11/01/201

Yet again I find myself apologizing for not updating my site often enough. To be honest I don’t know where the time goes as there is just not enough hours in the day with preparing and repairing the bikes and the actual racing. The start to the season has been a hectic one and has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. It started off in a bad way with engine problems which resulted with only having one engine running with 10 rides left on it on the eve of the start of the season. We worked hard and late into the early hours of the morning to get an engine built at home just to be up and running and it has taken until about now to really recover to where I was before all that happened.

Picture taken by Keith Lillywhite

My early match scores were not what I wanted at all but as each meeting has gone by I have improved and have had some good meetings of late. I have been doing a fair bit of practice and have been working hard on my riding. We have been making changes all the time to the bikes but it is hard as you always need to buy the next thing but finance is always a big restriction on what you can actually do.

On that note I can announce that Love speedway 24 have sponsored me this season and I am writing a blog for them as often as I can.The link is on my home page if you want to have a read. On that note I cant state enough how important sponsorship is and I really appreciate everyone that is helping me. I am in need of all the sponsorship I can attract as you all are probably aware it is an expensive game just trying to maintain all the equipment let alone upgrade it so if there is anyone that can help me in any way please contact me. Also if there is anyone out there that could help with my web site I would really like to hear from you as I said there is not enough hours in the day to do it all

Shane

11/01/201

I can now announce that in 2010 I will be riding for Rye House Cobra’s in the national league. I am really looking forward to the season ahead as this is the move I have wanted since the end of last season. The whole set up at Rye house is really good and I like the track. I am also excited at the make up of the team with a lot of the riders I already know. So with everything in place all I need to do is carry on with the gym work that I have been doing every day and get the bikes ready for the start season.

Shane

19/12/2009

Here is my Final update for 2009. Just to let everyone know how its been since I have had my operation to have the metalwork taken out of my leg that was holding my tib and fib together. The operation was a big success and for the first time in two years I am metalwork free and it feels so good. I had the the operation at the end of October and have got back my fitness and managed to get two practice sessions in at Rye house in December, where all went well.

2009 has been a good year for me with so many positives to take out of the year. I would like to thank everyone that has helped me this year. Moggo for all of his advice and to Soo my number 1 fan for her support. To everyone at Newport for giving me the chance to ride in the National league. To all my sponsors for helping me out and my Mum and Dad for all there support and to RTN for doing a great job with my engines this year.

I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and look forward to the 2010 season

Shane

9/10/2009

Well at last I have achieved what I set out to do this year and that was to ride in the National league by the end of the year. The weekend before last I made my debut for Newport in a challenge match against Team Viking. They were a very strong side with riders from Sweden, Denmark and Germany. I scored 2+2 which was ok but felt I could have done better.

Then last weekend I made my National league debut home and away to King’s Lynn. I scored 7+3 at Kings Lynn and was really pleased with that considering it was only my third ever time of riding the track and conditions were tough as the track was quite grippy. The following day we was at home to Kings Lynn and I Scored 7+1 which I was pleased with as it included my first ever league race win in heat 12. So all in all a very good weekend.

On Sunday I will be riding for Newport again against the American dream team. I have been moved up into the main part of the team at No 2 so another new challenge ahead

Shane

6/9/2009

Its been a really good week for me I practiced at Lakeside last Friday and got in some good laps. On Saturday I rode for Eastbourne in an academy match at Rye house where I had two rides with a win and a second. Then the next day I went to Newport to ride for there academy side the Maverick’s. I had a good match for them just dropping one point in four rides in the pouring rain. I really enjoyed myself there and was really happy riding that well in those conditions. On Monday I went to Coventry and had two rides in the second half and was pleased with how I rode there as well having some good battles with Taylor Poole

Whilst I was at Newport on Sunday They asked me if I wanted the number 8 spot in there national league side which I have agreed to. I want to set the record straight that as I am only 15 I cant sign for any club yet as a full asset. That decision will be taken in the winter. I want to thank everyone at Newport for giving me this opportunity. I am really enjoying riding at Newport as I love the track and everyone has been so supportive and have encouraged me with my riding.

Shane

27/8/2009

Yet again I have to apologise for not updating my web site enough. Since I last updated back in April things have been really busy. I have been doing lots of second halves at Eastbourne, Coventry, Newport, and one at Kings Lynn so far. On top of that I have been doing lots of practice at Lydd in kent where the help in providing me with the track time I really needed to become fit this year has been a massive help. The Lydd track has to be one of my favourite tracks. Its such a fun track to ride and I have put in loads of laps.

