Olympic Torch

Published: 15th November 2007

Author: Sean Lawless

Suitably stung by Sutty recently taking to calling me the Olympic Torch (apparently I never go out) I decided to do something about it and arranged to hook up with Swordy at his home in Hampshire for a spot of mano o mano action.

And as I hadn’t seen our technical editor for a little while the plan was to break the journey south with an overnight stay at Wakker’s house near Marshfield and – these things being inevitable – we ended up settling down for the evening in the Lord Nelson.

As the black stuff and apple beer flowed Godfrey became increasingly animated on the subject of his impending trip to the Las Vegas Endurocross where – thanks to some hefty string pulling – he’d managed to bypass the qualifiers and swing an entry straight through to the Main Event. Now anyone who knows Geoff will be certain of one thing – the man’s passionate about racing – and with his Guinness goggles and my cider visor firmly in place the conversation visited all points off-road from the tank-denting triple at Cardiff to the Romaniacs to Vegas to the Dakar Rally. And it was at this point that his rosy Oirish cheeks started to shine and his wild staring eyes really lit up.

Oh yes, the toughest off-road event on the face of the planet and Wakker’s right up for it! If he can pull the funding together and secure a deal then come January 2009 Geoff will be pointing his front fender south and heading for the desert. There’s no doubt that he has the skills and the bottle for the job – his epic Romaniacs performance proved that – but the biggest hurdle is putting together the package that will get him there. Matching us (well almost) pint for pint in the Nelson was Geoff’s mate Rowan who came up with a cunning plan to get the machinery in place. At the moment it’s all a bit hush-hush but I can say Rowan’s prepared to take one – or even a few - for the team and that’s exactly the kind of dedication to the cause that could just make Geoff’s Dakar dream come true. Watch this space for updates on Team SR-75/DBR/Listerine…

The following morning I hit the M4 and motored across to Fleet to meet up with Haggis and when I eventually got there he looked fit and healthy and was on fine form. For a man who has lost almost two years of racing through injury Stevie was amazingly positive and raring to go. After being out of the public eye for so long (his two-month comeback hardly counts) it would be easy to overlook Swordy when discussing the favourites for next season but you’d do so at your peril. Only a few years ago he dominated the domestic scene and led the world championship and I for one believe he could do it all again. Turn to page 30 for the start of our interview with him.

This month’s issue also features an interview with Swordy’s former nemesis Billy MacKenzie and while I was putting together the Mac piece it struck me just how unpredictable the Fickle Finger of Fate can be – one minute it’s chucking you under the chin, the next it’s probing your prostate and vice versa. Anyone remember Polesworth in ’02 when Billy Mac lost the British title to Swordy on the final corner of the final race of the season? Stevie went on to defend the title twice while Billy consistently came up short. But this year, while Swordy was struggling with injury, Billy finally did what we all knew he was capable of and lifted the British MX1 crown.

So for 2008 let’s keep those fickle fingers crossed that we see two Scottish DBR columnists topping British and world championship podiums…