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20AX-jBiwxxwOPoFTPPXpZbyeHsE8kV2Fy8AD6f4d3UvblUS9XB81BL1JxNj74y8vKlNsy2iskqWLDxVGaD2j6eA4VRtFkuOZAeOXpLkf6b-VO9E-dht4jRVVbYZBa1i_XFm__lV5c-0/s640/090831k13.jpg" width="480" wt="true" /></a></div>
We now know that this is not a Kyokuto, so what is the mystery twin cylinder engine in this Autoracer? It's a Toyo. Take a look at the image below and compare, this is a twin cylinder, DOHC Toyo with a 4-valve head... Thanks to Bennie Ludolphy in Hollland for his valuable information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cmZcIBBGQmjqMYoqVV5SAv_4gdnU_wK7YgoGET-f9lgU4-cQ-LJOUP80RbJIKMmlvkNrxMdVk00f_zqrpFuZUvMViE6xtV5Aid-c_JtanXpjO30xPTJMVOWDHaW80SOawUxVpPSiUAA/s1600/Toyo_Twin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cmZcIBBGQmjqMYoqVV5SAv_4gdnU_wK7YgoGET-f9lgU4-cQ-LJOUP80RbJIKMmlvkNrxMdVk00f_zqrpFuZUvMViE6xtV5Aid-c_JtanXpjO30xPTJMVOWDHaW80SOawUxVpPSiUAA/s640/Toyo_Twin.jpg" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
I've dug out my old silver halide images and scanned in a photograph of a genuine 1971 Kyokuto KT2 engine to compare and it is clearly very different. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0hY7MDA7MdYLXgrmJLHO868TTyzyZIF7h7IBmwbwTU6zCd0vIQDZOVRdKdvRf1KdiMERoaUw3xxYCD0J-3iwzpH2o7v_ol4Bwqr7j5Oc2Lj-qiySKw-LCGHAsyP6D_ybMrdLKzxv91g/s1600/P1020492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0hY7MDA7MdYLXgrmJLHO868TTyzyZIF7h7IBmwbwTU6zCd0vIQDZOVRdKdvRf1KdiMERoaUw3xxYCD0J-3iwzpH2o7v_ol4Bwqr7j5Oc2Lj-qiySKw-LCGHAsyP6D_ybMrdLKzxv91g/s640/P1020492.JPG" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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This particular engine has been fitted into a 1970s Jawa speedway rolling chassis and is a replica of the bike that was tested at Canterbury speedway in 1972. A similar set-up was also tested in Australia in a Hagon Chassis. The engine has been modified to run on methanol with the addition of an amal carburettor. The engine and chassis were restored by ace speedway collector, sometime poet and ex-Berwick rider Ian Paterson and form part of his magnificent Cinder to Shale collection. Ian also has a genuine HKS Hasegawa Auto Race bike in his collection (see below). This bike dates from the early 1980s and is similar to the bike Barry Briggs had on display at the old Speedway collection at Donington Park.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu66zCE_Mvd0Y7HP9j7B2TSsK_75QSFD37PugHcWenSG6YoSyeeFY0TAa4_h9jWkNYExvh3KxuOJw75hnojjDThOmb4g4PIl49ckIJ_w5-We1vMFhCi7Bfli-x6oEjT3GJuCRuWUqGzxQ/s1600/P1020491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu66zCE_Mvd0Y7HP9j7B2TSsK_75QSFD37PugHcWenSG6YoSyeeFY0TAa4_h9jWkNYExvh3KxuOJw75hnojjDThOmb4g4PIl49ckIJ_w5-We1vMFhCi7Bfli-x6oEjT3GJuCRuWUqGzxQ/s640/P1020491.JPG" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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Finally, I have to apologise for the poor quality of this image, but this is the only picture I have ever found of an EiCoH Auto Race bike....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsFJTJ34swS48kisgifSsfhVtpXGhIyDFCq24plfqQnLSthEYMEokXD-BzDR62FPvOVhhT0w6865vQvW8HuoI7wwokR9DHHuLeS_62CPh2-iJy1M-TGj3rNoFO_3XOclG5E5fmfF_Ask/s1600/P1020494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsFJTJ34swS48kisgifSsfhVtpXGhIyDFCq24plfqQnLSthEYMEokXD-BzDR62FPvOVhhT0w6865vQvW8HuoI7wwokR9DHHuLeS_62CPh2-iJy1M-TGj3rNoFO_3XOclG5E5fmfF_Ask/s640/P1020494.JPG" width="640" wt="true" /></a></div>