I have also been doing lots of practice at the Rye house training days and have really enjoyed myself there. The advice Alan Mogridge has given me has been a massive help. He has gone out and rode with me as well which has helped alot and given me confidence. Riding with Moggo has to go down as one of the highlights for me this year as I thought I would never get the chance to to ride and learn from him on the track. So a big thank you to Moggo for being a continued massive help and support with my speedway career.

I have had a bit of success along the way this year with my far share of good rides and race wins which have been pleasing. I also won the Martin Brown memorial trophy at Eastbourne in July which was another step in the right direction and was an enjoyable night for me as its the first thing I have won since I have come back from all my injuries.

I believe now after all the hard work and hundreds of laps that I have put in this year that I am ready for the step up into the national league. I am more than ready for the challenge and it is my aim to improve and get some good results quickly when I get the chance to prove myself. I am in need of a lot more sponsorship to achieve my goals so if anyone who reads this can be of any help however big or small I would really like to hear from you.

One last thing to say is a massive thank you to everyone that has helped me so far you haven’t seen the best of me yet by a long way so onwards and upwards.

Shane

7/4/2009

First of all I would like to apologise for not updating my web site for so long. I have been very busy building bikes and practicing getting race fit for the new season and have just not found the time to do any updates. Everything is going very well and is better than I could of hoped for. Pre season practice has gone very well and the start of the season has gone even better.

Picture taken by Steve Dixon

 I have been going to as many tracks as I can so get used to all sorts of tracks and the new bikes have been working well. I have been to Newport a few times and have enjoyed it down there very much as well as Lakeside,Weymouth and Rye house. I have done two amateur meetings at Rye house and got better with each ride. The second meeting which was last weekend went very well with me making it to the final. Then my luck ran out and I touched the tapes. I was put back 15 meters at the start and could not manage to pass anyone so ended up 4th overall in the meet which even though I wanted the win was still not a bad result. My aim now is to keep practicing and to get as many second half rides and academy matches then maybe there will be a chance of a national league place in the very near future.

I would also like to mention that I am in need of sponsors. I would appreciate anything however large or small as as you can imagine we find it hard work to afford everything we need to further my career and reach the goals that I am setting for myself. If you can help in any way or know someone that might be interested then please contact me. Anyone that decided to sponsor would be helping me in a big way as I need all the help I can get. Details are on the contact us link at the top of the page.

Shane

Update 25/11/2008

I was not expecting to be able to do another update so soon but things have progressed very fast over the last few weeks. Last Wednesday I was told that I was passed fit to start riding again if I wanted to. I had already started building the bikes up with the view to start riding again in the new year. With the news that I could ride again and a few weeks of gym under my belt which had gone really well I decided to go and practice at Rye House last Saturday.

The day went really well, I was a little rusty to start with but that was only to be expected. After a few rides I was feeling better and more confident. I cant explain in words how good it was to get back on a bike again and to ride the way I did towards the end of the day. I was also really pleased how the bike that we had rebuilt was going so all in all a very good day. The plan is to do the next two or three weeks of practice left at Rye House then have a break over the Christmas period and organise everything for the new year when I plan to go practice getting ready for the 2009 season and whatever that has in store for me.

I will try and update the site after each time I get the chance to practice to let anyone that’s interested how things are going

Shane

Update 27/10/2008

On Friday the 24th I had a check up with the consultant who did the operations on my leg. He was really pleased with the X-rays and has given me the all clear and I can start training to get fit properly now. Friday was my 15th birthday so that was a nice present for me. They have also said they will take all the screws and metalwork out next winter which was good news as well. They have said there is no problem riding with the plate and screws in and I can start riding in a few weeks if I choose that I want to.

The main aim is to get fully fit first before thinking about riding and we have the big task of building yet another bike up and repairing the damage. This year has been a tough one in more ways than one not just on me but my bikes have taking a battering and I have wrecked two bikes, one in each accident and both times all that we have salvaged is the engine and clutch and a few bits and pieces. So as you can imagine it has been an expensive year for us.

I am so looking forward to next year and now I can get in the gym and train properly it feels like I am making progress and getting nearer to getting back to doing what I enjoy most, riding my bikes.

Shane.

  Update 21/10/2008

First of all I would like to apologize for not updating my site for a while, to say this year has been a disaster for me would be an understatement. Since I last posted an update I have recovered from the broken femur and spent hours and hours in the gym getting fit. In July I had an operation to remove all the metalwork in my leg. Then six weeks later I was given the all clear to start riding again. Things where going well with my riding but I was finding it hard playing catch up with everyone as they had been riding all year.

