Stadium Racing

[great central]

As it seems I may have started to drag the F1 thread off topic, perhaps a new thread dedicated to the various types of motor sport practiced in stadiums (stadia)?

Brisca F1 is the only sport I really have got into, no interest in football at all, other ball based sports I may take a passing interest in.

Went to my first meeting at Long Eaton with a group of friends around 1970 towards the end of the season. Couldn't wait to get back again, had to wait for the next season. Only able to get to Long Eaton at first as I didn't have a car then.

Spent 3 or 4 years following the racing around the country, then got married, that put a stop to it! Went to odd Long Eaton meetings when my son was little, but I was often working at weekends so really got little chance.

I still miss it on occasion but now working on the railway means two weekends in three at work, then there's model railway shows to fit in as well.

Also enjoyed the 'Bomber' races at Long Eaton, a formula unique to Station Road I believe. It was something more than bangers which I'm not so keen on. Any car could be used but they were fairly heavily armoured and tended to last a full season if not more. Many mk2 Ford Zephyr/Zodiacs, Austin Westminsters and the like. There was one mini in among that lot and a long lived Austin Devon (I think). They came with twin rear wheels and other modifications.

I also went to a few speedway meetings but not being a 'bike' person it was only if I was at a loose end on that evening.

When I'm at my caravan just outside Great Yarmouth I'll usually wander down to the stadium on a Sunday evening.

Most Spedeworth stuff I find rather lacklustre. It could be just Yarmouth but it all seems a bit tame. Virtually one make of car per formula, small numbers of cars entered for each race  then there's the gimmick races which i suppose probably appeal to the holidaymakers. No big V8s either!

Anyway enough of my thoughts, are there enough of us to keep the thread going? 

[newbryford]

I guess I'll throw my bit in. More to come later.

 

Started going to Nelson and Belle Vue in the late 1960's. Full day trips to Aycliffe - 170 mile round trip - 4 of us in a Mini van (fitted with a rear bench seat) were next as the bug took hold. For a few years we went to every meeting possible - usually doing two per weekend and sometimes up to four over Easter.

 

My first world final was at Coventry when Jim Esau and Willie Harrison tangled on the line with one lap to go and Doug Cronshaw came from nowhere to win.

 

Eventually, one of my elder brothers started racing and I think I only missed a couple of his races. Lots of memories of the Ford D300 transporter. Favourite for me was when I drove it to Aycliffe over Blubberhouses and the A59 in a hurry! If you can call 54mph a hurry - although it would hit 65 down Sawley brow in neutral - scary!

 

Stopped going on a regular basis in the late 1980's, but went to watch nephew graduate from ministox to F1, although I haven't seen him race for a couple of years now.

 

Saw the odd non-Brisca meeting at New Brighton on the banked track.

Holidays in Devon weren't complete without the midweek evening trips to St Austell and Newton Abbot - Billy Batten 667 was the local star. One year we even joined the Newton Abbot supporters club on a coach trip to Wembley to watch the F2 world final and Dave Brown winning it. The memory of that meeting was our very local driver Brian Wignall 102, rolling his car over the big wooden beams protecting the infield onto the hallowed turf.

 

The other track with the fearsome infield was Rochdale with it's 12-18" kerbs which contributed to a massive crash for my brother as he took off over them and did a high speed double roll which crushed his rollcage - he was exceedingly lucky to climb out of that one - and I've found a picture the car was the one that Allan Barker won his world final in.

 

Just found this website - I may be gone some time................

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

[great central]

 

Just found this website - I may be gone some time................

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

I wish you hadn't  Must go to bed!

[Gareth Collier]

Arlington stadium just outside Eastbourne has been a regular haunt for me. Great stock car action with large numbers of entries. Top flight speedway as well but unfortunately it does seem this year will be the last as the Dugards who have run the Eagles for half a century can't continue and there is no buyer. I'll miss the weekly roar I can hear from my house as the tapes go up.....

Gareth

[Bill Radford]

70s memories!!

 

Long Eaton, Leicester or Coventry on the Saturday, Stoke or Northampton on the Sunday, Sheffield on Monday and then Bradford was it Thursday or Friday?

 

The worst track was Stoke - dog track on the inside with metal posts causing big pile ups every race because there was nowhere to go.

 

The glorious summers of 75 & 76.

 

Only been a couple of times in the 80s since...

