|
Southern Rovers
Southern Rovers were a British motorcycle speedway team between 1956 and 1959. They were the champions of the Southern Area League during 1957. The team were unique to speedway at the time because they completed a league season despite having no home stadium to ride from. History The team were created in 1956 following the demise of Brafield Flying Foxes. The Southern Area League was faced with a serious problem in that only three teams would have lined up for the season, therefore the promoters got together and encouraged the formation of a team that would race at the three venues of the other league teams. Home fixtures for Southern Rovers would not be held at the team's stadium that they were riding against but away fixtures would. Rovers' team manager Les King also lost the services of their rider Vic Hall (formerly of Brafield) to injury. Therefore the team did extremely well to finish third in the table and were assisted by the consistent riding of Eric Hockaday, Colin Godd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh Weir Stadium
Rayleigh Weir Stadium was a speedway, greyhound racing and stock car stadium in Weir between Rayleigh and Thundersley in England. It is not to be confused with the Rayleigh Greyhound Sports Stadium that existed in O’Tooles Meadow on Down Hall Road. Origins In 1947 the area chosen for a new stadium was a small village called Weir between the small market town of Rayleigh and the district of Thundersley which was largely rural. It would be situated just six miles from Southend on the south side of the Southend Arterial Road, this particular stretch of road is of historical importance to the motoring world as it was the first road to be built in Britain specifically for motor vehicles which opened on 25 March 1925. The new stadium could be accessed via Claydons Lane or Rat Lane. The 1947 application by Francis McGreavey to the Benfleet Union was originally refused but later granted on appeal. McGreavey had made his fortune from building Morrison and Anderson shelters. The dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh, Essex
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011. Toponymy The name ''Rayleigh'' is Old English in origin deriving from ''rǣge'' ('female roe-deer or she-goat') and ''lēah'' ('clearing'). Therefore, the name means overall 'wood or clearing of the wild she-goats or roe-deer". History Prehistoric and Roman times There has been a scattering of stray finds around the town from Prehistoric and Roman times, including some Roman roof and hypocaust tiles found within the fabric of Rayleigh Church. This suggests that there was a Roman habitation site within the area. However, there is little evidence of any density of population here during this period. Saxon era One significant archaeological find was in the early 2000s at the western edge of Rayleigh, at the site of the former Park School in Rawreth Lane. An early Saxon cemetery site was d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thundersley
Thundersley is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Benfleet, in the Castle Point borough, in southeast Essex, England. It sits on a clay ridge shared with Basildon and Hadleigh, east of Charing Cross, London. In 1951 the parish had a population of 6482. Its main parish takes in Daws Heath to the east which is also part of the current ''Cedar Hall'' local government electoral ward. The two areas have Anglican churches. A third Anglican church is in the secular ward of ''St John's'', which is commonly conflated on maps with South Benfleet which it adjoins and it is separated from Thundersley by a narrow green buffer. Between the two wards is the main ward of ''St Peter's'', which loosely resembles the very longstanding church parish. One ward is partially in Thundersley, ''Boyce'' which includes Thundersley Green and various short streets next to the town itself. Toponymy Thundersley derives from the Old English ''Þunres lēah'' = "grove or meadow e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Area League
The Southern Area League was the regional third and then regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams as a replacement for the defunct Southern League. The league ran for three seasons from 1954 to 1956 as the regional third tier and then one season in 1957 as the regional second tier before league racing disappeared entirely below National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ... level in 1958. It returned for a final season in 1959. Champions See also List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions References {{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Speedway leagues Speedway competitions in the United Kingdom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1957 Southern Area League
The 1957 Southern Area League was the fourth season of the Southern Area League but the first as the regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. Summary California Poppies were no longer competitors with the promotion and nickname moving to Aldershot. The Southern Rovers team who had been without a track in the previous season had found a new home at Rayleigh and were also referred to as Rayleigh II. Southern Rovers were the champions. Final table Leading Averages Riders' Championship Leo McAuliffe won the Riders' Championship for the second successive season. The final was held at Arlington Stadium on 29 September. Remarkably McAuliffe and Maury Conway dead heated in the run off to decide the champion after both riders finished on 13 points. A second run off was required in which McAuliffe won by a wheel. The winning trophy was presented by Barry Briggs. See also * List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions *Knocko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motorcycle Speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only one gear and have no brakes. Racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock (mostly used in Australia and New Zealand). Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track, the motorcycles reach speeds of up to . There are now both domestic and international competitions in a number of countries, including the Speedway World Cup, whilst the highest overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix events is pronounced the world champion. Speedway is popular in Central and Northern Europe and to a lesser extent in Australia and North America. A variant of track racing, speedway is adm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northampton International Raceway
