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A Team from Melbourne in the 1950's
While today's younger fans will not be familiar with most of these names it will jog the memories of older fans. Tracey's Maribyrnong Speedway was a hotbed for developing riders who later went on to star in British speedway. It operated in Melbourne from the late 1940s to the early 60's when it was closed due to resident protests about the noise. The team I would select from my earliest memories would consist of :-
Scratch races with these riders were great but the highlights of the night were watching these riders coming through the field, from between 200 and 260 yards behind, to often win the six man handicap races on the wide 440 yard track. Ken McKinlay was a frequent, very popular and successful visitor who also featured in this group of backmarkers This era lacked the colour of today with all riders wearing black leathers and the only colour was the white boots of the Exeter team riders. Riders from the later years of Tracey's, who went onto make the grade in the UK included Ray Cresp (Wembley), Peter Vandenberg (Southampton) and Ken Cameron (Edinburgh).
This article was first published on 16th April 2017
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