SPEEDWAY is a bit of a terrifying black art to most ordinary people, let alone sidecar speedway.
Not to a man who’s ridden at 80mph on a Wall of Death, though.
Dared to have a go by sidecar speedway racer Jamie Moohan, daredevil Guy Martin did exactly what we’d all expect, by accepting the challenge.
The Lincolnshire-based road racer piloted Moohan’s machine for seven laps of Oreti Park Speedway circuit in Otatara, New Zealand, on Saturday.
He said afterwards: "He dared me on Wednesday night and said I wouldn't be able to do it so I said 'I'll do it'.
“And it was amazing. It's like nothing else I've ever done. Fast, boy that is fast … I couldn't believe what that bike could do. Phwoah, that is fast.
"I've never done anything like that before. It's completely backwards to riding a conventional motorbike because you're accelerating into the corners.
"You drive it into the corners which is just back-to-front. But it was mega. I loved it."
On entrusting his machine to Guy, Moohan joked: "I've seen he can ride a bike slightly."
Guy's passenger Jacob Cooper said: "What an absolute legend to have on the handlebars.
"It's hard to keep your emotions in check when you're on the bike because you're on there with a superstar and then you're working so hard to do your job. It was an awesome experience.
"He actually took off a little bit quicker than I thought he would to be honest. Then they waved the chequered flag for us and I leaned over and said 'right, now actually race it man' and he found a whole new gear."
Guy said: "The passenger has a massive, massive part to play. He gets the bike to go where he wants to go - I'm just a little bit of it controlling the throttle and the handlebars. He's the big bit."
A video of Guy’s laps has been posted on the speedway circuit’s Facebook page with the message: ‘The legend that is Guy Martin put our track on the world map yesterday! We can now lay claim to being the first place on the planet Guy ever raced a sidecar. And yes, he loved it! He was dared to give it a go and embraced the challenge!’
The news has prompted sidecar speedway racer Trent Headland to challenge two-time former world MotoGP champion Casey Stoner to a similar dare.
In a public message to Stoner on Facebook, Trent writes: ‘It may be a long shot but the offer’s there. Yesterday Guy Martin had a spin behind the bars of a speedway sidecar at the Burt Munro challenge in NZ and it got me thinking. I will be racing at Mick Doohan Race Way in Brisbane for the Qld sidecar championship on 3rd Dec and I offer you the opportunity to take my bike for a demonstration "spin". My bike’s state of the art we are currently second in the world and second in Australia, so equipment and support doesn't get much better. Hope to hear from you.’
What do you think? Should Stoner give it a go?
