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Colin Pratt
Colin George Pratt (10 October 1938 – 2 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider and later promoter of the Coventry Bees who compete in the British Elite League (speedway), Elite League. Racing career Born in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, Pratt lived near to Mike Broadbank from whom he bought his first speedway bike at the age of nineteen, and practised at the nearby Rye House Stadium, Rye House track.Oakes, Peter (1963) "A Peter Oakes Speedtale on Colin Pratt: Saints Must Regret Their Decision", ''Speedway Star'', 27 July 1963, p. 16 After his National Service, he returned to the Rye House training track in 1960 and had his first competitive rides, reaching the final of the Whitsun Trophy. He was signed by the Southampton Saints, where he made his National League (1932–1964), National League debut against Oxford Cheetahs, Oxford. A broken wrist sustained at Swindon brought his debut season to an early end. He had only second-half rides for Southampton in 1961, and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon is the second most populated town in Broxbourne with a population of 42,253 according to the United Kingdom's 2011 census. It borders Ware to the North, Nazeing in Essex to the East, and Broxbourne to the South. The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of Hoddesdon. The town is served by Rye House railway station and nearby Broxbourne railway station. History Early history The name "Hoddesdon" is believed to be derived from a Saxon or Danish personal name combined with the Old English suffix "don", meaning a down or hill. The earliest historical reference to the name is in the Domesday Book within the hundred of Hertford. Hoddesdon was situated about north of London on the main road to Cambridge and to the north. The road fork ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speedway Star
Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks * Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race courses * Cycle speedway, a form of bicycle racing *Dirt track racing, known as speedway in Australia and New Zealand *Motorcycle speedway, a form of motorcycle sport *Oval track racing Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a Road racing, road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the directi ..., motor racing on an oval track which turns in one direction * Sidecar speedway, a form of sidecar racing Geography * Speedway, Indiana, a town in Marion County, Indiana, home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway * Speedway, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mercer County Arts, entertainment, and me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Britain Speedway Team
The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Champion Tai Woffinden. Speedway World Cup The England national speedway team has won the Speedway World Team Cup on five occasions with the Great Britain side winning four times. They were a major force in the 1970s, winning five consecutive tournaments, two as England and three as Great Britain. Key riding members of the title wins include Peter Collins (five wins), Malcolm Simmons (four wins), New Zealand-born Ivan Mauger, Dave Jessup and Ray Wilson (all three wins). The cup has eluded them since 1989, although they came close in 2000, missing out when Mark Loram fell in a race-off, and 2004 where a team of Mark Loram, Lee Richardson, Gary Havelock, David Norris and Scott Nicholls missed out by one point. Both narrow defeats were at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradford Dukes
The Bradford Dukes were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated from the Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1986 until their closure in 1997.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway has long been associated with Odsal Stadium; there have been three eras of racing activity at the venue spanning the years 1945-1960, 1970-1975 and most recently 1985-1997. There was also a short-lived existence at the old Greenfield Stadium between 1961-1962. Speedway returned to Odsal in 1985 after a ten-year absence when it was selected by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to host the 1985 Speedway World Championship. Bradford Council were quick to seize on the prestige of being associated with a World event and approved £1 million project to refurbish the Odsal Stadium. A 40,000 crowd attended at the final. In March 1986, Odsal opened its doors to British League action for the first time since the 1950s after the Halifax Dukes were offe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Lions (speedway)
The London Lions were a motorcycle speedway team that operated for one season during the 1996 Premier League speedway season from the Hackney Wick Stadium, the former home of the Hackney Hawks and the Hackney Kestrels. Management The promoter and team manager for that season was former Hackney rider Colin Pratt. Fellow promoters were Ivan Henry and Terry Russell who moved their Arena Essex Hammers promotion into Hackney. 1996 Squad *(c) * * * * * * * * League Record They finished the season in ninth place (out of nineteen) but because the stadium had been newly modernised and the track was not as good as when it was held there previously, crowds were not as high as was hoped for. Speedway had barely returned in 1995 (for the British Grand Prix) when it was announced that the Stadium had passed into the ownership of the receivers. Come the end of the 1996 season there was still no new owner. Racing was never seen at the stadium again. The greyhound racing also vacated the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Lynn Stars
