Post by speedway_history on Feb 22, 2009 20:51:04 GMT 1
1..Rumour has it that your debut for Edinburgh came on the first day of your holiday to Britain, literally hours after getting off the plane; is that true and can you tell us a little more about how it came about?
When I came over in 2007, the day I arrived it was organised for me to have a second half ride.
I had sent one of my engines from Australia over and it was put into a frame etc by Kenny McKinna. For this I was greatly appreciative of those who made it all happen.
2..On a related theme, someone told me that you delayed coming over to Britain until after you'd learned a trade in Australia; is this true and what is the trade?
Yes that is true, I wanted to finish my Apprenticeship so if it didn't work out I had something to fall back on, especially once my speedway career is over. My trade is in Furnishing as a Cabinet Maker.
3..In your first full year of Premier League racing you've helped Edinburgh lift the Championship; that must be a dream come true, what was the highlight?
You can't ask for much more in your first season and my highlight was my first paid maximum at Glasgow.
4..You've now had a full season of racing in the Premier League and I don't recall you missing too many fixtures during that time, so you should've visited most tracks; which tracks did you enjoy and which weren't so good?
I don't think I missed a fixture at all which was good. The tracks I enjoyed were Edinburgh, Redcar, Kings Lynn, Mildenhall and Newport. Basically every other track was ok, just didn't like them for some reason.
5..On a related subject, successful teams always get accused of having a "massive home track advantage", and the same has been said of the Monarchs in 2008; from a rider's perspective how do you find riding Armadale, compared to percieved "fairer" tracks such as Redcar and Stoke?
I think Armadale is a good track once you get the hang of it.
We have a slight home advantage mainly because of the size and how tight the turns are which makes other teams struggle.
6..Over the course of the season you were a constant in the No 7 berth for the Monarchs, but had various partners in Ht 2 and must've partnered just about every Monarch during at least a few races; who was your favourite partner and why?
I would have to say probably Andy Tully because he team rides really well and was always in control of his bike. I did still enjoy every partner that I had during the season.
7..You've now been confirmed as an Edinburgh Monarch for 2009, good news, I guess?
Yes, it was good news that I was waiting so long to hear, as I really enjoyed riding for Edinburgh. I was starting to get a bit worried as it came down to Derek or myself as a lot of the teams were getting filled up.
8..Who would you say has been most influential in your career so far and who of the current riders do you admire most and why?
I would have to say Shane Parker as he is an Adelaide boy so even when I was riding juniors he would always have time to pass on his knowledge and skills. Also Leigh Adams with the training schools he runs and he is always approachable. Current rider I admire the most would be Leigh Adams because of how professional he is about speedway.
9..Australia haven't won the SWC since 2002 and I think it's fair to suggest that within the next few years the majority of riders who won that competition (Wiltshire, Lyons, Sullivan, Crump and Adams) will have left the scene; who would you expect to see representing Australia in 2015 and do you believe you'll be among them?
I would expect to see the likes of Chris Holder, Troy Batchelor, Rory Schlein & Cam Woodward representing Australia and I hope I could be representing Australia in the SWC in the not to distance future.
10..On a related subject, there is also a Junior SWC (which Poland always win) and with Chris Holder and Troy Batchelor losing their "junior" status next season do you have hopes of being in Australia's team?
Yes I do have hopes of Representing Australia in the Junior SWC this year. I did compete in the round in Germany in 2008 but got taken out by a crazy Polish rider sustaining some broken ribs etc in the process.
11..Staying in the international arena, you qualified for the Australian championships in 2009 and I was wondering about your ambitions; do you fancy a crack at the Elite League, Polish and Swedish leagues, not to mention the GP circus?
Yes of course I can't wait to reach the elite league scene and the European scene. To make it to the GP's is one of my ambitions in speedway as it's the only way to become world champion. I learnt a lot more about bike setups toward the end of last season due to the help from Chris Anderson, which I have been doing on my bike over here in Aussie and I think it is making me faster since I left. So hopefully I have a really good season and hope to get some more sponsors on board to help me reach these goals.
12..When Berwick visited Armadale back in August you were involved in a controversial Heat 15 episode with Michal Makovsky, which resulted in an exclusion for Makovsky and the referee visiting the pits to 'deal with an incident'; please give us your side of both the on and off track events.
I will answer by just saying it was all resolved and I just get on with my racing as you can see by me going back out in the re-run of heat 15.
