AFTER sitting out last year’s event, Dorchester’s James Shanes cannot wait to get on track at the World Longtrack Team Championships in Germany next month.
Shanes went as a reserve in 2015 and didn’t have the opportunity to race his bike, but this time around he has been named as part of the four-man squad that goes to the competition as reigning champions.
Speaking about the event, Shanes said: “It’s brilliant, to be given the chance to be part of the main team is such a big achievement and I’m over the moon.
“I’ve ridden a lot more abroad, I’m in Europe every weekend racing.
“My results have shown that I have improved and I have proved that I can mix it with the big boys and not be fazed by it.”
This has been Shanes’ first full season as a professional and he is racing all over the continent to improve his craft.
He has won British titles, and has placed well across a host of other events across the continent in what is an extremely busy schedule.
“Most weeks I’m racing two or three times a week across three countries, racing both longtrack and speedway,” Shanes explained.
“I’m semi-professional and I work part-time as a mechanic.”
Even with all of this racing, the 23-year-old’s ultimate goal is to win a world championship gold.
He added: “Last year was good as it gave me a good chance to practice and learn the way things are run.
“It was good to get used to how things work when there was no pressure on me.
“What I have learned from the past year I can take over to this championship and I feel I am more professional than I was last year.”
Being a global event, the county town rider is not expecting an easy ride.
“It’s going to be tough, but it’s going to be fun,” he added.
“It’s a track I’ve never ridden before and I enjoy that learning aspect. I’m also representing my country, which is always a proud moment.”
All four riders that went to last year’s competition are going this time around, meaning one of them could miss out.
“It’s almost like a qualifier,”
Shanes admitted. “If one of us is not taking to the track then there will be a re-jig of the side. I just need to ride well before they decide my fate.”
After the competition, Shanes has more eventslined up across speedway – with Kent Kings – longtrack and grasstrack.
He will look to regain his British Masters title in August and look for European qualification just two weeks after the World Championships in mid-July.
“It can get quite stressful and chaotic but I’d rather do that than be sat doing nothing,” he said.
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