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EiCoH, or Engine Company Honda to give it its full name, was a side project of Kazuo Honda, one of the family members behind the Kyokuto. Kazuo was also developing the JRM (Japanese Race Motor) for road racing at the same time. The EiCoH was a 500cc single based on his families KT2 unit but with some modifications. This photo from a Dutch magazine shows the complete 1967 EiCoH speedway bike, basically an Auto Race machine without the asymetric bars!</div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-39600919551035094912010-05-10T21:55:00.005+01:002014-08-08T22:59:37.051+01:00CHRIS TATTERSALL - Lancashire's Racing Blacksmith.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY39LFUm1CRVYRxFvhOQcK3_0nhq2m0fHeeuucGXXH6LmrgdPG_uE6_9bgU6kazDx3We3YsuVnJyhsQf6TIqj3SidabHB1wX4_sJRqg181ThJkAnz4V9AmGue6B8pIUXbCN1VG_UwVKI/s1600/Tattersall+1934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY39LFUm1CRVYRxFvhOQcK3_0nhq2m0fHeeuucGXXH6LmrgdPG_uE6_9bgU6kazDx3We3YsuVnJyhsQf6TIqj3SidabHB1wX4_sJRqg181ThJkAnz4V9AmGue6B8pIUXbCN1VG_UwVKI/s400/Tattersall+1934.jpg" height="323" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Spud" Tattersall was a real pioneer speedway rider in the UK. He entered the very first dirt track meeting at Audeshaw, nr Manchester, in March 1928 and reached the final of the 350cc class on an A.J.S. He also competed in the very first dirt track meeting at Highfield Road Trotting Track in Blackpool in April of the same year. Chris went on to ride regularly at both the Blackpool dirt track venues, (Highfield Road and St Annes Road) before becoming a member of the Preston speedway squad from 1929 to 1932 Chis also rode at the two Barrow-In-Furness tracks in 1930 and 1931. </div>
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As well as his exploits on the dirt tracks, Chris was a big fan of the TT and first rode in the Junior TT in 1928, finishing 10th on a D.O.T. He went on to compete in the Lightweight TT every year from 1929 until the outbreak of war in 1939 with a best position of 5th in 1932 on his own CTS machine (Chris Tattersall of St Annes.). He also had a go at the Senior TT in 1931, 33, 35 and 37 and also the Junior TT again in 1931 but registered a DNF in all of these. When racing returned to the Isle Of Man in 1947, so did Chris with his CTS. He was back again in 1949 and continued to race at the TT until 1953... some 25 years after his debut. The photograph above shows Chris at the 1934 TT where he finished 7th in the lightweight event on his J.A.P. engined CTS</div>
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Incidentally, he was nicknamed "spud" due to his love of potatoes, often eating a plate of nothing else... mashed, boiled, roasted, fried, you name it he'd eat it as long as it was made of potatoes!<br />
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*Additional Information*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyW_jzk7t4Btb04tSQIebuxN2pFrI0YqjbYmXA2rYTR5z9IXGxkbR-vTMlWi4yo9VjtdimyQAkPhbRHaZ5nlAXHTa3za2aHcrLw-VMqJo-TYSDyMxxIBiLWnR3JnZsKaE5CE9T3U7-wM/s1600/CTS-Python-250-W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyW_jzk7t4Btb04tSQIebuxN2pFrI0YqjbYmXA2rYTR5z9IXGxkbR-vTMlWi4yo9VjtdimyQAkPhbRHaZ5nlAXHTa3za2aHcrLw-VMqJo-TYSDyMxxIBiLWnR3JnZsKaE5CE9T3U7-wM/s400/CTS-Python-250-W.jpg" height="262" s5="true" width="400" /></a></div>
The <a href="http://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/museum/">National Motorcycle Museum,</a> near Birmingham Airport, has recently purchased one of Chris Tattersall's old racing machines, a 1949 250cc CTS Python. Although CTS was assumed to stand for Chris Tattersall Special, it seems that the S actually stood for his home town of St Annes, near Blackpool. The original CTS of 1931 had a JAP engine but in the post-war years, when Tattersall was preparing machines for other riders machines, the engines were 250cc Rudge Python four-valve units with four-speed gearboxes of the same make. Former blacksmith Tattersall and his sole employee Bill Dawes devised plunger rear suspension for the Rudge frame. The cycle parts on this particular bike are known to be from the CTS that Les Martin crashed when lying fifth in the 1949 250cc Lightweight TT. Coincidentally, Leslie.G.Martin was also a former speedway rider, having ridden for his home town team Burnley in the 1929 English Dirt Track League.</div>
BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-9434266960176408182010-05-09T23:11:00.004+01:002010-05-09T23:43:16.454+01:00THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPEEDWAY BIKE<div style="text-align: justify;">A Speedway bike is a simple piece of machinery... It has one gear, no brakes, minimal suspension at the front only and runs on methanol. A modern Speedway bike can actually accelerate to 60 mph faster than a Formula 1 Car and can reach up to speeds of 90mph on the relatively short straights of a speedway track. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB3Mjfr8xKDKvSyShQ80cF9tPl1-7HS3Xvc164IyAO0dxK1g-A3uZz7PfnKG559Z9cuhSvaYlXEbS03l3qZyce94NPpmUIl6oYQ52kYl4XzPhULRCGvde5L0yocEZ7NgYnrkBeCs2gOc/s1600/classjul_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB3Mjfr8xKDKvSyShQ80cF9tPl1-7HS3Xvc164IyAO0dxK1g-A3uZz7PfnKG559Z9cuhSvaYlXEbS03l3qZyce94NPpmUIl6oYQ52kYl4XzPhULRCGvde5L0yocEZ7NgYnrkBeCs2gOc/s400/classjul_400.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1927 Harley-Davidson "Peashooter"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzkTtGcelzDQ0r8cJ6FuT8-KXuw5j-J0Jc9rlDL3nV3ajk51Mn-vEFoluvwO0g2EM0_iJR9EsoL05TxrNWITS9ucPppu71pIW39dyYTNuAOQQCxwkzGKhnT0IemALJX27t-jvHqKyGp8/s1600/douglasDT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzkTtGcelzDQ0r8cJ6FuT8-KXuw5j-J0Jc9rlDL3nV3ajk51Mn-vEFoluvwO0g2EM0_iJR9EsoL05TxrNWITS9ucPppu71pIW39dyYTNuAOQQCxwkzGKhnT0IemALJX27t-jvHqKyGp8/s400/douglasDT.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1928 Douglas DT5 (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV3zvSTddNlpvOUfc3fOgZ4WC3rG6_3pwG0A1moAF6zKYOkJHyGs0J_CoVxzWEJAlpqMvsrzWhOBh0uXyHPGTWJSWiXobnos4GGmo4mOHRugrY6Yq6zH6nnJ6v2pvHa_Tet4Yj7jrc6o/s1600/sunbeam+speedway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvV3zvSTddNlpvOUfc3fOgZ4WC3rG6_3pwG0A1moAF6zKYOkJHyGs0J_CoVxzWEJAlpqMvsrzWhOBh0uXyHPGTWJSWiXobnos4GGmo4mOHRugrY6Yq6zH6nnJ6v2pvHa_Tet4Yj7jrc6o/s400/sunbeam+speedway.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1929 Sunbeam Dirt-Track model (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIBKa-p3nQQ1sUx549LXHhnqqaCuiLn2kuzIY7TjuvpA38hJzgqgGhk92oMpEQtgXJWz6T8pKnOnnv-1I69HraUPq4o4-F4DNTcZ4MVWUTVUK1U0SBAcqy2QNAIDG51v-Lnkmue3dB6k/s1600/Rudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIBKa-p3nQQ1sUx549LXHhnqqaCuiLn2kuzIY7TjuvpA38hJzgqgGhk92oMpEQtgXJWz6T8pKnOnnv-1I69HraUPq4o4-F4DNTcZ4MVWUTVUK1U0SBAcqy2QNAIDG51v-Lnkmue3dB6k/s400/Rudge.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1930s Rudge Whitworth (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWG9EBWJJ9feziMxAEvV_C5K24iHPexIhrZlZ7XoIZc2yo6FDQBPlCOpV6L4lsmlQZ-AZQgzJHwPTOKCumqUPMAa81Wu35cKUhyphenhyphenA03Y7kqIDf-9zMSJAsiWOQwB2ka8MTHO97AZDcOCg/s1600/1934+Harley+CAC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWG9EBWJJ9feziMxAEvV_C5K24iHPexIhrZlZ7XoIZc2yo6FDQBPlCOpV6L4lsmlQZ-AZQgzJHwPTOKCumqUPMAa81Wu35cKUhyphenhyphenA03Y7kqIDf-9zMSJAsiWOQwB2ka8MTHO97AZDcOCg/s400/1934+Harley+CAC.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1934 Harley-Davidson CAC</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpu5C6ZpPk9KykRLbHxXgZIRdiDzq1zNue6qqPqk7w_uJC3HZ4TO6fnKlvwBoah4RECHm8nQCeFYpYXnj3QZ58n8u6i3pgsGsrLar_GM7IO7pL9KfLfakBCAXD5QdWwniKWIdlTp9ZLeQ/s1600/003+c1935_Martin_JAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpu5C6ZpPk9KykRLbHxXgZIRdiDzq1zNue6qqPqk7w_uJC3HZ4TO6fnKlvwBoah4RECHm8nQCeFYpYXnj3QZ58n8u6i3pgsGsrLar_GM7IO7pL9KfLfakBCAXD5QdWwniKWIdlTp9ZLeQ/s400/003+c1935_Martin_JAP.