any "Speedway motorcycle racing" fans out there?

[Daveroo]

known in some places as "flat track" racing i guess....bikes have tall,narrow tires/wheels,and no breaks..we used to go watch the "big" Harleys and others on the mile at sacramento "the sacramento mile",they ran on the horse track at calexpo..they even ran california super modifieds and sprint cars on this flat mile a few times....was an awesome show....but back to the speedway bikes..

im about a 1/16th of a mile from the gold country fairgrounds here in auburn,ca,( i lived in an apartment across the street from the main entrance for 12 years,that was nice in my "drinking days"..didnt drive,walked to the bars in oldtown and the the races at the FG,at the fairgrounds is a track known as "fast fridays"..its getting,or has,and reputaion for having good riders and good action,plus several riders who have gone onto europe and austrailia to race...its small...1/8th mile i believe,but very fast...its built inside an old 1/4 mile dirt car track,its also known as McCann Staduim..my father played football on the infield there when he was in high school in the early 50s.

http://www.fastfridays.com/homepage.htm

here we have some of my friends and favorite riders,,Mike Bast,Bart Bast,Bryce Starks (he will be racing in europe soon)and a pic of Mike with Bruce Penhall,and a pic of mike with his brother and my good friend Steve Bast.steve passed away in 2007 suddenly....
this is cool website as well...

http://www.speedwaybikes.com/

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[Tako_Kichi]

Back in the 70's I used to attend every home match at my local track back in the UK. The summer of '74 is indelibly etched into my memories thanks to 'Seasons in the Sun' by Terry Jacks. That song was at the top of the UK charts for a while and it was played at least once during every break in the racing! I just have to hear that song now and I'm back in '74 with all the sounds and smells (Castrol R....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm) of the racetrack.

That was a big year in my life as that was the year I got my first motorcycle and I rode bikes year round for the next 19 years.

That was my first bike.

 

[pilottj]

I used to do some turn working as a flagger/handler for AFM at Sears Point. Also made some trips up to Thunderhill and down to Buttonwillow. Got lucky and was able to do an AMA race too. It was good fun.


Cheers
TJ

 

[Daveroo]

is thunderhill the road course outside of willows?

 

[Naismith]

Back in the 70's I used to attend every home match at my local track back in the UK. QUOTE]

Same here I used to go to Hampden Stadium, home of the National soccer team (and Queens Park FC) and watch the Glasgow Tigers Speedway. Happy memories and the sounds and smells is something that remains with me to this day, 2 stoke gasolene I think, very unique smell. No idea if they still exist or where they may compete if at all, it sure isnt Hampden. As an aside watchin QPFC was interesting , picture a 50,000 seat stadium on a miserable damp and dreary Saturday in Glesga being one of about 200 loyal supporters of "the Spiders". They used to open the gates 20 minutes from full time so anyone could wander in for free to watch. Who can imagine that now in these corporate times. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

 

[demorier]

I quite often follow the FIM SpeedwayGP series on Speed channel. Watched a FIM meeting in NZ just the other day, must be event 1 or close to that for season 2012. US rider Greg Hancock at the grand old age of 40 won last years accumulated points championship.

 

[pilottj]

is thunderhill the road course outside of willows?

Yep, its just a little ways west of the airport on the west side of I5.

 

[wombat666]

Coming from a Motorcycle racing family I've been a life long 'Speedway' follower.
Many a warm Summer evening was spent at Tracy's Speedway [long since turned into a housing development!] was spent with my Father as a kid, along with visits to the Sydney and Brisbane establishments.
My youngest brother decided to have a go, along with several of his Motocross mates.
Ed spent several weeks 'waiting in the wings', as the system worked along the lines of keeping the novices [despite Ed and several of the others being Australian Motocross Champions] in reserve until the casualty rate created a vacancy on track.
To more or less quote my brother following his entry into the Speedway spotlight, "Rode hard, finished last, frightened the crap out of me, never doing it again!"
And he never did.

I've always been a follower of the US 'Flat Tracks', anyone who could ride a mile oval on a Harley and slide it with both feet on the pegs just had to be good!
And when Kenny Roberts rode a TZ750 Yamaha powered dirt bike I was really impressed.
We get a little European/FIM coverage on pay TV here, but I attempt to follow as much as I can find on the net.

As an aside, the origins of the 'Cinder Track' speedway are part of Australian sporting history, IIRC it began in New South Wales mid 1920s and became a hit in the UK, rapidly spreading throughout Europe.

And Naismith, that 'unique smell' would be the alcohol and Castrol R blend used in the 500 four-stroke JAP or ESO singles, a perfume that I miss to this day.