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Edinburgh vs Wembley 04/07/1939

Edinburgh 22 4 July 1939
Wembley 32 Challenge
Edinburgh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 T B
1. Oliver Hart 3 3 2 8
2. Chick Brine 1 f 1' 2 1
3. Jack Hyland 1 f n 1
4. Jack Gordon 0 2 2 4
5. Laurie Packer 0 2 2 4
6. Leo Lungo
Wembley
1. Malcolm Craven 2 2 3 7
2. Gilbert Craven 0 1' 1 2 1
3. Cliff Parkinson 3 1' 3 7 1
4. Andy Menzies 2' 2 2' 6 2
5. Aub Lawson 3 3 3 9
6. Jimmy Peck 0 1 0 1
Heat 1 Hart, M.Craven, Mitchell, G.Craven 1min 21.8 4 2 4 2
Heat 2 Parkinson, Menzies, Hyland, Gordon 1min 23.2 1 5 5 7
Heat 3 Lawson, Packer, Lungo, Peck 1min 22.4 3 3 8 10 Heat 4 Hart, Menzies, Parkinson, Mitchell (F) 1min 20.4 3 3 11 13
Heat 5 Lawson, Gordon, Peck, Hyland (F) 1min 21.6 2 4 13 17
Heat 6 Packer, M.Craven, G.Craven, Lungo 1min 22 3 3 16 20
Heat 7 Lawson, Hart, Mitchell, Peck 1min 20.6 3 3 19 23
Heat 8 M.Craven, Gordon, G.Craven, Hyland (N) 1min 23 2 4 21 27
Heat 9 Parkinson, Menzies, Packer, Lungo 1min 24.2 1 5 22 32

Match Race 
Cliff Parkinson Oliver Hart Aub Lawson Malcolm Craven 1min 22.4

Special Match Race 
Heat 1 Andy Menzies Cliff Parkinson Laurie Packer Fred Belliveau 1min 23.4
Heat 2 Aub Lawson Oliver Hart Malcolm Craven Gruff Garland 1min 21.8

Reserves Race
Bill Nisbet Norrie Isbister Dick Dennie Dave Lamb 1min 25.4

Scottish Gold Helmet 
Heat 1 Gruff Garland Laurie Packer Jimmy Peck Norrie Isbister 1min 25.4
Heat 2 Aub Lawson Cliff Parkinson Bill Nisbet Gilbert Craven 1min 22
Heat 3 Mick Mitchell Jack Gordon Malcolm Craven Fred Belliveau 1min 23.4
Heat 4 Andy Menzies Oliver Hart Joe Crowther Leo Lungo 1min 22.2
Final: Aub Lawson Andy Menzies Gruff Garland Mick Mitchell 1min 22.8
 Poor weather conditions slightly affected the attendance at the Marine Gardens Speedway on 4 July, when, on a heavy track, Edinburgh were well beaten by Wembley. The final result was Edinburgh 22 points Wembley 32 points.

The home team opened the scoring when Hart defeated the Wembley captain easily. Despite Edinburgh’s promising start, Wembley took matters well in hand in the next heat and continued to do well in the following races. The splendid riding of Aub Lawson, who was the only rider to gain maximum points, coupled with their superior team riding, won the day for Wembley.

A thrilling duel was witnessed in heat 4 between Hart and Cliff Parkinson. The latter got quickly away at the start, but Hart held on and managed to pass his opponent on the bend to beat him by a fair margin.

The local team was unfortunate in heat 5 when they lost Jack Hyland, who sprained his ankle in falling. He was unable to ride for the rest of the meeting.

Lawson and Hart stood even at heat 7, both requiring a win for maximum points, but Lawson proved just too good for Hart.

An unusual incident occurred in the team match race. The riders lined up but when the tape rose Parkinson was left standing on the line. The other three riders were well away, with the Edinburgh captain in the lead. The judges stopped the race, stating that there had been a false start, much to the annoyance of the crowd who showed their disapproval loudly. After the restart Parkinson won this race.

Bill Nisbet showed a return to his old form when he won the reserves’ race with something to spare.

Andy Menzies and Aub Lawson were worthy winners of the special match races, both riders giving a magnificent display of skilful cornering and winning with comparative ease.

In the qualifying heats of the Scottish Gold Helmet, Garland, Lawson, Mitchell and Menzies all had easy runs into the final, Menzies surprisingly defeating the Edinburgh captain. The final was Lawson’s race all the way round. Making a great start, he gained the lead and increased the distance between himself and the field with every lap.