[PatB]

Back in 1981 I managed to persuade Dad to take me to a few meetings at Smeatharpe in Somerset. The main items on the program were bangers, hotrods and F2 stocks, the big F1 monsters not seeming to have much of a presence in the south. The bangers were always particularly good fun. At the time, the two models of choice were the BMC Oxbridge variants and the Mk1 Triumph 2000. The latter were fast and handled well and so did well on the straight racing, but the Oxbridge was staggeringly tough.and was the victor in every "last car rolling" demolition event that I saw.

 

The first meeting we attended had, as the program closer, a banger caravan race. I don't think Dad or I ever laughed harder at a motoring event. By lap 2, one end of the oval had disappeared under a huge pile of twisted aluminium and shattered hardboard. Every so often the heap would heave a bit and another Austin Cambridge would emerge, dragging a couple of lengths of angle-iron and the remnants of an axle which, under the rules, were sufficient to deem it still attached to its caravan .

 

Great fun.

[alfsboy]

We used to go to Walthamstow track for the stock car and hot rod racing .Way back in the days of Barry Lee and Foxy Dance .Great days.I always wished we had proper  open wheel  midget racing  but later read how many  terrible deaths were suffered in the US .

[newbryford]

We used to go to Walthamstow track for the stock car and hot rod racing .Way back in the days of Barry Lee and Foxy Dance .Great days.I always wished we had proper  open wheel  midget racing  but later read how many  terrible deaths were suffered in the US .

 

I was overlooking the remains of Walthamstow track and the entrance façade earlier this year. Our accommodation for the Ally Pally exhibition was at the adjacent Holiday Inn. Never saw any racing there though.

I only ever saw stock cars in the London area at Harringay and Wembley. My brothers went to Crayford once. Further afield, I did do Weymouth and Ringwood once.

At the other end of the country, I watched the odd event at Newtongrange and Armadale in Central Scotland - mostly F2 action, with a couple of F1/F2 events at "Nitten". Never got to see the concrete fence at Cowdenbeath though.

 

The best road car based oval racing I saw was at Nitten - the Scottish saloon stox guys were fast - and mental!

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited September 24, 2014 by newbryford

[great central]

70s memories!!

 

Long Eaton, Leicester or Coventry on the Saturday, Stoke or Northampton on the Sunday, Sheffield on Monday and then Bradford was it Thursday or Friday?

 

The worst track was Stoke - dog track on the inside with metal posts causing big pile ups every race because there was nowhere to go.

 

The glorious summers of 75 & 76.

 

Only been a couple of times in the 80s since...

 

Biggest distance in a weekend must have been Haringay on Saturday and Aycliffe on the Sunday. I think it was that meeting where Stu Smith (Booo) stuffed Len Wolfenden into the fence and followed him in. Boos from all corners of the stadium!

[steve1]

We used to go to Walthamstow track for the stock car and hot rod racing .Way back in the days of Barry Lee and Foxy Dance .Great days.I always wished we had proper  open wheel  midget racing  but later read how many  terrible deaths were suffered in the US .

 

Blimey! That's two names from the past. I used to go to Wimbledon Spedeworth track a lot with friends in early 1970s. Somewhere I still have my clipboard for attaching the programme to for noting down the results.

 

Went to Brisca F1 once at a circuit outside Bristol. Bit different from Spedeworth but still good stuff.

 

steve

[newbryford]

Blimey! That's two names from the past. I used to go to Wimbledon Spedeworth track a lot with friends in early 1970s. Somewhere I still have my clipboard for attaching the programme to for noting down the results.

 

Went to Brisca F1 once at a circuit outside Bristol. Bit different from Spedeworth but still good stuff.

 

steve

 

Ah - Bristol - nowhere near the city - in the hills somewhere in the same county! Always remember Bristol as it was the first to have a steel plate fence - the cars just bounced off with broken wheel bearings, rather than having the axles ripped out by a wire fence.

 

Once did Bristol AND Belle Vue on the same day..........................

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Dave47549]

.

Edited October 2, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[great central]

All this talk, I'm getting an itch I may have to scratch, specially as I'm getting a bit cheesed off with the model railway club

[alfsboy]

I was a couple of feet from a horrific crash at Walthamstow .My wife ,or possibly still my girlfriend  then ,and I were  walking very near the wire when  one of the hot rods hit an upright .It all went into slowmotion .It just stopped dead right in front of us .I can still see it like a crash test dummy slo mo  video.The car seemed to just fold up ,the driver shot forward and then backwards and kept doing it and the dust ,piles of it ,hung in the air  stationary or so it seemed.I thought the driver  was dead but after about 10 minutes he was stretchered out and the racing carried on .Jean was sickened by it and didnt want to go again so we stopped .

