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Post by Pail Merk on Sept 4, 2022 10:54:30 GMT 1
Forty years ago, the heavens opened and lo, the big man’s wrath fair poured on a small corner of Lanarkshire. And that should’ve been the end of it, but fate decreed that racing should continue at Craighead Park, Blantyre.
Why? Because the original Glasgow versus Weymouth fixture on May 7 had been scrubbed to allow the SCB to inspect the new track. Postponing the September 4 match would create major scheduling problems for both promotions so late in the season. Well, that’s what fans were told.
And thus, on a strange Saturday evening, the Tigers and Wildcats battled through stair-rod rain. Riders barely attempted to slide the bikes. They just gritted their teeth and babied it around the puddled bends. Tigers won the National League no-contest 51-45, with heat times between five and 11 seconds outside the track record (58.0 seconds, set by Newcastle’s Rod Hunter). Steve Lawson beat Simon Wigg 2-1 in the Silver Helmet match races. The second half got binned.
Racing in such appalling conditions would never happen today. Amen to that.
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Post by benbulben on Sept 4, 2022 11:00:40 GMT 1
I remember that night , Pail Merk. Think I was cooried down near that big wall at the third bend. I didnt mind the rain because the Tigers had won and I drove back to Glasgow a happy fella.
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Post by Pail Merk on Sept 4, 2022 11:43:40 GMT 1
The weather forecast must’ve been bad because I took a large golf brolly and managed to stay dry. Sod's law, it was also the night I introduced a pal to the, er, delights of speedway. He never returned.
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