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1935 Victor Martin/J.A.P. (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4NWIUnA5laNAX3qTi2usyhEqpXhKZrwzFlKana8UzETfDJo274UuS3j9YC7dDIQfq8i_-wQPo3bu0kj_SK820ffsa0Px2RT1zP170ufq1F6xBY37aVKLO7bAM4mkB_DvDQb_mL9JKek/s1600/JAP_500_Speedway_1949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4NWIUnA5laNAX3qTi2usyhEqpXhKZrwzFlKana8UzETfDJo274UuS3j9YC7dDIQfq8i_-wQPo3bu0kj_SK820ffsa0Px2RT1zP170ufq1F6xBY37aVKLO7bAM4mkB_DvDQb_mL9JKek/s400/JAP_500_Speedway_1949.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1949 J.A.P. Speedway (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEq2ir4wHMkKlI3GW43bH_EFOx6fhtjIBvjrpE5vyw7pcRrnRgQHArzFTaD2wXplFHVgrOS-joRFKGRPskNMB34eEwlx8Vwxse5-KsvW5qlqe_EDsMkeB9RhoiV6q9-XuxO86mbPWQtco/s1600/Rotrax_JAP+1950s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEq2ir4wHMkKlI3GW43bH_EFOx6fhtjIBvjrpE5vyw7pcRrnRgQHArzFTaD2wXplFHVgrOS-joRFKGRPskNMB34eEwlx8Vwxse5-KsvW5qlqe_EDsMkeB9RhoiV6q9-XuxO86mbPWQtco/s400/Rotrax_JAP+1950s.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1950s Rotrax JAP</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvP1l0jEipfVGaJp1H9zwN0Vm9-OAAE-BSNP3c6Ce755u7dmEnUuq251r8lg5z9MzTh4ZkI4fyCOunUfYx6y2wjfuP-_wk9YAIcWpg6ffF1Cr5WId2UsicMagJCM5dbPMAgyP1efp6OU/s1600/eso_speedway2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvP1l0jEipfVGaJp1H9zwN0Vm9-OAAE-BSNP3c6Ce755u7dmEnUuq251r8lg5z9MzTh4ZkI4fyCOunUfYx6y2wjfuP-_wk9YAIcWpg6ffF1Cr5WId2UsicMagJCM5dbPMAgyP1efp6OU/s400/eso_speedway2.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1966 ESO (Czech)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeqsmCbuSEUfUGkNUMvFY8b4pvtB-jamlJwJydekqmblGe9RZmhVHXsFK5VcthPXwv-CoV8Yj0ViSnc5ocAzElFz_RKS3IeZ4lGeE4BPQBG8EZ90m8wNoht0mP2sQcPRPbzkJrcrQnXE/s1600/1970_Jawa_Speedway_Racer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeqsmCbuSEUfUGkNUMvFY8b4pvtB-jamlJwJydekqmblGe9RZmhVHXsFK5VcthPXwv-CoV8Yj0ViSnc5ocAzElFz_RKS3IeZ4lGeE4BPQBG8EZ90m8wNoht0mP2sQcPRPbzkJrcrQnXE/s400/1970_Jawa_Speedway_Racer.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1970 2-Valve Jawa (Czech)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScV2W63Mb4g9eX8E8uTj2gXYoMqhVMOsgeKtbyAxQmfcrvcPwq6WGq8MA-MjPy8WT6PNM9P-Clpn3HKhxVv-9JBFREHrAI_yLisQ2NSa9HsOPsYsLufX8juMzVa2VMFVLylhf4CXcxkU/s400/2v+890+jawa.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1970s Model 890 Jawa (Czech)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDVVg8jzClwJpy3qKQjIXYC8agOkyAbqosZAG08QGv5dmVcYfaGv34FXm_Nx-LbTxeagAOSUXWKUakfyYEMhsygP137VC6dw6LjnhPIP8JxJKcXQSjFV9zrIIYDGrSJocdUScM41UM8k/s1600/Maely%2520RT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDVVg8jzClwJpy3qKQjIXYC8agOkyAbqosZAG08QGv5dmVcYfaGv34FXm_Nx-LbTxeagAOSUXWKUakfyYEMhsygP137VC6dw6LjnhPIP8JxJKcXQSjFV9zrIIYDGrSJocdUScM41UM8k/s400/Maely%2520RT.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1974 Mk1 Maely (Ken Maely - USA)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SkInpAAMc9fyHgqfn8QfMpt8-WU88UWL_HS2D3TVbP0d47GBEqDvnnBRQp4qLzveHybKhBL6rzghYixfQg0NiqxmKM7qSdsHmPdDxwOoZD1uyOqs07itCxVvB9rlh7cCjlndl_6d3yo/s1600/weslake+Mk5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SkInpAAMc9fyHgqfn8QfMpt8-WU88UWL_HS2D3TVbP0d47GBEqDvnnBRQp4qLzveHybKhBL6rzghYixfQg0NiqxmKM7qSdsHmPdDxwOoZD1uyOqs07itCxVvB9rlh7cCjlndl_6d3yo/s400/weslake+Mk5.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Weslake Mk5 (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMHbd-8CLGdzwE9v8AP6iTgRCk5kTOmda8MsEw0IZ4kP6Gh-gKP0r1qBgCqe7tVcKHtgllgIEIbcrZ-PLaW9978SBDGERlLTjK61FyxE78kuL7H2nIQ9NQAMwJ0OQnNzlW7bhpttQ-5M/s1600/GM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMHbd-8CLGdzwE9v8AP6iTgRCk5kTOmda8MsEw0IZ4kP6Gh-gKP0r1qBgCqe7tVcKHtgllgIEIbcrZ-PLaW9978SBDGERlLTjK61FyxE78kuL7H2nIQ9NQAMwJ0OQnNzlW7bhpttQ-5M/s400/GM.