Featherston motorcyclist Jade Mudgway has placed second in the New Zealand Solo Speedway championships. Dubbed the "Featherston Flyer" by the onsite commentator, Mudgway took out four of his five finals races on Sunday, losing only to the victor, British rider Jason Bunyan, who won all five of his races. Mudgway, 20, saidhe found the nickname "a bit of a giggle" and said he couldn't have been expected to beat Bunyan, who has more experience. "That's the fifth time he has won it." The races were part of the New Zealand Solo and Sidecar Championships. Solo bikes have 500cc single-cylinder methanol-powered engines. "It makes 80cc inside a pushbike frame, and the bike doesn't run properly unless it is absolutely flat out," Mudgway said. He said his "everything" had gone well on Sunday with the bike running clearly and his supporters preparing the way. "My sponsors just set me up and everything went right. "I'd also like to say a big thanks to Dad (Steve Mudgway). "He's raced for years and he's the one that got me into the sport." Mudgway said besides Bunyan, he faced tough competition from world team and paris champion Larry Ross, Hawkes Bay's Craig Ramsay, and other riders from Christchurch and Invercargill. On Friday, Mudgway very nearly took out another racing title, the under-21s. "I won every race that night right up to the finals and then I was running a straight length ahead when I broke a priming chain. "I would have had that title as well if my chain hadn't broke," Mudgway said regretfully. "But that's motor racing. "That was my last year in the under-21s." The race was not Mudgway's last chance at international glory in that grade, however, as he has now qualified for the World Under-21 Championships in Germany in the middle of this year. Mudgway, a qualified motorcycle mechanic, is planning a trip to Britain in February, to work and ride. "It will mean stepping up a grade," Mudgway said, but it's a challenge the young rider is keen to meet.
