Having a Skid at Scunny
By Martin Mauger

For my latest speedway project, I fulfilled a very long-held ambition when I tried out speedway for myself at Scunthorpe Speedway, I had been meaning to pop in for a skid for a while and finally the planets lined up and it happened.

So, you ideally pre-book and turn up with £60 in your hand (£25 with your own equipment) which buys you 4 hours of track time; if you can ride for that long. Then you sign in, get suited and booted and you are ready to go! Scunny have a wide selection of helmets, boots, gloves, riding gear and steel shoes to fit every size and shape of potential shale-kicker. A quick chat with resident instructor Wayne Carter and off your go onto Scunny's 100m mini-track.

The immediate thing which struck me was: guess whose ex-bikes I mostly rode, albeit with a "fire-breathing" Honda 125cc motor? Sean Wilson's; ex-captain of our rivals!

The possibly explains why the bike quickly chucked me off clearly sensing my Hull body colour: battle colours people, battle colours! The bikes actually looked pretty cool with chrome frames and his union flag logos. But basically I over did it and slid off but I did get better and got me skidding and only dropped it one other time when showing off a little.

About 9 other riders turned up, some in ex-rider pro race suits, most using Scunny's gear and if you feel competent enough you can go out with others of a similar ability. The bikes are full-sized speedway chassis; frame, wheels, handlebars and seat with Honda CG125 motors which are ample powerful enough to get it sideways but not too much to produce take-offs into the scenery. No danger of "Warp Speed Mr Sulu", hello safety fence, ouch. And Wayne does freely give tips and advice as you (hopefully!) progress.

I highly recommend it anyone who has always wanted a go to get a flavour what it's like to be a speedway rider for the day - go-on you know you want to. Despite my aches from muscles I never realised I had, no pain no gain, I can't wait to have me another spin....

Full details on Scunny Scorps' website under "Practice":

This article was first published on 22nd November 2007

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