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1980s GM500 (Giuseppe Marzotto - Italy)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85gnM3AbsMPj6TFv4ITLovswd8DJd6wdxpkYN-foqf35PtGnqd5c3_pczcAfBG2tBU5ko8C3PUtbiLzxNK516RrGOIkbpkgKBLVmw14pEQwrq0qTln5tIMlknsXIjueVgN__X5jTbGWk/s1600/Mk4Godden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85gnM3AbsMPj6TFv4ITLovswd8DJd6wdxpkYN-foqf35PtGnqd5c3_pczcAfBG2tBU5ko8C3PUtbiLzxNK516RrGOIkbpkgKBLVmw14pEQwrq0qTln5tIMlknsXIjueVgN__X5jTbGWk/s400/Mk4Godden.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mk4 Godden (UK)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsdGTnv0jK3xEhJrlpFI6x7MJRqXX7W_Ey74hAV3W3nEfspbUb9EI3lrU8VRXzvdAuBmHN3VqQMZQsvDmB_vNjO1LVifUAxmzd5FbY0YqslXn-B-mUI__kn2tWoPOK3jY1ROO5lgNtH0/s1600/GM+laydown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsdGTnv0jK3xEhJrlpFI6x7MJRqXX7W_Ey74hAV3W3nEfspbUb9EI3lrU8VRXzvdAuBmHN3VqQMZQsvDmB_vNjO1LVifUAxmzd5FbY0YqslXn-B-mUI__kn2tWoPOK3jY1ROO5lgNtH0/s400/GM+laydown.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1990s GM laydown (Italy)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYsXUp4zW2xk0YGr-NEh3r1ehLUwiuRXW-xlbzRuH4ek1K_uSriiojFOaFWcADiC0ThAwoBctkGH1LnkGo4tvnV1hZlqi756TTqnE9z1eNcQ9Rxh8-R7tnfYKTGBCI4usHBlk_JwSIHo/s1600/05kerrbike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYsXUp4zW2xk0YGr-NEh3r1ehLUwiuRXW-xlbzRuH4ek1K_uSriiojFOaFWcADiC0ThAwoBctkGH1LnkGo4tvnV1hZlqi756TTqnE9z1eNcQ9Rxh8-R7tnfYKTGBCI4usHBlk_JwSIHo/s400/05kerrbike.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2005 laydown Jawa (Czech)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH72ft-JchT7_slUZ7Uiwzz_UG8_hwRaQvY2qJaY-mqGKfGnbi7YqTJRcupa6xAUNBvYmo-avKId8Xf3uRsCNHyV88dt5vzkLP3-EGrEGIPt1sxzsb8FaNBXxWbpsIk2yxMqfV-wthdE/s1600/BH+jawa+2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJH72ft-JchT7_slUZ7Uiwzz_UG8_hwRaQvY2qJaY-mqGKfGnbi7YqTJRcupa6xAUNBvYmo-avKId8Xf3uRsCNHyV88dt5vzkLP3-EGrEGIPt1sxzsb8FaNBXxWbpsIk2yxMqfV-wthdE/s400/BH+jawa+2006.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Billy Hamill's 2006 Jawa laydown (Czech)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9eXfkmK6ceaKrgQuV39Jb2toQReyIJsChTJFfu4_REkv2DLwR8HCLf5DQ4SavbghpHY0BS4QuUMni4Inksj_2q_4yp_b7FIVTGwr_FcjBMyVsiyzveZ_2fNkpmfEXSGceAmyPnSOvAw/s1600/bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9eXfkmK6ceaKrgQuV39Jb2toQReyIJsChTJFfu4_REkv2DLwR8HCLf5DQ4SavbghpHY0BS4QuUMni4Inksj_2q_4yp_b7FIVTGwr_FcjBMyVsiyzveZ_2fNkpmfEXSGceAmyPnSOvAw/s400/bike.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div>Here are the FIM regulations and requirements for a modern day speedway bike...<br />
Machines used must...<br />
<em>Weigh no less than 77kg (unfuelled)</em><br />
<em>Use a four-stroke, single cylinder engine with one carburettor and one spark plug and a maximum capacity of 500cc</em><br />
<em>Have guards fitted over moving engine parts where reasonable</em><br />
<em>Use an additional chain guard to prevent a hand or fingers being cut by a chain</em><br />
<em>Have a peg (Dutch Peg) fitted to prevent a broken chain flailing and injuring a rider or a fellow competitor</em><br />
<em>Use shatter resistant plastics where reasonable</em><br />
<em>Be fitted with a dirt deflector</em><br />
<em>Be fuelled by methanol with no other additives</em><br />
<em>Be fitted with an approved silencer - (a controversial item at the moment!)</em><br />
<em>Have a handlebar width greater than 650mm and less than 850mm.</em><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Speedway Machines cannot...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Be constructed in any part from Titanium</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Use uncoated ceramic parts</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Use telemetry during a race except for timing purposes</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Use any electronic components to control the engine</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Use brakes of any form</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Use a supercharger or a turbocharger of any kind.