I was having good meetings and bad meetings but it was only to be expected after the injuries I have had. I started to get rides where ever I could in academy matches and second halves. I was invited to ride at Ipswich on the 14th of August in a junior four team tournament. I did not start the meeting that well but got better as the night went on. Unfortunately I had a big accident that night and went through the fence which resulted in me breaking my tibia and fibula near the ankle on my right leg, the same leg as I broke before.

I was taken to Ipswich hospital and the was transferred to Tunbridge wells hospital the next day where over a period of five days I had three operations to plate and screw the bones back into place. I would like to thank everyone there as the way they have put everything back together has been a success. Ten weeks on from the operations I am out of plaster and I am getting about quite well. It is expected I will get the all clear soon and will be able to step up my fitness work ready for next year. I am able to cycle and row in the gym already and cant wait to be able to do more and get fit.

As for next season all I can say to all the doubters out there that have said I would never ride again is YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG. I plan to get fit and then start practicing early next year, I will take it steady and when I think I am ready I will start racing again but not until I think I am ready. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Lakeside speedway especially Jon Cook and Stuart Douglas who have helped me all year to stay positive and look forward to the future. I promise I will update here more often to let everyone now how I am getting on.

Looking forward to 2009

Shane

Injury update 7/4/2008

I thought I would update everyone on how things are going with my injuries. Last Monday I went for a check up with the consultant and had X-rays on the leg. They are really pleased with the way the bone is healing and the way the knee movement is coming along. I am having to work very hard with the physio on the Knee and leg and I will be having a coarse of hydrotherapy. I have lost a lot of muscle and it is affecting my progress as it hindering the way I walk. I am allowed to put all my weight on my leg and I am down to one crutch to help me get about.

It looks like it will be later in the year when I will be able to have the metal work out and then it will be a case of getting fit then I will be able to get on a bike. I really cant wait for the day to come when I can get on a bike again as I am finding it a bit hard watching but before you know it I will be back.

Below are some of the X-rays taken just after the operation, If you are not squeamish take a look if you are then close your eyes . The last picture was taken last week and you can see how much the bone has started to knit together.

Press article in the Evening Argos

Injured Shane still has a speedway dream

By Brian Owen

Shane Hazelden probably expected to get some lighthearted stick at school this week. The 14-year-old hot prospect returned to classes two months after breaking his right femur in a practice session. He hobbled through the gates at Beacon Community College in Crowborough on crutches and told mates he had a metal rod holding his right leg in place.

But the young rider, who has already enjoyed a heat win at the Millennium Stadium and finished sixth in the British Under-15 Championship, insists injury will not detract him from his ambition of one day becoming world champion.

Hazelden went flying in a low-key practice session at Sittingbourne as he suffered teething problems with the 500 cc bike, having previously mainly ridden 250s. He had to be rushed back into hospital for a blood transfusion. That is all part of the hard upbringing for a youngster in one of the toughest sports around.

Hazelden, back at Arlington to watch training last Sunday, said: "I was practicing for the first time for six weeks and it was going well.” Then all of a sudden coming out of the fourth bend the bike lifted. I got it down but it was too late. The foot rest dug into the fence, it flipped me over the bike and all I remember is seeing sky. I knew straight away I'd broken my leg. It was pain I'd never had before. They gave me gas and it seemed all right after that but I was in hospital for about eight days. Once I got home I felt really weak and I had no power. I couldn't get up”.

"We called 999 and they found out I had lost a lot of blood. I had to have a blood transfusion. They put about a litre of blood into me which started at midnight and ended next afternoon at 2 o'clock."

So far this term, Hazelden has had work sent home from his school. That was until last Monday when he was back in class among his football-mad mates.

He said: "The kids tend to take the Mickey a lot of the time because they don't really understand speedway but, to be honest, I don't really care. This year I was planning on being in an academy team and getting race-fit but it didn't go to plan. I've had about two months off already. Maybe another three months and I'll be able to have my rod out and be training for the end of this season or for next season. I've had work sent home but when I go to the track all I want to do is ride."

Eagles are keen to develop more local young riders, making their way up through the engine sizes. Hazelden has done a lot of racing at 250 cc level, including his Millennium Stadium win ahead of last year's British Grand Prix. But he now knows what the bigger machines are all about. He said: "It's completely different. It has got more power and, as I've found out, it is not as forgiving as the 250. Even when you are practicing it's a big risk because you're trying to go quicker. The reason I crashed was I haven't got much experience. As I get quicker and older and have more time on a bike I'll be ready. The only ambition I have is to be the best rider ever known. I want to be eight-time world champion. I want to be the best."

