Biffo
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Posts posted by Biffo
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Gotta be Ringwood Riko......after all if they get their planning application through to build houses on the site, which seems likely, could be their last season.....
Besides as Jack says not so far to go
Biffo
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With all the doom and gloom of tracks being built on etc. its good to here some better news.
Spedeworth have announced they are opening another Aldershot Stadium for next season 2008
Sounds like a track at Fleet is being revamped and we assume it will be know as Aldershot Stadium, but dont quote me on that one...
If its the replacement for the original Aldershot Stadium at Tongham then better late than never.
Biffo
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Quoting from the Forum August 2006 ....
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"Either they`re not bothered (Spedeworth) about losing the Stadium or maybe they know more than they claim ?
The Echo say that Eaglebeam are considering their future on the site and there is a fear that the Development Company are to lodge a planning application to build houses on the site.
Only time will tell on that one - but it doesn`t sound good."
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Twelve months later and here we are objecting to Planning permission, suprise, suprise.
But having landowners of the site that are really just land developers is like having the good Dr.Harold Shipman in charge of the N.H.S.
They`re not interested in the stadium and land they`re just waiting for the Goose to lay the Golden egg , or planning permission as its known these days, if granted the value of the site will sky rocket and some people will make an awful lot of money.
Given that part of the deal seems to be that some of the site will become a preservation area as well as 40 houses and the Green anti Motor car propaganda going about these days I think they`ve timed their plan perfectly and I`m sure the short sighted East Dorest District Coucil just love the idea.
Well heres what I told them.
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Customer objects to the Planning Application.
Comments:
Yet another amenity which attracts thousands of visitors to the area on the chopping block for East Dorset District Council.
After many years visiting Matchams Stadium for Motor Sport events, almost Forty years now, it saddens me to learn of this plan to finish with this historic track and replace it with housing. Surely there is enough space in the area for more housing with out destroying this unique venue, which has co-operated with all of the regulations and restrictions placed upon the various promoters by yourselves over the years.
The site could have a bright future given the right to survive .
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Get objecting , its all we`ve got left I`m afraid
Biffo
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....suprised to see a classic last as long as 1975 as they were known to rot very quickly and very few survived that long..mainly being a banger of the early 70's period.
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The Classic cost £5 from a someone at work (failed MOT) and got £10 afterwards for the remains down at the scrapyard, not a bad day out me thinks............meanwhile look what I`ve found, again from the 1970`s
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Spedeworth Stock Cars at Ipswich White top Robert Wolf`s Capri.
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Spedeworth Stock Cars at Aldershot, Alan Burtenshaw`s Capri, dont I know that number from some where ? ...... LOL
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And not only but also.....
According to my Cloudnine Classics year book...
The Consul Classic had height of 143cm and weight of 930 kg (production line of 84,694)
The Consul Capri had a height of 138 cm and weight of 882 kg (production line of 18,716)
Top speed 81 mph
To get that into context Ford produced more Anglia Estate cars than both of the above added together (104,000)
O.K. I`ll go now...... -
Nice one Reg, the Capri being the Coupe version of the Ford Classic, which had 4 doors and the Anglia like backwindow, otherwise much the same car.
Dont know if theres many left to Banger race now but heres one I damaged earlier (Ringwood 1975).
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Yes I know one sides purple and one sides yellow but these things happen when you`re short of paint.
Interesting shape, only stopped `cos the throttle linkage broke. Fixed it then drove it back down to the pit area and back onto the trailer.
Happy Days - Biffo
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Well, an interesting night it was, about ten SuperX cars were taken out at the end of the first lap, in a huge melee. Unfortunatly, I was eating ice cream at the time, and the camera couldn't be operated.
(Days of Thunder excuse!)I got three videos, the first two laps ofthe XModified, Legend, and Xcars second feature. All should be posted up within the week. Along with the pictures I got.
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Excellent......hope the Ice Cream was worth it.....
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Hey guys, on Wednesday, I will be going to my local track for the first time this year, yeah, it's really late, but, the petrol pries have been killer.
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Of course U.S. Gallon is only 3.75 litres and an Imperial Gallon is 4.25 litres.......
.....O.K. we`re still being ripped off....
Photos should be interesting Matt, hope to get back out to Florida myself for November and visit another track.
mmmmm more photos..
Regards Biffo
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So in conclusion; A man walks into a bar, meets an eleven year old who starts an argument, everyone in the bar joins in, things get heated until the premises are closed down by the authorities.
Must be a lesson there somewhere.
When I was reading through I thought how old is this guy ? Wasnt too suprised at 11.