</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-65614883622075665972010-05-02T10:17:00.005+01:002011-07-15T20:33:49.626+01:00THE WORLDS FASTEST MAORIBruce Cribb, "The Worlds Fastest Maori" <em>This story adapted from an article in the NZ Herald on Feb 3rd. 2006 and published on the </em><a href="http://www.historicspeedway.co.nz/index.html"><em>Taranaki Historic Speedway </em></a><em>web-site</em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeidera5KoCmYxhGwJTBXns_DLGqycA49r-4hdqHgqpmwL9BaKTb7detaNlKt9p-PmbYAHsSp0Qcvj1YYyN1owxuqCT1u117JphBctG8lv2nK1eWxwnRaILyTp7oyuTCDhATCSiC4A5gc/s1600/Bruce+Cribb+%26+ice-jawa-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeidera5KoCmYxhGwJTBXns_DLGqycA49r-4hdqHgqpmwL9BaKTb7detaNlKt9p-PmbYAHsSp0Qcvj1YYyN1owxuqCT1u117JphBctG8lv2nK1eWxwnRaILyTp7oyuTCDhATCSiC4A5gc/s400/Bruce+Cribb+%26+ice-jawa-1.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bruce Brian Hoani Cribb was born on June 27th 1946 in Palmerston, New Zealand and made his debut in British speedway at the launch of the British league in 1965. He featured in 11 matches for the Poole "Pirates" in that season recording an average of 3.04. He showed slow but steady progress and it was five years later he scored his first full maximum, the same Year that Poole won the British League title. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KLpskhodgaPRl_qRY0ZaGvGsqs7o0nEj3aztDlB6nlCDqeytuKXFx_JDL3dYciNRyeYBLU3OVAQ5H5PU2TD7_jtILQ5xXWUksxxYh6PLURlSrvhcchNyrcjkQknLTQPWaGs3wmw8tnE/s1600/Cradley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KLpskhodgaPRl_qRY0ZaGvGsqs7o0nEj3aztDlB6nlCDqeytuKXFx_JDL3dYciNRyeYBLU3OVAQ5H5PU2TD7_jtILQ5xXWUksxxYh6PLURlSrvhcchNyrcjkQknLTQPWaGs3wmw8tnE/s200/Cradley.jpg" tt="true" width="86" /></a>He moved to Exeter in 1970 and spent three years at the County Ground emerging as a top scorer despite being plagued with injuries. Bruce made 16 appearances for Exeter in 1970 from which he had a very healthy average of 9.47, and in 71 he was ever present and increased his average to 8.92 from his 37 matches. His average dropped in 1972 when he got 5.75 from 15 matches for the Falcons. Bruce left Exeter at the close of the 1972 season and joined up with Cradley Heath where he became a cult hero with the Black Country speedway fans. His battling performances in the top flight are still remembered today. He later had spells with Bristol, Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Berwick before returning to the County Ground in 1986. Head injuries from a horrific accident cut short his 1987 season to just one match, and although he bounced back to qaulify for the 1988 World Individual Ice Final, he rode only a handful of matches for Exeter averaging 3.24 from only 8 appearances. That was to be his final season before announcing his retirement, and Exeter staged a benefit meeting for him in 1989. Bruce's finest moment must have been when he teamed up with the legendary Ivan Mauger to secure New Zealand's only world team title in the 1979 finals at London's White City.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeqQeioZvtbGSy-6uSqyJ0axwaoBaDlA-Chfg8w2kk1xXJHaIjEcakfQQfhmfHsMo1d5pa9EZR00o4X5SqFGEIdAved-Ua8xxX59qBW3T6e_pqs1Y3WUxVDirTGYK9X9-jdL3BO417xU/s1600/bruce%2520cribb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeqQeioZvtbGSy-6uSqyJ0axwaoBaDlA-Chfg8w2kk1xXJHaIjEcakfQQfhmfHsMo1d5pa9EZR00o4X5SqFGEIdAved-Ua8xxX59qBW3T6e_pqs1Y3WUxVDirTGYK9X9-jdL3BO417xU/s400/bruce%2520cribb.jpg" tt="true" width="317" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lately, Bruce has dubbed himself 'The World's Fastest Maori' With his 500cc Jawa ice racing machine, having broken the track record in 16 out of 17 attempts at British speedway tracks and also done the same at the Rosebank track in