Tarmac Surface - 343 Yards In July 1979, the late Mike Parker promoted one of the last ever F1 meetings at Harringay on a Saturday night. When we arrived we found the stadium contained banks of powerful floodlights and it wasn't until the end of the meeting that all became clear. The venue had been chosen as the site for some scenes in the shooting of the British gangster film "The Long Good Friday" starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Towards the end of the film, which is well worth seeing if you haven't already done so, there is a 15 minute sequence of banger racing and stunt scenes shot at the end of this July 1979 meeting. When the meeting proper came to an end (10.30pm) the crowd were informed that if they wished to stay behind to watch the shooting of various scenes they were welcome to do so and stadium facilities (tea, coffee etc) would remain open. The filming continued for a few hours with the stadium being lit up by those banks of floodlights and we left at 2am on Sunday morning, still finding it difficult to believe what we had just seen. When the film was eventually released in 1980 you can imagine the thrill in watching the scenes from the actual meeting and hearing the f1 commentary in the background. One of those never to be forgotten memories that stock car racing provides us all with over the years.
World : 1955, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1973 World Semi Final : 1961, 1961, 1962, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971 British : 1964, 1966, 1968 European : 1979 Grand National : 1972
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Harringay Track Champions 1973 - George Ansell 375
