Glasgow are delighted to announce our new signing, 16-year-old Australian prospect, Connor Bailey.
The Australian is set to make his debut in British speedway following a rise through the ranks down-under, including a range of titles in both 125cc and 250cc categories.
Despite Australian riders usually entering the British league at an assessed 4-point average, with Connor holding a British passport, he will join the Glasgow side on a 2-point average.
After arriving in Glasgow following a gruelling 24-hour journey from his home in Mildura, Victoria, we sat down with Connor and mum, Sandy.
The two have now moved over to the UK for good, with Connor’s father set to follow once he has his visa in place. However, this wasn’t the first big move for the Bailey family.
Connor explained: “It all started when I was racing motocross and they had a speedway display at the end of the season. They invited us to come along and have a try at a sort of open day during the off-season, but mum and dad weren’t keen as they had just got to the end of a busy motocross season and wanted some time off, however I managed to get them there on the premise of a free ‘Sausage Sizzle’! As soon as I had my first go, I was hooked.”
Connor and his family upped sticks three years ago and moved 3,000km from Perth in Western Australia to Mildura in Victoria.
“There’s only one track in WA and they only run it like once a month, so I just wasn’t able to get enough riding to keep progressing.
Connor’s mum Sandy said, “We did it all purely for Connor’s career and to give him the best chance at following his dreams. We left everything; we walked away from the family transport business and our two older children who decided to stay in Perth. My daughter later decided to join us in Mildura, but my other son still lives there. We chose to move to Mildura as it was famed for being ‘where champions train’.
“Connor is just so determined; he’s been riding bikes since he was six. I’m not really sure where he got it from, as we don’t know anyone with a bike. We tried everything with him, football, hockey, cricket, but he wasn’t interested; all he cared about was bikes. We moved to a new house to give him a chance to ride, as the guy next door had a motocross track in his garden so he could practice on that as much as he wanted.”
Once in Mildura, Connor found success quite quickly in speedway on his 125cc and then 250cc bike. Connor said, “I did the Winter Series in Australia and most of the Summer Series and won most of them, then moved up to the 500cc when I turned 16.”
In Connor’s first ever competitive speedway meeting on a 500cc bike, he beat Edinburgh Monarchs’ Aussie star, Justin Sedgmen in his first heat and narrowly missed out on a place in the final.
“I try and get as much time on the bike as I can; Dad built me a track at home in the paddock.”
To get track-time on a full-size purpose-built track, on regular occasions Connor and his family would travel 1,300km each way.
Sandy said: “We’ve been doing that for the last year and a half. We took him to every track we could. They are all different, so it was important that he got to ride them all.”
Connor revealed how excited he was when he got the call to say the Tigers were looking to sign him: “It’s always been my ambition to come to the UK and race. I have a few Glasgow fans who already follow me on social media, and they regularly comment and like my posts on Facebook. They always say ‘whenever you come to the UK, make sure and come to Glasgow, so I’ve heard a lot of positive things about what goes on here and am really excited to get going. I’ve heard the fans are really passionate and it will be so good to have them all behind me. Hopefully I’ll give them something to cheer about! It’ll be great to be part of a team with experienced riders like Craig Cook, and I’m hoping I can learn a lot from them and hopefully it’ll help me to progress.”
Whilst being delighted to be racing for Glasgow in the Championship, Connor has set his sights much higher and has his heart set on reaching the very top of the Speedway ladder; “At the end of the day, I want to be World Champion. That’s got to be my aim; it always gives me something to reach for.
“I really like the way Max Fricke rides, as he just looks really relaxed and fast on the bike. Max is my idol, but I’ll tell you a funny story…
“Before we moved from Perth, we knew it would be difficult to find a suitable coach, so Mum went into the city on the train. She went to a racing shop trying to buy an old video of speedway for me and the shop had just one video, which was a copy of Leigh Adams’ testimonial. I honestly must have watched it 1,000 times. That’s pretty much how I learned to ride really. I watched it and was like ‘that’s cool, I like the way he puts his foot up going around the corner’, so I tried that next time out on my 125 and it all sort of went from there. I watched it that much that I even knew the commentary from start to finish; it’s amazing how much that helped. Like they would say ‘oh, he’s going around the outside to get the dirt’ and I just sort of picked things up from that and tried to take it into my riding. I’d be on track and hear the commentary in my head and try and replicate things from it. It’s a bit unconventional and not how most people learn, but it’s all I had really. There was a short sort of b-roll clip at the end, where it was Leigh out on the salt flats teaching someone how to ride. I think it was the first time they had been on a 500cc and I just watched it all the time trying to copy everything he was saying.”
Sandy said that the journey, both emotionally and physically, has inspired them all to help Connor reach as far as he can.
“We are behind him 100% and hope that this move will be the start of a great future for him.”
Connor goes by the nickname ‘The Tornado’, and when asked about it he gave the reasoning behind it; “I just thought it was kind of cool, I imagined someone going round and round in circles really fast and how it would cause a tornado or something!”
Glasgow will certainly be hoping to see plenty of fast racing from our new reserve signing.
The club’s Peter Facenna had this to say about the news; ”We’re hugely excited about Connor becoming a Tiger. We’ve been tracking him for a while now and it’s obvious that he has bags of natural talent. You only need to watch some of his videos on his Facebook page to see this. Whilst he’s still young, he’s clearly got his head screwed on and is very focussed on what he wants to achieve in the sport. We will give him all the support he needs to achieve his dreams.
“I’d like to thank Colin and Mandy Mackie for the part they played in bringing Connor to our club.
“Connor’s equipment is making its way from Australia and we will shortly be putting out further news on when he is likely to make his debut for us.
“We have some of the best fans in the sport and I’m sure they’ll give Connor a very warm welcome.
“I’d also like to personally thank the riders who’ve guested for us over the past few weeks since Luke stepped down, with a special mention for Connor Coles. Connor has been amazing for us and has contributed massively to some of our recent successes. Had the timing been slightly different, Connor could well have joined the team, however I am confident that he will get a well-deserved spot with another Championship club, with his performances for us firmly putting him in the shop window. He’s a great kid who we wish well and will definitely consider working with in future.”