Auckland, New Zealand. Bruce says: <em>"I was in the world top 20 for ice riding at one time, but a lot of those guys were way ahead of me in skill. Yet they have tried this in Sweden and smashed up big time. I don't know why." </em>Bruce, whose late father Kiwi was a national speedway champion, was raised in Palmerston North before heading to the UK as a teenager to pursue his career. In the mid 1970's he answered an advertisement placed by the British speedway control board looking for riders willing to have a go at ice racing, whose strongholds include Sweden, Holland and the old Soviet Union territories. This took Bruce deep into the old USSR to Ufa (now the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan), about 1000km east of Moscow. It was a world away from the sort of riding Bruce was used to in Europe. Temperatures dipped to 40C below zero, the heated pits were located under the grandstand, ice walls and straw bales surrounded the track.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14uhJSV_nmsUS3S9oMoGPdYlT25CCaS8f5GyxTJFBT_ogtbP0ft1THPjsmHBs3Rl4YXXmk4veEQkNpoEHPzjrA3x7V3_QClrk8_dlM8tcgHkKOmch7RM4K-5i252N7nMXSQglwNTke9w/s1600/CribbIcebikePN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14uhJSV_nmsUS3S9oMoGPdYlT25CCaS8f5GyxTJFBT_ogtbP0ft1THPjsmHBs3Rl4YXXmk4veEQkNpoEHPzjrA3x7V3_QClrk8_dlM8tcgHkKOmch7RM4K-5i252N7nMXSQglwNTke9w/s400/CribbIcebikePN.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bruce, who still lives near to the site of the old Cradley Heath track in England, managed to win a New Zealand title but rarely returned there otherwise. He was persuaded out of retirement to demonstrate the ice bike at the 75th anniversary of the Palmerston North, (NZ) in 2006. The obvious difference between the ice bike and a normal bike are the 5cm spikes protruding through the tyres - 240 of them on the drive wheel and 120 on the front. The powerful grip allows Bruce to reach amazing speeds on tyres pumped up to 55 psi. Bruce says: <em>"There are no spikes on the side of the wheel. The spikes actually flex over into the track - you can go around a corner absolutely flat. Your hands touch the ground sometimes." </em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGQX8-rxQ_JQ6JDnW_pRB-aD7JGJloTeqN54kUn02XMfI7bJBZE0ishh6j1bc8C9woxqao6y3j3m9ecujSNPL-oMHLoNI-TI5qT_8Qp5kVsswLicJIwvV3ZR2oRjisuN6Ua4BqgjNfTt_/s1600/1993_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGQX8-rxQ_JQ6JDnW_pRB-aD7JGJloTeqN54kUn02XMfI7bJBZE0ishh6j1bc8C9woxqao6y3j3m9ecujSNPL-oMHLoNI-TI5qT_8Qp5kVsswLicJIwvV3ZR2oRjisuN6Ua4BqgjNfTt_/s400/1993_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more insight into the career of Bruce Cribb take a look at this piece on the <a href="http://www.speedwayplus.co.uk/BruceCribb.shtml">SpeedwayPlus </a>website</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-772166304129411453.post-28907581237751307432010-04-26T22:01:00.007+01:002010-04-29T20:08:47.817+01:00HARLEY-DAVIDSON - "PEASHOOTER"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUreGBYAMgw7bKxIu89EaGknrbQpevaN3wyWm7Xx1lECj5xCp9VYVFW0B8XjkqklgkGREClnO1vuapRMVBj7BvcsnjB-DeLUXsTQuBQGLYprrANCoRiOOHOZB6bS9rLrDqC_IBU9LB1zE/s1600/1harley%2520Peashooter%2520in%2520action.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUreGBYAMgw7bKxIu89EaGknrbQpevaN3wyWm7Xx1lECj5xCp9VYVFW0B8XjkqklgkGREClnO1vuapRMVBj7BvcsnjB-DeLUXsTQuBQGLYprrANCoRiOOHOZB6bS9rLrDqC_IBU9LB1zE/s400/1harley%2520Peashooter%2520in%2520action.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No brakes, no gears, no problem! The Harley-Davidson “Peashooter” was a full-on racing machine. Anything that didn’t help it go faster was just dead weight that was removed in a quest for victory.