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Post by weewillie on May 4, 2009 12:45:31 GMT 1
I have been told that a midget car meeting was held at Newcastle sometime in the 1950s. At this meeting, Frank Johnson is reputed to have taken his car over the safety fence on to the terracing - luckily no spectators or Johnson were injured. Any more information known about this.
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Post by stockcar54 on Aug 9, 2009 23:21:54 GMT 1
Midgets raced at Brough Park, Newcastle at the end of 1951 for which I have no further details & 2 meetings in 1952 that I do have details of & Frank Johnson was not programmed at either meeting. Perhaps someone else may have details of the 1951 meeting.
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Post by youtubefiend on Apr 6, 2012 0:45:11 GMT 1
How much involvement did Frank Johnson have with Skirrow midget cars. Was he as spectacular on four wheels as he was on two wheels when riding speedway for my old local club at Oxford.
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Post by youtubefiend on Apr 6, 2012 0:46:38 GMT 1
Midgets raced at Brough Park, Newcastle at the end of 1951 for which I have no further details & 2 meetings in 1952 that I do have details of & Frank Johnson was not programmed at either meeting. Perhaps someone else may have details of the 1951 meeting. Any chance of a synopsis of the 1951 midget races at Newcastle? Wasn't one of them an international team match?
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Post by ovaltrack on Jan 26, 2021 10:51:35 GMT 1
Looks like it was intended that Johnson was to race at the 1951 meeting - here is the preview text from the Daily Mirror...
Daily Mirror, 23 November 1951 THEY'RE READY FOR A 'FLYING' START
THE biggest invasion of Speedway riders into midget cars will take place during tonight's meeting at Newcastle, when six riders are expected to compete for the Newcastle Championship. Local men Son Mitchell, Don Wilkinson and Mike Tams; Frank Johnson and Jimmy Wright, alias Jimmy James, of Cardiff, and Oliver Hart, of Bradford, are all due to drive.
As the Newcastle boys are newcomers to these "baby flyers," star driver Wilf Davis took five cars to the track yesterday to coach them. Plans for the formation of a midget car drivers' association will be discussed before the meeting.
The only report of the meeting I can find at the moment is as follows...
Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette, Saturday 24 November 1951 MIDGET CAR THRILLS AT BROUGH PARK
Thrills and spills galore marked the introduction to the North-East of midget-car racing at Brough Park, Newcastle, last night. Three of the cars crashed off the cinder track and tore up the safety barriers, while a fourth plunged into the crowd and injured a spectator. Don Wilkinson, driver of one of the cars, was carried off on stretcher. Rain, which started to fall steadily shortly after the meeting opened, played havoc with the racing and some events had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, the nine-heat challenge match between teams representing Newcastle and Northampton was completed and resulted in a 31-23 win for the Tynesiders. The home team's victory was all the more convincing because five of the six drivers are professional speedway riders with no previous experience of midget-car racing. The Northampton men. on the other hand, are seasoned midgets.”
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