  It was all deliciously sleezy .Known local criminals sponsored it all and the big honchos girlfriend bedecked in tasteless "diamonds" looked like someone out of "Dance with a stranger ",leopard skin coat ,peroxide blonde etc  and as it was Essex, white high heels . They all ended up in nick for long stretches when no doubt her dreams and her  diamonds turned to paste .Happy days .

[EddieB]

So is speedway to be included in this thread?

 

At one time it had quite a following in this country.  My parents used to watch Harringey in the days before I came along.  When when I was old enough, we used to go to watch Hackey (in the shadow of the Lesney factory) every Friday.  We also went to the West Ham track at Custom House for internationals and champion qualifiers.  I could still name the Hackney line-up, the other teams and some of their star riders from those days.

 

Well before my time, but High Beech - where speedway began - is just up the road from me.  My father could remember the "leg trailing" days.  Not sure if my parents ever got to see ice speedway, but they used to get "Speedway and Ice News" in the 'fifties.  Racing motorbikes with spiked tyres on ice - that must take a special kind of insanity!

[newbryford]

Anybody remember the match races at Brafield? (I still can't get used to Northampton International.....)

 

A 5 lap dash to the line. All power from the start. Until Les Mitchell 238 (later to be my brother's number) v Stu Smith 391.

 

Les let him go into the first bend whereupon the bumper was applied and Smithy found himself in the wires! Les cruised to the win to much cheering from most of the fans.

For the unitiated, Stu Smith was the stock car equivalent of Manchester United of the Fergie era.

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited September 24, 2014 by newbryford

[newbryford]

So is speedway to be included in this thread?

 

 

Why not? It's stadium racing. My first memory of motor sport is speedway at Belle Vue and watching the scenic railway at the park in the distance.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[great central]

So is speedway to be included in this thread?

 

At one time it had quite a following in this country.  My parents used to watch Harringey in the days before I came along.  When when I was old enough, we used to go to watch Hackey (in the shadow of the Lesney factory) every Friday.  We also went to the West Ham track at Custom House for internationals and champion qualifiers.  I could still name the Hackney line-up, the other teams and some of their star riders from those days.

 

Well before my time, but High Beech - where speedway began - is just up the road from me.  My father could remember the "leg trailing" days.  Not sure if my parents ever got to see ice speedway, but they used to get "Speedway and Ice News" in the 'fifties.  Racing motorbikes with spiked tyres on ice - that must take a special kind of insanity!

 

Absolutely, that's why I headed it stadium racing. Although I wouldn't describe myself a fan, I certainly used to take an interest.

Any motor based sport is welcome, don't want somebody thinking running or push bikes!

There is/was a series on one of the digital channels recently, the only sport I'd consider watching on telly. Can't remember which channel or when though, I only found it through channel hopping. 

[great central]

Anybody remember the match races at Brafield? (I still can't get used to Northampton International.....)

 

A 5 lap dash to the line. All power from the start. Until Les Mitchell 238 (later to be my brother's number) v Stu Smith 391.

 

Les let him go into the first bend whereupon the bumper was applied and Smithy found himself in the wires! Les cruised to the win to much cheering from most of the fans.

For the unitiated, Stu Smith was the stock car equivalent of Manchester United of the Fergie era.

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Brafield, don't remember the match races to be honest, most memorable meeting was one of the early races of John Thorpe 367. As a white top he was obviously very good from the start. I'm not certain but I think he won heat and final, very fast. His transporter was an adapted artic trailer so while others were taking multiple shunt moves to get out of the pits, he did one move and was gone. He only did a few meetings before retiring for business reasons.

Also an odd memory comes to mind of the pit 'call attention' siren. It was a large wooden box, presumably with a car battery(ies) in. Mounted around the outside were several dozen car horns. Couldn't be ignored!

[newbryford]

Brafield, don't remember the match races to be honest, most memorable meeting was one of the early races of John Thorpe 367. As a white top he was obviously very good from the start. I'm not certain but I think he won heat and final, very fast. His transporter was an adapted artic trailer so while others were taking multiple shunt moves to get out of the pits, he did one move and was gone. He only did a few meetings before retiring for business reasons.