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RphE5dikldk3xy4-AEklY5_2cgw5-KtRp7XxOeR-h4j-LtdECbVnA-62TIhek0VoV3ZrKo5ZPo5rYsPVl6NFAPsr-NSmjkyY0q2XBe-AsS458Mu21ZoQGhqe9YJEFAiuCjpeQVJwvNo/s1600/1h-d+peashooter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RphE5dikldk3xy4-AEklY5_2cgw5-KtRp7XxOeR-h4j-LtdECbVnA-62TIhek0VoV3ZrKo5ZPo5rYsPVl6NFAPsr-NSmjkyY0q2XBe-AsS458Mu21ZoQGhqe9YJEFAiuCjpeQVJwvNo/s400/1h-d+peashooter.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Introduced in 1926, the 350cc singles were Milwaukee's response to Indian's Prince of the same displacement. They came in two variants, an economical side-valve for general lightweight transportation, or the more ferocious over-head-valve version. Known as the 'Peashooter' because of its staccato exhaust note, the 350cc roadster engine produced 8 horsepower, while the OHV racing version produced 12 horsepower and came equipped with a magneto. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGU7z96hsvxZj4NNApZJKeey8QR_WCsYHwkIcYyhAD_nEbSaQuYwqzkUNeeXQ1l0Jc4zoUln2q4TwDNajqBcHj1isw9lr3Wf-uE0siiQwYGUhtdbza6Sr2-EE9I19p4YMPiX9cwUPHdc/s1600/roberts+1930+nz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGU7z96hsvxZj4NNApZJKeey8QR_WCsYHwkIcYyhAD_nEbSaQuYwqzkUNeeXQ1l0Jc4zoUln2q4TwDNajqBcHj1isw9lr3Wf-uE0siiQwYGUhtdbza6Sr2-EE9I19p4YMPiX9cwUPHdc/s400/roberts+1930+nz.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div>The racer gained its performance advantage thanks to special combustion chambers designed by British engineer Harry Ricardo. A design feature called a 'squish band' created turbulence in the fuel charge, resulting in a fuller burn and thereby greater horsepower. In addition, the competition Peashooter engine also featured pressure oil feed to most of the bearings and had a sodium-cooled exhaust valve. It also featured a shorter wheelbase than the roadster and weighing only 215lbs, the racing "Peashooter" possessed an excellent power-to-weight ratio too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdCwymCWiiWTvqpDIBo4MAXYU2F-5EqD6LE8vV0GrTzl17tgeYLYjd-8pJq_UVvaFc6UMLHeqzB3onWQPr6C8IqM6yKWjJURQoWWwGWVtPjCKVnjiKjYYPJ-3qKPDDy9b-mk5pru6Nk/s1600/1harley-davidson+peashooter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdCwymCWiiWTvqpDIBo4MAXYU2F-5EqD6LE8vV0GrTzl17tgeYLYjd-8pJq_UVvaFc6UMLHeqzB3onWQPr6C8IqM6yKWjJURQoWWwGWVtPjCKVnjiKjYYPJ-3qKPDDy9b-mk5pru6Nk/s400/1harley-davidson+peashooter.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although introduced in the mid-1920s, the Peashooter's heyday was the early 1930s. By this time virtually all the expensive-to-maintain banked wooden board tracks closed and the focus of American motorcycle sport shifted back towards flat-track racing where the 350cc Harley excelled in the 21' cubic inch "Class A" . Flat track racing had started in the early 1900s on half-mile and mile-long horse tracks which were loosely surfaced, hence the alternative name of "dirt-track" racing. The "Peashooter was also exported and proved its worth on the speedway circuits of Australia and Europe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aH2YHeXIoH2qZD_WfaSKJG9FzoFu3rQUxTe330aqoABT05LzXiH7oWZk_1eDXWf5oSkQXNqFg1x1TF1p-WnofCjL80MLeoX_AT8VjKCKDUFd-6jTpO83vDDi1j9Rms0zwytVi_JQ7Rk/s1600/1935-hd-1joe_petrali+peashooter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_aH2YHeXIoH2qZD_WfaSKJG9FzoFu3rQUxTe330aqoABT05LzXiH7oWZk_1eDXWf5oSkQXNqFg1x1TF1p-WnofCjL80MLeoX_AT8VjKCKDUFd-6jTpO83vDDi1j9Rms0zwytVi_JQ7Rk/s400/1935-hd-1joe_petrali+peashooter.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Harley-Davidson factory rider Joe Petrali</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the mid-1930s the focus of American racing had switched to the production-based "Class C" machines and the British J.A.P. engine had replaced virtually everything in the speedway world... The "Peashooter's" day had passed.</div>BlackCountryBikerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16320733678648014465noreply@blogger.com0