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Newspaper Report (16/05/1931)
The first of the series of dirt track racing fixtures arranged for 1931 was carried through at Marine Gardens Speedway on 16 May before about 8000 spectators under very favourable weather conditions.
With the exception of two Leeds riders, Vic Ctereteko and Tiger Lewis, neither of whom was particularly impressive, all the performers had previous experience of the track.
Paddy Dean, the Australian, now located at West Ham, who in the early days swept all before him, failed to produce the form that made him famous.
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| Harry Whitfield |
Drew McQueen, George McKenzie and Col Stewart were there as good as ever but overshadowed by Harry Whitfield, who must have looked upon the Portobello enclosure as a very happy hunting ground.
Whitfield failed in the final of the handicap because of a very slow start after having recorded in the semi-final the fastest time of the event. He defeated McQueen in a four laps match race with something more in hand than the five yards margin indicated and in the final of the Torch race, though McQueen beat him in their heat, the Wembley man was a winner from start to finish.
Newspaper Report (20/06/1931)
The dirt track racing fixture at the Marine Gardens on 20 June provided racing the competitive nature of which was of higher standard than usual. There were fewer of the all too easily accomplished wins which had made the sport rather tedious to witness.
The most polished rider on view was Broncho Dixon who gave some sparkling performances in which skill was much more evident than reckless daring. So well did he perform in the early heats of the Handicap that a win for him in the final was a reasonable expectancy.
That he could get no nearer than third place was due in some degree to two momentary but vital lapses of his engine but also the manner in which Andy Nicoll, who finished second, kept to the white line and gave him no chance of going through by the short route.
As a matter of fact the tussle between Nicoll and Dixon was so persistent in its interest that the spectators ignored the fact that Sam Aitkenhead was riding to a sound victory some distance before the pair. Aitkenhead’s win from his three second handicap was a triumph of sound unperturbed riding rather then of brilliant flashes.
Dixon could count himself unlucky in not annexing the chief place in the scratch race. He had taken the measure of his opponents early on in his semi-final heat and was going home an easy winner when on the last bend but one he made his only mistake. He hurried his cornering, over slid and was thrown down, to be narrowly but skilfully avoided by Drew McQueen who was following behind.
McQueen thus became the probable winner with the Wembley man Charlie Shelton the danger, as George McKenzie had tumbled out of the event in his heat. Expectations materialised as McQueen led early and all the way, though he allowed Shelton to come rather near in the final fifty yards. McQueen was in sprightly mood and cleverly defeated George McKenzie in two match races.
The crowd would barely numbered 5000.
This was the last speedway meeting at Marine Gardens until 1938.
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