Vintage Board Track racing 1921

[madmax-im]

This took real big cajones...

http://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/beverly-hills-board-track-racing-1921

[DiverRay]

VERY COOL video!!

[madmax-im]

I cant imagine doing 105 mph on those bicycles with a motor...and they had no brakes either...board tracks were known as Murderdromes...

[Aches n Pains]

It's great that people are preserving and digitizing those moments of the past. What fun! Thanks for posting.

[STEPPENWOLF]

Thanks,it is an interesting site.

[Gmac]

I had always

thought those tracks were much smaller being made of wood but then again, Coney Island was all wood so there is that.

I couldn't imagine running 100+ on something as primitive as that and no brakes although watching them it looked a lot like Daytona, two distinct racing lines, drafting and the usual blown motor or two limping along in the rear on the bottom of the track. I get the general idea that brakes really weren't required if you went all out but still.

Thanks! Now I understand a lot more about that kind of racing than I did.

[ViperRon]

I have memories of going to the state fair when I was 6 years old and watching the motorcycle races on dirt tracks, Flat tracks that were surrounded by posts with boards and wire with a couple of bails of hay in the corners and that is it. So really we do not need to go back far to examine how dangerous motor cycle racing has been.

[madmax-im]

I too didnt realize the scale of these tracks...thats alot of boards...and they were exposed to all the elements so those board would warp... all kinds of ugly things can and did occur...and the size of this track was surprising...

[jetmechmarty]

No throttle either. Wide open only! Ground the magneto to slow down. They needed a big track.

[Bonz]

Yeah, the huge size of the track really surprised me as well. I was thinking something a lot smaller.