DeeKnow’s Grotto

Have just finished reading the autobiography of Scottish motorcycle GP racer Niall Mackenzie. Yes I can hear you responding.. "who the frick?" ...  and to be honest I wasn't that familiar with his history myself when I picked up the book in one of those bins stores fill up in a desperate attempt to move old stock.

Despite not having the volume of acolades or attention some of the current era of young gun bike racing heroes receive, Mackenzie had some impressive results in professional GP and World and British Superbike class teams over a span of some twenty years of racing.

This very readable volume covers his early regional amateur racing days on his own RD350, his Production class club and national racing days, the privateer Armstong bikes he moved onto, and bigger budget international level factory supported teams on 250cc then 500cc GP bikes for the likes of Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha.

He sets the scene early in the book recalling an episode from his teens where he was driving a farm tractor through narrow coutry lanes and catches another tractor which he decided to overtake. He had to force oncoming cars off the road as the manouver unfolded and just kept driving on, never looking back.

Its that win-at-all-costs attitude that fires these types, the courage and strength of it is impressive and generally inspiring to read or hear about. As are the suspiciously modest claims that they really dont know how they got as far as they did.

There's something special about stories by or about motor-sport antics at any level but the ones from those who've survived and had the drive and/or fortune to filter to the top are guarenteed to be especially entertaining.

The amazing thing about these motorsport addicts is they never seem to linger too long on the negative aspects of their sport, they're a shamefully optimistic lot.

Niall makes a couple of fleeting mentions of the 400-odd crashes he had during his career, barely hints at the dozens of broken bones, broken bikes and struggling finances. But there's plenty more positive spin on the more challenging but entertaining aspects of racing, arrests after boozy end of season nights out, the crap vans they camped out in as teams moved from one season race venue to another, and a suggested dose of venerial disease along the way.

This was a hillarious read and gave loads of insight into the realities and fun of racing career progression. Go on, get down to the library and book out some motorsport. You know you want to.

11:02:57 PM