What, when and where?- your first motorsporting encounter.

[Lazy B'stard]

Ah the wood yard. We rolled our little Skoda 120S on the hill above the wood yard on last years Trackrod Historic. Its changed beyond all recognition since those days, the trees have got so big you cannot see the steep hill anymore. Anyone remember the rally challenge series on BBC1 in the late 80s? 5 stages, 5 drivers in 5 different cars, i think they used the Astra in Dalby. It was great, suprised they didn't do it again.

[dukla]

1970'ish, F1, camping at Kyalami. Scrambling under the fences on the Thursday afternoon meant entrance was free. Practice on Friday, walking round the track Friday night. The noise made by those 12 cylinder Matras! Also listening to the radio illicitly at boarding school to the 9 hour race progress.

[Gordonwr]

Blimey, is that the bus that's still there (or was a few years ago when I last went?) it was used by the commentators 
 


Piglet, I was at croft about 4 weeks ago to watch some bike racing, and the old bus is still in use for the commentaries

 If I remember correctly in the early 60's the bus was race control !!

[Gordonwr]

1000 km Nürburgring 1971: My Dad took me there when I was 12 years old and I became addicted with sportscar racing. I'll never forget the Elford/Larrousse 908-Porsche in the classic Martini livery crossing the finish line, what a beautiful car . Same for the Ferrari 312 with Ickx and Regazzoni and the Alfa T33, one of them driven by Rolf Stommelen. In those days most F1-drivers did sports car racing as well.

I have the program for that race on my desk now !! Also the 1970 race program, what fabulous cars they were.

[Perdu]

Evocative this thread, right?

Does playing with my Ferrari and Maserati Dinky toys in the school playground two days after my 7th birthday and getting my arm broken by the big kids playing British Bulldog count???

My first real motorsport was like Mark's at Curborough, if you dont count belting round Central Wales in Army Air Portable Landys on the fabulous Eppynt and other Forestry Commision roads raising dust and learning how far you can "push" a Landy before it bites you.

At Curborough I discovered that you can see the racers if you just walk down the hill.

But of course the real introduction to "Real Motor Sport" was 2003 when my mate Nick agreed to come with me to LM to watch the pretty Bentleys...

That changed my life

[mgmark]

Evocative this thread, right?
Does playing with my Ferrari and Maserati Dinky toys in the school playground...count???

Aged 7, I had my Corgi Proteus Bluebird on a sloping tarmac'd school playground - boy did that one break some speed records in my hands and acquire a few chips to the paintwork.  Still got it too!

MG Mark

[Stu]

Good Thread. Mine was speedway at Hull which I was taken to by my brother. The first time they came round the bend where I was standing and that waft of Castrol R. Sheer heaven and unforgetable.

[jpchenet]

Good Thread. Mine was speedway at Hull which I was taken to by my brother. The first time they came round the bend where I was standing and that waft of Castrol R. Sheer heaven and unforgetable.

Spooky!!  Mine was Hull's Speedway stadium as well. I must have been about 8 and went with my dad. We were visiting my Grandparents who lived in Hull at the time and we just went out for the evening, I had no idea where I was going until I got there.

The smell was unforgettable!

[Perdu]

Ah yesss! I remember going to Hall Green Race Track to see the speedway one time as a kid. Noises and cinder dust in my ears and nose.

Exciting, but no beggar ever took me again and later on... there were girls, Beatles, Stones and my old Jawa 250.

And girls

So I never went again.

 

[Lazy B'stard]

Who'd have thought that mid week dog tracks and castor oil would have such an effect on us all. Its a million miles away from Bernies little circus but on the strength of whats been posted on here it appears to have done more for motorsport than that poisoned dwarf could ever do! Amazing.

[Stu]

Good Thread. Mine was speedway at Hull which I was taken to by my brother. The first time they came round the bend where I was standing and that waft of Castrol R. Sheer heaven and unforgetable.

Spooky!!  Mine was Hull's Speedway stadium as well. I must have been about 8 and went with my dad. We were visiting my Grandparents who lived in Hull at the time and we just went out for the evening, I had no idea where I was going until I got there.

The smell was unforgettable!

Spooky indeed. I went a couple of times and remember a rider coming off and hitting one of the lamposts they used to have round the track. Never been since but always quite fancy taking the boy out for the night to watch it.

After the speedway, the next racing was bikes, with Donnington, Silverstone aand Assen. Then the F1 grand prix of europe at Brands followed when i was about 20 and that was that, a totally boring f**k*r (according to everyone else) who could sit all Saturday and Sunday to watch a car procession around a track.

[jpchenet]

Who'd have thought that mid week dog tracks and castor oil would have such an effect on us all. Its a million miles away from Bernies little circus but on the strength of whats been posted on here it appears to have done more for motorsport than that poisoned dwarf could ever do! Amazing.

And now he's trying to kill football as well by buying a stake in QPR! 

[Lazy B'stard]

Word on the street is that The Flav is to buy QPR and everyones favourite mini Warhol lookalike has his little greedy eyes on Arsenal. The Flav is going to wipe out QPRs debts and put £100 million into the pot! Where do these guys get the money?

[oldtimer]

Word on the street is that The Flav is to buy QPR and everyones favourite mini Warhol lookalike has his little greedy eyes on Arsenal. The Flav is going to wipe out QPRs debts and put £100 million into the pot! Where do these guys get the money?

Think Flav and 'the little one' are in on the QPR deal together.

[Martini...LB]

for me it was the early 70's and sand racing at st ouens bay, the sprints along the 'five mile road' 9behind the sand racing, and the bouley bay hill climbs.. then in the mid 80's it was the babtism of fire.. Le Mans.. when you could pick up your camping tickets on the peage on the sat AM!!

Must be a 'doppleganger' or something like that. Mine is pretty much the same as Fagey's except the sandracing, hillclimbs and sprints were all in the sister island Guernsey. Plus I did kart and bike racing in the late 70's early 80's in Guernsey and France then my first visit to LM in '85.

>Martini...