Maybe 11 year olds are a bit blunt sometimes and dont think of the concequences of just what they`re banging out on the keyboard.
You can give `em some leeway `cos their only 11 or ignore them altogether.
I guess the same thing applies to people at the other end of the scale........ like me...
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Nice selection m8
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Another rainy Weekend wandering round the shops in Chichester on Saturday. Went into W.H.Smiths to spend my Fathers Day Gift Voucher............but on what.?Checked out their range of CD`s , I`ve got more in my car than they had in stock !
Took a look at the DVD`s , either got `em already or dont want `em anyway.
Browse through the books Formula One this, Formula One that, more of Murrey Walker, Rallying, but nothing there quite thats my fancy.............. When ZAPPPP!
Do my eyes deceive me, Superstox & Stock Cars the Golden Years by Richard John Neil.
Only one copy on the shelf and it`s mine !
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It `s what wet Weekends are made for
A book referring to the goings on throughout the 1970`s of Spedeworths Superstox and Stock Car formula. Originally published in 2005 and containing over 200 black and white photos from 1969 - 1979.
It`s £12.99 ( lucky I had the gift voucher) but I`m sure you could find it 2nd hand on e-bay.
The Golden Years ? Well more Spedeworth tracks and more drivers in both formula and when life seemed somehow less complicated and the sun always shone........o.k. you get what I mean.
Some of us elderly folk even remember being there.
Front cover is of a young Derek Warwick (221) lined up at Wimbledon ready to contest his World Championship. Back then it was one on the most popular nights crowd wise and even got a mention in the sports pages of the press, even the Daily Express would you believe.
Every track began with the letter A or W, Aldershot, Arlington, White City, Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Wisbech, and a couple that didnt, Gt.Yarmouth, Ipswich, Ringwood and even Cross in Hand which was closed by the Local District Council after 1972.
They even had a dabble at using grass tracks at Gt. Chart in Kent and Billingshurst in Sussex.
Must say it contains some great photos of that era and some good shots of Cross in Hand Raceway , which are pretty rare. Also featured is Cowdenbeath and some shots from Northern Ireland.
If your old enough, you lived in the South or East Anglia and you remember names like; Dave Pierce, Tony May, Geoff Goddard, Graham North, Foxy Dance , Geoff Munn etc. its a book for you, if not buy it and find out more!
Also in the series is Oval Racing in Devon and Cornwall.
Enjoy Biffo
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.................. Race one i was too late for, race two the fuel pump seized and race three i stalled and the starter motor went u/s on the first corner, oh well, thats racing for you.............
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Oh no ! Of course none of that would have happened at Horndean, lol.Better luck next time.
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Sorry to announce a change of plan, i'll be doing standlake this sunday as 2-3 mates are racing there. I'll still be in the cav tho and firestorm will be there too, so come and say hello if you're around,
cheers,
xTx
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Went to Horndean.....Was going to ask which one were you........?[attachmentid=16432]
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Guess its called being in the wrong place at the wrong time..
How`d you get on at Standlake then...?
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I know! I feel so lucky!
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Oh no, I think Kylie Monogue`s gonna sing......................... 
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I'm aiming to race there june 10th in a 1.6inj booted mk3 cav, that i'm building on the drive atm. I should be racing as 742 so come and say hello if you're at the meet
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Excellent news m8, yes I was gonna aim for June 10th cos its down as Bangers : Young Guns v Oldies, amongst other things. See you there then.Probably go down for the July 22nd Banger Team racing too.
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Ive always thought Horndean was quite a popular track? wouldnt of thought you wouldnt know about it
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Well I knew it was there, just never bothered to go till now .Maybe being an old Spedeworthington I thought anything else would be a bit Naff....
......which is not always the case. -
Someone I know was racing a car on our local track, a few miles down the road.
Sort of Mini Hot Rod raced under grass track rules. He`d spend quite a bit of dosh on the engine, but was doing well over the last couple of seasons and suggested I went along sometime.
Said I`d try but hadn`t made it up to now, besides was grass track really my kind of thing ?
Finally got down there last Sunday so thought I`d share the experience.
The track is just off jnc 2 of the A3(M) about 10 miles north of Portsmouth, near Horndean.
The Southern Autosport Association organise the meetings here under S.E.G.T.O. (South East Grass Track Organisation) believe Tongham track at Four Marks and one at Croydon race under the same Banner.
Paid my £7 addmission, which includes trackside parking, and drove round to find a space.
Delighted to find they race round a chalk based oval , not grass at all.
Better still, as well as various Hot Rod style classes of non contact racing, they actually race Bangers.
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As far as I`m concerned there`s contact racing and theres non contact racing so wont bore you with the details between the various classes and I preferred the Bangers as you can tell.