Also an odd memory comes to mind of the pit 'call attention' siren. It was a large wooden box, presumably with a car battery(ies) in. Mounted around the outside were several dozen car horns. Couldn't be ignored!

 

I believe John Thorpe was connected to the haulage firm of Ernest Thorpe near Sheffield. Most imaginative transporter I saw was Rod Falding 36 with a skip wagon. He simply drove his car behind the wagon, hooked a chain to each corner and lifted it on. Just the job if the car wasn't driveable and had been left there by one of the track recovery vehicles. 

 

I also remember the pit call siren at Brafield.

 

One of the other odd pits was at Nelson. The transporters were across Carr Road and the stock cars had to drive across the road to get into the stadium.

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited September 25, 2014 by newbryford

[Chris116]

Started going Stock Car racing at West Ham for the 1959 British Drivers championship and have been going all over the country to Spedeworth, BriSCA and other meetings ever since. Started watching Speedway in 1957 at Wimbledon after having been taken by my parents to Rye House aged three months in 1954. Love both sports and currently looking forward to Wimbledon on 5th October when the 2014 Superstox World Final takes place along with V8 Stock Cars and Bangers.

[admiles]

Grew up within earshot of Foxhall stadium near Ipswich and boys being boys, both stockcar/banger and speedway meetings were regular haunts.  I have happy memories of riding over on BMX bikes and basically doing what we pleased. It was cheap, fun entertainment with no parents in sight!  Happy days!

[great central]

Grew up within earshot of Foxhall stadium near Ipswich and boys being boys, both stockcar/banger and speedway meetings were regular haunts.  I have happy memories of riding over on BMX bikes and basically doing what we pleased. It was cheap, fun entertainment with no parents in sight!  Happy days!

 

Well, I said I'd got an itch and 2 1/2 years later I've finally scratched it

 

As I was at my caravan near Yarmouth over the weekend I deciced to drive down to Foxhall on the saturday evening for a Brisca F1 meeting. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, things have changed somewhat in the intervening 40 or so years, cars are still LOUD though, had thought they might be over silenced but no. Plenty of cars, two heats with around 25 cars each all with 7 or so litre V8s, the sound hits you in the chest . Then a consolation race and final of 33 cars followed by a Grand National race, like an allcomers final race again of 33 cars, all these on a 1/4 mile oval with full contact allowed to move the car in front out of the way.

Fast plenty of action, ably backed up by the ministox which are also incredibly fast on that circuit and not afraid to put the bumper in, a particularly hard knock in one race was I think the move of the evening and these are kids between 10 and 16 I believe, quite a number of girls as well, in one race from the top three two were girls. Ministox were just getting going when I stopped, very much a race formula in it's own right now.

The other support act was hot rods, again very fast close racing, a little time consuming setting up their grids but still very fast, although non conatct there is still a certain amount of 'barging' with so many cars on track.

All that for £16 at old codgers rate for 15 or 16 races with viewable practice earlier if you wnated, very good value in my book

Will I be going again? Most definitely, had thought about Belle Vue this Sunday but working now and as it looks like the wife has bust her car, I'll need to get some overtime in

 

Edit: Pretty good video of some of the evening's racing here

Edited June 22, 2017 by great central

[newbryford]

On 23/09/2014 at 23:26, newbryford said:

 

 

The other track with the fearsome infield was Rochdale with it's 12-18" kerbs which contributed to a massive crash for my brother as he took off over them and did a high speed double roll which crushed his rollcage - he was exceedingly lucky to climb out of that one - and I've found a picture the car was the one that Allan Barker won his world final in.

 

J

 

Resurrecting an old topic.

I've just found this picture via FB of my brother's car at Rochdale.

I wonder if that was the day the rollcage was destroyed?

(Copyright Ian Bannister/Howard Murtaugh)

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by newbryford

[Chris116]

8 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Resurrecting an old topic.

I've just found this picture via FB of my brother's car at Rochdale.

I wonder if that was the day the rollcage was destroyed?

(Copyright Ian Bannister/Howard Murtaugh)

 

 

A proper F1 Stock Car, i the days before they put the wings on them which I think look ugly but others like. Richard Bryan is the current 238 and Les Mitchell used to have the number. That car looks like it could be a "Chissy" car but I am afraid I have to admit I am not sure of the driver!