12:50pm Thursday 18th March 2010
By Paul Alton
RHYS Naylor is hoping there will be no slip-ups in his plan to return to ice speedway later this year.
The 16-year-old speedway rider from Pitsea got his first experience of racing on frozen tracks in north America this winter.
And he is hoping to return to the Extreme International Ice Racing series in the United States and Canada for the 2010/11 series.
“It was really good and it was a great experience for me,” said the former Chalvedon School pupil.
“I want to do it again and am hoping to go out there earlier this time for the start of the tour as I went out mid-way through this time.”
Rhys cut his teeth in cycle speedway with the Great Waker-ing Rebels team before switching to the motorised form of the sport.
He was the mascot at Lakeside Hammers and then joined the Kings Lynn Barracudas.
But swapping the shale for ice was a lot tougher than Rhys had expected.
“I thought it would be easier but I was wrong,” he explained.
“My first race was very hard because it was straight into the racing with no training.
“I adjusted to it after my third meeting and they were impressed with how quickly I came to terms with it and how quickly I learned.
“But I learned a lot of things that I’m hoping I can include in my riding. It’s difficult to put my finger on anything in particular but the experience has certainly helped me.”
Most of the riders were fairly new to ice racing so it was not too uneven a playing field for the British teenager.
Rhys got his chance to head over the Atlantic Ocean after the England under-18 speedway team manager asked him if he wanted to ride in the XIIR series.
He admitted he jumped at the chance to make his first trip to America and Canada.
“I loved it out there, expecially the travelling, and hope I can go back later this year,” he added.
In the meantime Rhys has had a private on-track practise as he gears up to a return to racing on shale.
And he is due to have a meeting with the Norfolk-based Barracudas about riding for them again this season.
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