Just to make the track more interesting the water tanker is sploshed round between races.
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These are the Specials, which the guy I had previously mentioned, had now switched to.
He`s still getting used to the understeer with the R.W.D. after racing the Mini.
These things are powered by 2 litre Ford Pintos with racing gearbox nailed on the back and go pretty quick.
Not too much protection at the front end and what happens when the throttle cable jams going down the straight with that engine behind you, probably just as well there coffin shaped !
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Well he managed a 2nd place in the final, hence the trophy.
Summing up I`d say if you like a more relaxed day out you`d probably enjoy a visit.
They tend to start racing at 11 am through till 4.30 pm so it can be a long day but not bad for £7
On the down side most of the racing is non contact with only about ten cars per ten lap race in the heats, although there are about 30 Heats to get through before the finals.
The plus side , for me, were the Bangers which brightened up the afternoon when they came out.
There were only 12 - 15 cars per race but they put a a good show I thought and certainly knew why they`d turned up.....plus they finished off the meet with a Destuction Derby, again only about 12- 15 cars but quite entertaining all the same.
Cant say I`ll go that often but I`ll be back, as Arnie would say, and the best bit was it only takes me 10 minutes to get home.
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And so to bed !!!
Biffo
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By the way, this thread is one years old lol, i think Rikards made up his mind by now! lool
Thats right
If I remember correctly I went to Essex in the end
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Doh....I thought my computer was running slow......lol -
Im only really in it for the bangers so what do i choose? the small bangers at Arlington or the Team Meet at Arena? iv only been to one Arena meet so not sure on reguler turn outs, how many bangers do u recon will show for the arena team meet? and what meeting would you recomend. Also i have never seen "Super Bangers"...........
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Well m8 seems small vans might be chaos if there are enough but there again if you`ve not seen Super Bangers nows your chance and Banger Teams are usually good.Plus rumour has it Arena might not be there after a couple of seasons ( another huge shopping centre, just what we need) besides you can do Arlington any time.
Something to think about -
did u go see the hillclimb / test area near the main track ??????
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Yes thanks , did it all , I hope. They`ve even got the original Gentlemans urinal in the other end of the Toilets in the main building, it`s all roped off to stop you using it , you have to use to modern one.
Not that I`ve got a thing about Gents toilets you understand......lol
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Looking for somewhere interesting to visit this year, how about a museum thats really interesting.
The World`s first ever oval racing circuit opened in 1907 "Brooklands" Weybidge , Surrey.
I`d promised myself I`d get to visit the place one day and finally have.
Loads of old racing cars still in situ in the original garages and most of the original buildings are still there which isn`t bad considering they closed the circuit officially in 1939.
Originally planned as a test track to help us jolly British chaps do better racing our motor cars ( you`d take your mechanic along for the ride, very handy) when competing against those foreign folk over the Channel, cos up to 1906 the speed limit over here was 20 m.p.h. which stayed that way up until 1930. Added to that we couldn`t race motor cars on public roads, where as over the water they could, some things never change.
A certain Hugh Fortesque Lock-King stumped up the cash and built the oval circuit ,3.25 miles including the separate start/finish straight with banked bends up to 30 feet high on 300 acres of swampy woodland and it cost him £150,000 in 1906 .
The track opened June 17th 1907, most notable event being a Darracq racing car reaching 90 mph , within 3 years the record was raised to 110 m.p.h.
Brooklands went on to become a World famous track with other tracks being built inside the main oval.
Then came WW2 and the track closed and the War department took over and used the Brooklands areodrome in the centre.
Meanwhile the track was planted with trees to prevent enemy aircraft seeing it .
After the War the owners sold the site to Vickers Aircraft who expanded it and now it has a long history to aviation as well as motor racing.
The Aircraft museum on the same site is good too with several aircraft you can actually climb on board including a Vc10 and a Concorde .
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For more information try www.brooklands.museum.com
Happy Hunting
Biffo
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Best of luck m8.......
must see the after photos
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O bum Mcrew beat me to it..... DOH
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You have bolted the doors but forgot one vital thing the Cage!
Cages are for wimps!
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Brakes are for wimps!
Off to the races!
in Real Life Racing
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Reminded me of the old Sunshine Raceway in Tampa Fl. before it was closed down to build a new highway.
They raced similar cars there.
Nothing like a large herd of , brain rattling, V8 motors powering down the straight.
Liked the last race best, didnt think that #47 would make it safely round the outside but he managed it and won, have seen those walls rip the side off a car before now when you get it wrong..!
Nice to know its not all NASCAR out there, plenty of quarter mile Raceways too.