New Glasgow signing David Howe has revealed how his passion for the sport was revived after he watched the Tigers’ sensational Sky Sports showdown earlier this season.
The Englishman has signed up at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium as a replacement for the injured Kozza Smith, having himself spent most of the 2015 season on the sidelines.
Howe, 33, was injured by an off-track accident and then lost a bit of interest in a sport that had given him some major successes over the years.
However, after he watched Glasgow take on Sheffield in May on TV, he was hooked again and is now preparing to make his comeback this Friday at Scunthorpe – a track where he spent the last six seasons.
Howe said: “Glasgow have gone through some pretty major changes in the last eight months, and it seems to be a very exciting place to be and a forward-thinking club. I was very happy when it all got sorted.
“Obviously things went a bit wrong with Scunthorpe, with me getting hurt, and them having to make a choice at the time. Ryan Douglas was always coming back and they went one direction and to be fair, I just got on with life.
“I think people assumed I had retired, and I just thought that I would take a break. I was working and just doing normal stuff.
“Glasgow got in touch and to be honest, first of all, I was a bit unsure. It was a lot to do with how it ended with Scunthorpe – I thought it was a bit unfair to do this – but Glasgow pursued me for a bit and the more I thought about it, the more it appealed.
“Then it really started to appeal to me. I certainly wouldn’t have thought that in March.”
Howe, who works as a heavy goods driver, had aggravated a shoulder injury while doing his job, which forced him to sit out the sport after lining up as Scunthorpe’s No 1 at the start of this season. That, and a lack of interest from clubs after he’d recovered, put him off for a while.
The former British Under-21 Champion said: “For the first time in my life, I wasn’t relying on speedway to put food on the table. I’ve got a good job that I enjoy and I thought, I’m not prepared to keep putting myself through pain just to ride for the sake of it. I’m going to take a bit of a step back, which I have done and I feel fine.
“The phone didn’t ring, Scunthorpe didn’t ring me when Josh Auty and Ryan Douglas got injured either, and I wasn’t really thinking about it.
“If I’m truthful, I possibly lost a little bit of interest this year – I didn’t seem to have the hunger or the keenness. When I stopped riding, I didn’t really miss it.
“But funnily enough, the turning point was when I watched the Glasgow Sky match. I was sitting there with my wife and I went, ‘I actually enjoyed that. I can still do this.’ It got me back into it and got the brain ticking over again. I had shut the door and lived a normal life for a bit. Now that door’s been opened and I’m thinking about it a lot again.”
Howe insists it’ll take him time to get back up to speed – but can’t think of a better place to resume his career than at the track he knows so well.
He added: “Not having had action on a bike, it’ll make it tough. But if there is one track I can go to and ride round there with my eyes closed, it’s Scunny.
“I don’t expect to get a warm reception, but I’ve got to go there and just focus on riding my bike and doing my job for Glasgow.
“It wasn’t that long ago I was an out-and-out No 1. I don’t expect to be doing that now, especially now they have two No 1s, but if I can do 75 per cent of my best, that will hopefully be good enough for Glasgow, in the position of the team I’m in.
“I’m hoping to rebuild myself a little bit. I’m a funny person – if I’m happy, you’ll see the best of me, and if I’m not, you won’t. I already feel welcomed – I was overwhelmed by the response from not just the Glasgow fans, but the fans across the board last night. That was nice to hear. I’m already feeling really good about it.”
Howe slots in at No 2 for the Tigers on Friday night but will ride at No 4 on Sunday at home to Ipswich. James Sarjeant is now in the main body of the Glasgow team, which sees Dimitri Berge drop to reserve. Sarjeant is riding for Coventry on Friday and Ipswich’s Nico Covatti, their form man, steps in as a guest.