Northampton Shaleway also known as Brafield, is used for BriSCA F1 Stock Cars, BriSCA Formula 2 Stock Cars, V8 Hotstox, and various other forms of oval motor sport including National Hot Rods, Banger racing, Saloon Stock Cars, Ministox and Rebels. It also briefly hosted speedway and greyhound racing. Location and History It is located 4 miles south east of Northampton between Brafield-on-the-Green and Horton on the Brafield/Horton Road, Northamptonshire, England. It hosts BriSCA F1 and F2 Stock Car Racing from March through to November. The Tarmac Oval and Figure of 8 track is in length and surrounded by a steel plate fence. Brafield was originally built in 1949 by Dave Hughes who promoted Skirrow Midget Racing. The track was purchased by John La Trobe in 1955 and the first Stock Car event was held on 15 August 1955. The track was concrete surfaced in 1959. The track was sold to Tom Blissett in 1989, who also owned the Lydden Hill Race Circuit . The track was then sold on to Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh Rockets
The Rayleigh Rockets were a Speedway team which operated from 1949 until their closure in 1973 from the Rayleigh Weir Stadium in Rayleigh, Essex . History The Rockets inaugural league season was in 1949 Speedway National League Division Three, where they finished in 12th place. After two more seasons in Division Three they joined the Southern League (which was a new name for the third division). The became champions of the league in 1952 and 1953. The Rockets closed in 1958 but re-opened again in 1960 and entered the Provincial League. The Provincial league was the second division of speedway at the time and Rayleigh won their third piece of silverware after winning the 1960 Provincial Speedway League. In 1964, they entered a regional Metropolitan League but this was the last league racing seen until 1968, when Len Silver took over as promoter. The Rockets rode at the stadium until 1973 when it was announced that the stadium had been sold to developers and the Rockets would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo McAuliffe
Leo McAuliffe (1933-2018) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from Wales. Biography McAuliffe was born in 1933 in the village of Clydach, Swansea, Clydach near Swansea. In 1948, he moved to Pontardawe and appeared in court following a motorcycle offence where the magistrate suggested that he find an appropriate place for his motorcycling. After moving to London he began training at Rye House and gained his first contract with Eastbourne Eagles McAuliffe won the Southern Area League Riders' Championship, held at Rye House Stadium on 30 September 1956. Later, he became a protege of fellow Welshman Freddie Williams (speedway rider), Freddie Williams and went on to ride in the List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, top tier of British Speedway for various clubs. His greatest moment came when he reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship. He was capped by Great Britain just once. World final appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1959 Southern Area League
The 1959 Southern Area League was the final season of the Southern Area League as the regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. With no league in 1958, a set of 6 new teams competed in 1959. Summary Eastbourne Eagles were the champions, Southern Rovers withdrew after just one league meeting. Final table Southern Rovers withdrew after one meeting - record expunged. Leading Averages Riders' Championship Dave Hankins won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Foxhall Stadium on 26 September. See also * List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions *Knockout Cup (speedway) Knockout Cup (sometimes referred to as the KO Cup) is a type of British motorcycle speedway competition, examples of which have run annually since 1929. Each tier of British Speedway has its own respective Knockout Cup. The current Knockout Cup ... References {{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Southern Area League 1959 in British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 Southern Area League
The 1956 Southern Area League was the third season of the regional third tier/division of speedway racing in the United Kingdom British teams. Brafield Flying Foxes were no longer competitors with Southern Rovers taking their place. Southern Rovers had no track and raced all their 'home' fixtures on away tracks. Summary Rye House Roosters were the champions for the second consecutive season. Vic Ridgeon of Rye House topped the averages. Although the Southern Area League continued, it became the second tier division instead of the third tier division. There was not another third division of British speedway until 1996 when the Conference was inaugurated. Final table Leading Averages Riders' Championship Leo McAuliffe won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Rye House Stadium on 30 September, after initially being postponed on the 9 Spetember because of rain. See also * List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions *Knockout Cup (speedway) Knockout Cup ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
