Saturday, 14 July 2012

Skip Aksland and Ascot Park

This is Skip Aksland, on it. His son Dustin, a pro photographer, got in touch with a great vintage shot for our Trophy Queen series and we sorted out an interview with Skip for Sideburn 11.
Dustin also sent a link to this amateur film of racing at Ascot Park in 1974.
The voiceover, by the guy who filmed it, gets a little bit, er, you decide, but it's a good glimpse of the mythical place for those, like us, who never had the chance to go. G
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5 comments:

  1. dave skooter farm14 July 2012 at 20:59

    Great footage! I went to Ascot in 1981....but I think it was on a Saturday night because they were racing cars. I was there to race BMX on the BMX track they built on the same plot!
    So near yet so far!!

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  2. Hairy Larry15 July 2012 at 02:06

    Yeah, felt like sitting around at some guys house watching his old home movies. Wonder if it was shot on an old Bolex hand cranked motor camera.
    Some great stuff though, I only got to read about Ascot in the mags of the time.

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  3. Nick15 July 2012 at 06:43

    Nice just to see some footage of Ascot, heard about it a lot, seen lots of stills but very little footage

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  4. Steve17 July 2012 at 00:25

    Just a brilliant talkover...could almost be Will Ferrel doing that commentary,great footage.

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  5. Chuck Lantz22 April 2018 at 02:42

    There's nothing wrong with the voice-over. The guy obviously knows his stuff. I was there for most of those races at Ascot, which was, by far, the toughest track in the country. The "regulars" could ride Ascot with their eyes closed, and still beat the non-local superstars pretty much every week. The track had a pronounced banking in the corners that was higher than most half-miles, and the track prep was almost always excellent.

    A win at Ascot would get you a large extra helping of respect from everyone, including all the National Numbers. Damn, I miss it!

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