King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when King's Lynn failed to have a team competing in the British league system. History 1966–1995 The team's inaugural season was the 1966 British League season, where they finished 16th. They managed to finish in third place during the 1972 and 1973 seasons with their strongest riders being Terry Betts and Malcolm Simmons. The first silverware won by the team was the Knockout Cup in 1977. They won the final by the small margin of two points on aggregate, thanks largely to Michael Lee and Betts. The team continued to compete in the highest division until the end of the 1995 season but failed to finish any higher than 4th place. The team has operated with a few different nicknames, including: the Knights; Silver Machine (as an additional nick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Len Silver
Len Silver (born 2 February 1932, east London, United Kingdom) is a former speedway rider and is former promoter of the Rye House Rockets. Racing career Silver stopped racing in 1957 but returned to the Ipswich Witches in 1960 after a layoff due to injury. In 1961 he was transferred to Exeter where he skippered the Exeter Falcons and won the Provincial League Riders' Championship in 1962. Silver made 10 successful defences of the Silver Sash Match Race Championship. In 1964 he transferred to the Hackney Hawks as a rider/promoter but his riding career was cut short by serious injuries after a first bend crash at Hackney shortly after joining. Promoting career Silver continued as Hackney's Promoter and Manager until the demise of the Hawks in 1983, and also promoted at Hackney's sister track Rye House. As part of Allied Presentations, he also promoted at the Rayleigh Rockets, Weymouth Wildcats, Crewe Kings, Sunderland Stars and the Reading Racers. He also spent a season as promot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speedway World Championship
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championships were held in 1936. Today, this official FIM championship is organised as a series of Speedway Grand Prix events, where points are awarded according to performance in the event and tallied up at the end of each season. However, up to 1994, it was run as a single-night event after qualifying rounds during the season, leading up to a big final of 20 heats, where points were awarded according to riders' heat placings and then tallied up at the end. Before the World Championship received its formal recognition from the ACU and the FIM in 1936, other unofficial Speedway World Championships were staged between 1931 and 1935, in Europe, South America and Australasia. Organization 1929 to 1935 – Unofficial Championships 1929 to 1935 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Ham Hammers
The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929. History They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of Johnnie Hoskins. The track opened in 1928 and staged a few meetings during the early war years. Meetings were staged in 1945 but the Hammers re-opened in 1946 and ran until 1955. However dwindling crowds saw the promotion close. It did not re-open until 1964. The West Ham team were the inaugural winners of the British League in 1965, under a promotion fronted by former rider Tommy Price. Dave Lanning became promoter in 1966, and West Ham ran for a further six seasons until 1971 when they were informed that the stadium was being sold by the Greyhound Racing Association to make way for building development. The Romford Bombers The Romford Bombers were a speedway team which operated from 1969 until their closure in 1971. History In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lokeren
Lokeren () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second most important city after Sint-Niklaas. The city, located on the river Durme, the Lede, and the E17 motorway, has more than 42,100 inhabitants, who are called Lokeraars or Rapenfretters. Because Lokeren is located on the Durme, Lokeren is often called "The Durme City". Horse sausages are officially recognized as a regional product. Toponym A group of authors see the element ''luken'' in the place name, which means (en)close or to close, to shut. Lokeren would refer to an enclosed place between the Durme and a forest area with wild animals. According to another theory, the name Lokeren would derive from, on the one hand, the Indo-European root word ''leuk'', which means clear or shiny, and on the other hand, the prehistoric hydronymic suffix ''arna'', which means water. The problem with this theory is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first race 7.45pm). The Witches are currently promoted by former Ipswich riders Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins. Chris Louis is the son of former rider and promoter John Louis History Early history Foxhall Stadium was purpose-built for speedway in 1950, and meetings were held there from 1951 to 1965 when the track was resurfaced for stock car racing. Attendances approached 20,000 and made stars of riders such as Syd Clarke, Junior Bainbridge, Tich Read and Peter Moore. The inaugural league season was the 1952 Speedway Southern League, where the team finished 8th. After 10 seasons of league speedway the team withdrew from the 1962 Speedway National League mid-season. Their best placing to that date had been a third place finish in 1953. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
