11 Saturday Feb 2017
With great thanks to our Euro ISDT expert we now have a scanned copy of the event programme for the ISDT 1956 which has been hand annotated to record the final starting list on the first day.
The program can be found at our issue.com library along with other programmes and magazine reports from the original events
31 Tuesday Jan 2017
I am grateful to our readerStewart Ellison who drew my attention to this excellent photo taken of #52 Miss E Foley with her Triumph 499cc ohv alongside #64 Miss L Ball James 499cc.
#52 Miss E Foley 499c Triumph with #64 Miss L Ball James 499cc [DM4687] at Brooklands circuit ISDT 1925
13 Sunday Nov 2016
Posted in Enduro, Gelände Sport, Germany, International Six Day Trial, Internationale Sechs Tagefahrt, ISDT, Mezinárodní Šestidenní Soutěž, Międzynarodowa Motocyklowa Sześciodniówka, Motorcycling, Motorsport, Photography, Regolarità, Sei Giorni Motociclistica Internazionale, Six Jours Internationaux
Tags
BSA, East Germany, Erfurt, Greeves, ISDT 1964, Steve McQueen
I am grateful as always to our Euro reporter SB who has provided these amazing snaps for our 200th blog post taken at the ISDT 1964 including some of the British team machines. I do not know the origin of these images and as soon as I know I will arrange a full credit.
Photo – GB Trophy Team #222 J Sandiford’s BSA 350cc ISDT 1964 (Speedtracktales Archive)
Check below for the rest of the images which are going to produce a bit of a bountiful harvest for the fans of Greeves bikes with plenty of action from this event possibly made most famous by the presence on the US Trophy Team of one Steve McQueen, whose team mate Dave Ekins can be found here. Continue reading
05 Saturday Nov 2016
Posted in Europe, ISDT, Photography
It comes to that time of the year when we get the chance to set aside some time to remember those who surrendered much or all of what they had because their country asked them to make the ultimate sacrifice. In times where we seem to find more time to watch the future than recall the past, a recent series of posts on Facebook from friends disconcerted that FIFA were blocking the wearing of red poppies at a future football match on Remembrance Sunday, many were silenced when one voice pipped up that in real respect every sport should follow the stance of the ACU and to take the day out of the annual event calendar. I for one shall be at my village war memorial again come rain or shine thinking about and thanking those from all sides who lay down their lives in a national cause, I do not focus on the good or bad of how they got to that point as for many there was no choice but to obey their call up for national service.
Photo – Oliver Godfrey #112 500cc Indian [BL 90] taken 1914, completed a lap of the Snaefell circuit at an average speed of 47.63 mph to win the first IoM mountain circuit TT race 1911 and was lost in the earth of Flanders 1916
04 Friday Nov 2016
Tags
More images from the Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe – National Digital Archive of Poland this set featuring moments from the ISDT 1939.
photo – two riders at checkpoint #35 Ofeldw Forstner BMW 494cc of Germany #30 Fred C Perks BSA 496cc ISDT 1939 Germany (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe)
The ISDT 1939 was put on by the German Government with a view to demonstrating its army motorcyclists supremacy. The organisers encouraged many other European nations to send military teams. However, before the event came to an end the British withdrew their teams as the declaration that commenced WW2 was being made and the government wanted al its military personnel home before they could be detained. More images from the event from this collection are provided below. Continue reading
04 Friday Nov 2016
Our gratitude to a reader Adam Sliwka who forwarded details of the Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe – National Digital Archive of Poland web site where an amazing library of historic images included a number from historic ISDT events. The images here are of the ISDT 1936 held in Germany. Of particular interest is the inclusion of images taken of riders on a very new Autobahn, one of the major civil engineering projects that Adolf Hitler had set about after he became the leader of Germany which it is contended were purposely designed to facilitate rapid advancement of his army should a war break out.
photo – Victorious British Trophy team with Stuart Waycott, A Belstun, George Rowley and Vic Brittain with Walcott’s #42 works Velocette 495cc – the 1930’s ISDT dream team ISDT 1936 Germany (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe)
18 Saturday Jun 2016
Tags
Sorry its been a while time waits for no-one and I’ve been struggling to keep up with a lot of things. Just checking through some old emails and I think I missed this one from our German contact SB who shares this image with us featuring the king of cool Steve McQueen.
image – painting of McQueen on start in Erfurt ISDT1964
19 Friday Feb 2016
Tags
1953 was a great year for Great Britain in the ISDT, with one of its dream team line ups in the Trophy team who gave us our last win of the premier event award. A movie of the event was recently spotted on Youtube and is now added to our ISDT Tube feature of all known ISDT movie footage.
At an early stage of the ISDT 1953 we catch Rider #1 FH Whittle with his Panther 598cc sidecar [HYG 477] going through scrutineering. A nice view of British Trophy team member #237 Jack Stocker riding his 496cc Royal Enfield into Scrutineering #37 Olga Kevelos on the start line with her 150cc CZ. #71 PVK Baldwin with his 348 Matchless CC riding for the Sunbeam MCC comes in for fuel then later on again passing through a woodland swamp. #231 David S Tye of the Silver Vase team with his 497cc BSA [NON 496] The course includes checkpoints in Bratislava, open countryside and woodland with the usual ISDT throng of fans and curious local spectating at this festival of motorcycle action. The video finishes with coverage of the night stages and hopefully this is only part 1 and I can find the second part to add to this one.
25 Friday Dec 2015
Thanks to the generosity earlier this year of Brian Catt who started scanning his collection of ISDT programmes, here are the first that have been uploaded to our online library at issue.com
Image – scanned cover Official Programme of ISDT 1969 (Greenwood Family Collection)
Link to browse 1969 programme at Speedtracktales ISDT programme library at issue.com.
22 Tuesday Dec 2015
Tags
I am often greatly indebted to Brian Catt who not only feeds me first hand memories of the great ISDT events in the 60’s and 70’s because…. ‘he was there’. His personal ISDT and Enduro knowledge is almost as vast as his library of photos and books. I was therefore very grateful when he passed me copies of the road time sheets for each day of this event along with the schedule options. I am sure these will prove to be very helpful to some readers.
Image – Page 1 Day 1 Road times and Schedule ISDT 1968
These sheets set out the distances times and type of checks and where the feeling stops would be. The two columns on the extreme right gave optional schedules for the time for riders which would be set in the morning in accordance with prevailing weather and ground conditions.
Speed Track Tales 