Just to finish off I would lik to thank all my sponsors and supporters it certainly makes it easier. Again thank you all.
When I came over in 2007, the day I arrived it was organised for me to have a second half ride.
I had sent one of my engines from Australia over and it was put into a frame etc by Kenny McKinna. For this I was greatly appreciative of those who made it all happen.
2..On a related theme, someone told me that you delayed coming over to Britain until after you'd learned a trade in Australia; is this true and what is the trade?
Yes that is true, I wanted to finish my Apprenticeship so if it didn't work out I had something to fall back on, especially once my speedway career is over. My trade is in Furnishing as a Cabinet Maker.
3..In your first full year of Premier League racing you've helped Edinburgh lift the Championship; that must be a dream come true, what was the highlight?
You can't ask for much more in your first season and my highlight was my first paid maximum at Glasgow.
4..You've now had a full season of racing in the Premier League and I don't recall you missing too many fixtures during that time, so you should've visited most tracks; which tracks did you enjoy and which weren't so good?
I don't think I missed a fixture at all which was good. The tracks I enjoyed were Edinburgh, Redcar, Kings Lynn, Mildenhall and Newport. Basically every other track was ok, just didn't like them for some reason.
5..On a related subject, successful teams always get accused of having a "massive home track advantage", and the same has been said of the Monarchs in 2008; from a rider's perspective how do you find riding Armadale, compared to percieved "fairer" tracks such as Redcar and Stoke?
I think Armadale is a good track once you get the hang of it.
We have a slight home advantage mainly because of the size and how tight the turns are which makes other teams struggle.
6..Over the course of the season you were a constant in the No 7 berth for the Monarchs, but had various partners in Ht 2 and must've partnered just about every Monarch during at least a few races; who was your favourite partner and why?
I would have to say probably Andy Tully because he team rides really well and was always in control of his bike. I did still enjoy every partner that I had during the season.
7..You've now been confirmed as an Edinburgh Monarch for 2009, good news, I guess?
Yes, it was good news that I was waiting so long to hear, as I really enjoyed riding for Edinburgh. I was starting to get a bit worried as it came down to Derek or myself as a lot of the teams were getting filled up.
8..Who would you say has been most influential in your career so far and who of the current riders do you admire most and why?
I would have to say Shane Parker as he is an Adelaide boy so even when I was riding juniors he would always have time to pass on his knowledge and skills. Also Leigh Adams with the training schools he runs and he is always approachable. Current rider I admire the most would be Leigh Adams because of how professional he is about speedway.
9..Australia haven't won the SWC since 2002 and I think it's fair to suggest that within the next few years the majority of riders who won that competition (Wiltshire, Lyons, Sullivan, Crump and Adams) will have left the scene; who would you expect to see representing Australia in 2015 and do you believe you'll be among them?
I would expect to see the likes of Chris Holder, Troy Batchelor, Rory Schlein & Cam Woodward representing Australia and I hope I could be representing Australia in the SWC in the not to distance future.
10..On a related subject, there is also a Junior SWC (which Poland always win) and with Chris Holder and Troy Batchelor losing their "junior" status next season do you have hopes of being in Australia's team?
Yes I do have hopes of Representing Australia in the Junior SWC this year. I did compete in the round in Germany in 2008 but got taken out by a crazy Polish rider sustaining some broken ribs etc in the process.
11..Staying in the international arena, you qualified for the Australian championships in 2009 and I was wondering about your ambitions; do you fancy a crack at the Elite League, Polish and Swedish leagues, not to mention the GP circus?
Yes of course I can't wait to reach the elite league scene and the European scene. To make it to the GP's is one of my ambitions in speedway as it's the only way to become world champion. I learnt a lot more about bike setups toward the end of last season due to the help from Chris Anderson, which I have been doing on my bike over here in Aussie and I think it is making me faster since I left. So hopefully I have a really good season and hope to get some more sponsors on board to help me reach these goals.
12..When Berwick visited Armadale back in August you were involved in a controversial Heat 15 episode with Michal Makovsky, which resulted in an exclusion for Makovsky and the referee visiting the pits to 'deal with an incident'; please give us your side of both the on and off track events.
I will answer by just saying it was all resolved and I just get on with my racing as you can see by me going back out in the re-run of heat 15.
Just to finish off I would lik to thank all my sponsors and supporters it certainly makes it easier. Again thank you all.