1..First
things first: what got you into speedway? I understand you were riding
motocross at the time, so what made you change?
My Dad knew John Louis, and me and my brother
grew up with Chris. He was racing junior Grasstrack and we followed him into
that, then we went on to Motocross, and he followed suit. Then when he went
into Speedway, he told me that this was the way to go - you even got paid to
do it! Strange really, a lot of to-and-fro and all great experiences. In a
perfect world, I'd have started 4 or 5 years earlier really.
2..Unfortunately you've had some very
serious crashes over the years, the worst of which were at Newport. Did the
track have a psychological effect on you, or was it just one of those
things?
It was a bit of a worry first going back to
Newport after firstly the back injury, then the broken lower leg, but it
wasn't a huge hurdle. After the back injury I had a great meeting to qualify
for the British Final, so when I went on to hurt my leg it wasn't too bad to
return. Ironically, my first meeting for Exeter was to be my first return to
Newport after that injury. Also ironically, my van kept overheating on the
way and I never made it!! I got ribbed over that in the changing rooms over
the year but when we were there the next time I got 14 points and I won heat
15!! (Before these injuries I went for around 4 1/2 seasons without missing
a meeting. I guess that's the way it goes.)
3..Following on from that, it has been said that the
New Years Day meeting at Newport 2000, where you suffered a crushed vertebra
in your back, was in appalling weather conditions. In hindsight, do you
think the meeting should have gone ahead?
No, not really - it was terrible. In the end I
just couldn't see a thing and I lost all account of where I was on the
track. It was quite scary as I was like a blind passenger waiting for a big
bang, and when came it hurt to say the least! As it happened, when I had the
final crash it had started to rain during the previous race and the track
was very tricky again, and conditions played a part again. It's the type of
material, I think, that makes it awkward when the weather changes for the
worse.
4..Obviously you've become a great campaigner for
sport safety and actively support the Leatt neck brace, which is designed to
protect against spinal injuries by keeping the head still on impact. Have
many speedway riders taken the opportunity to get hold of one?
I had lots of enquiries at first but it's died
down now a little. I'm very surprised as I thought in the off-season would
be the ideal time to get set up, as riders are getting race suits sized up.
Maybe, and hopefully, there are more guys going ahead and sourcing them.
5..What do you think is stopping more riders from
utilising it?
I do think speedway is a sport where some areas
are slow to change. I can't understand for the life of me why this is one of
them. There are heavier duty boots, but most stick to the more flimsy ones.
Most guys are now going for the padded undersuits, and I'm hoping that when
one top rider goes with the brace then it will snowball. I'm currently
speaking with a GP rider regarding promoting safety, so fingers crossed, but
like I say, speedway can be a fickle sport. I went to Mark Woods of Race
Bitz back in 2001 and we made the fiberglass bike fairings and fork covers
that evolved into those that the Reading Team used the season before last,
but people were reluctant to go with them - they looked ace for sponsors etc
too?
6..What do you think of the changes imposed by the
BSPA this year?
I guess something had to be done after last
season. Only time will tell if the changes will work. Many clubs struggled
last season but I didn't think the limit would be quite this low, however it
looks as though Nicki Pedersen is the only top drawer casualty. People talk
of attracting the top riders back but there are not many missing - most who
are don't have many years left at the top anyhow. I had hoped that there
would maybe have been a bit bigger British rider reduction but really, a
weakened league should promote more British Premier League riders so maybe
this will happen. This has got to be an area that we need to build on. The
trouble is, many are earning a decent living in the Premier and staying put.
Going Elite may end up a costly exercise, so it's a brave step, and I will
say that the Premier is still very competitive, and the guys do have
ambition, but ambition doesn't always pay the mortgage. There was also talk
here and there of racing on a regular race night but I doubt it would work
as some clubs can't move their race nights, (and what are the chances of all
Elite clubs moving and agreeing to a specific day?) and attendances always
seem low when clubs run on alternative days. Promotion and relegation is
fine, I suppose, if the financial reward is suitable for a club going up,
but what if they stay up and still struggle financially and ask to go down
again? I'm sure these questions must have been talked through.
7..What do you think would be in the best interests
for the future of speedway? Do you think sweeping changes need to be made,
or do you think we're on the right track (pardon the pun)?
I don't really know the answer. Like I say:
time will tell and building from the bottom is crucial, I feel. The
Conference League now has a solid base and is projecting riders into the
Premier. Hopefully the projection into the Elite will follow a bit more, and
we can get to the forefront of world speedway, with the most prominent
league again. The other thing we need are air-fences for Premier League
tracks, or those that want them - there are some painful looking accidents.
8..What about track preparation - what gives the best
racing, in your opinion?
Evenly prepared, maybe a little more dirt
outside than in, but not as much as we often see where riders are scraping
the fence at about heat 4 or 5!
9..And finally, who do you think will be world
champion this year?
I'm going with (and hoping!) Leigh. We all know
he has the tools to do it, and think the last couple of seasons have made
him the strongest he's ever been mentally.
A couple from Nevs added on...
10..When you were at Exeter you and Seemond were great
crowd pleasers as a double act in front of the grandstand - matching bikes
and kevlars. How did that first come about?
We used to get on really well. I rode Exeter on
the Monday and most of the summer ended up carrying on down after the
meeting to Newquay (Trelawny were also running then as well, so I'd have the
odd meeting there, or we'd sometimes go down anyway.) We'd often go for a
night out too, and do our bikes, have a laugh, etc. We both seemed to bounce
off each other and really started scoring well, and when you hit a purple
patch it all seems to fall into place. We rode with wigs out of the back of
our helmets, even an 18 inch kipper tie, and so on. The fans loved it!! The
baggy gear came about when we found the Evel Knievel stuff, and we did the
bikes the same. Like I say: it was fun, it worked and we rolled with it.
11..At The time of your accident, Seemond in
particular appeared to be particularly supportive and a great mate to you,
and at The Malthouse reunion of the Exeter faithful. How much do you value
his support and are you guys still as close now?
Time passes and things drift, but we are still
in touch and still very good pals. But being in my situation and the
distance invoved, it's hard to get together more often, although I made sure
to get together when Plymouth were at Oxford at the tail end of last season,
which was good.
12..Final question from me: County Ground - being
famous as Last Lap Lol. What is your fondest memory of your times at the
County Ground?
There are many. I had some great times, and met
some great people. A great memory was on the last lap of the last race of
the KO cup semi against Swindon, going into the first turn about 10 metres
behind Charlie Gjedde, riding up to the fence, hitting in with a big smack.
It fired me up the inside of him going past up the straight to win the
match. I wish you could bottle that feeling! The other that made me laugh so
much was going back to the baggy gear. Someone complained that me and
Seemond were riding really well but were not setting a great example with
this untidy, baggy attire so we apologised on the microphone after a home
meeting, saying we'd smarten ourselves up for next week. With this we went
down to Oxfam and bought some pinstriped suits, and went out on parade and
then in heat 1 of the following meeting with them over our Kevlars. To this
day I still can't believe we did it!!