Which is great. But don't his mum and dad, Sue and Garry, worry a bit? Sue admitted: "The mother's side of me wants him to take up something like snooker or darts. But neither of us would ever stop him doing something he loves so much and something he is gifted at."

Press article in the Kent and Sussex Courier

 08 February 2008

On December 30, 2007, Shane Hazelden's life was turned upside down. The speedway starlet was practicing in Sittingbourne when he lost control of his bike coming out of a corner and at 60mph crashed through the safety barrier. The 14-year-old shattered his right femur and dislocated his knee.

He was rushed to Medway hospital where his leg was pinned but amazingly he was released two days later. However, on his return to Crowborough, Shane's condition quickly went downhill due to the huge amount of blood he had lost in the accident. He was taken to the Kent and Sussex hospital where he underwent an emergency blood transfusion.

A month later Shane is home and on the road to recovery but the events at Sittingbourne will live long in the memory for both himself and his family.
 

"In just five seconds his life was turned upside down," Garry, his father, said. "I've been in sport a long, long time but it's a completely different thing seeing your own son cartwheeling down a track.

"He could now miss a whole year of racing. His bone is shattered so it all depends how well it heels. But he has been read the riot act. There will be no motorbikes until it is fully heeled. That's gutting after the year he had and the career he has in front of him."

In 2007 Shane, one of the top junior speedway riders in the country, was invited to race at the prestigious Cardiff Grand Prix, where he put on a stunning show. After that he went on to compete in the British under 15 championship finishing sixth overall, beating many top juniors on his 250 cc machine while his rivals were on more powerful 500 cc bikes.

He was training hard in preparation for a massive 2008 when disaster struck. Yet, despite the severe injuries, Shane is refusing to let it put him off and vowed to return to racing sooner rather than later.

"I was lying there and I knew I had broken my leg," he said. "I was on the gas to take away the pain and I kept saying to my parents 'this ain't going to stop me from riding'. They kept saying 'are you sure you want to be doing this?'. About the fifth time I snapped and said 'I am carrying on'.

"The way I look at it, whatever fate does it does. You just have to go along with it. You can't change what has happened in the past."

In fact there may even be some positives to take out of his accident.

Shane has been invited up to Lakeside in Essex to work as a mechanic for some of the top riders. That is an opportunity he is unlikely to have been given in normal circumstances but it is one where he can take in essential knowledge to further his career.

"I'm going to learn stuff that I'm going to put into bikes for the rest of my career," Shane said. "I'm going to have my eyes and ears open to see and hear what riders are doing and then hopefully I will have an advantage when I come back."

And what of his comeback?

"For normal people they would take out the rod after six months and then there would be another six months recovery," he admitted. "But before the accident I went to the gym, so was quite fit anyway. As soon as the rod is out I'll be back up the gym and working to get fit for a race or two at the end of the season. If not, I'll have a fresh start next year."

You get the impression when he does come back he will be better than ever.

Shane would like to thank his sponsors who have stood by him as he begins his recovery - Meridian Marquees, John Harris motorcycles, Eddy Grimstead racing and all the members of the third bend gang at Eastbourne speedway. He is always in need of sponsors especially now with the repair bills for the bike, which was wrecked. His racing suit and protective amour were also ruined as they had to be cut off of him by the paramedics.

If you want to sponsor Shane E-mail gazza@sidetrack.freeserve.co.uk

NEWS UPDATE

On 30^th on December I rode for the first time back after a break to get ready for the new season ahead of me, but it didn’t go to plan.

My first ride I was a little rusty but on the second I was back on it and was going as fast or faster than before but my third ride everything changed and my third ride has now changed my whole look of this season, coming out of the forth bend really low near the white line I picked up some unwanted drive and headed front wheel in the air straight to the fence. I tried my hardest to get the front end down as soon as I could, as I got it down I knew the fence was in front of me a few metres away and hit it with some force.

The footrest dug into the fence and threw me over the handlebars and I cart wheeled down the track and the bike ended up a good 20 metres away from me and 30 meters away from were I crashed.

I laid on the track and at the time I new straight away that I had broken my leg, as soon as the paramedics came and gave me the gas I felt so much better and happier as it eased the pain.

Jon cook from Lakeside speedway was a massive help and would like to thank him for all the support he gave me during the hard time as he was there on the track to reassure me, also the paramedics who came so quickly.

After being in hospital in Medway for 4 days and 3 nights after the operation I was sent home but once again my luck turned , I had no strength and felt light headed.

As I was rushed to Tunbridge wells hospital they found out I had lost half my blood and had a very bad knee injury as I had dislocated it in the accident. I had to have a blood transfusion to make me better . After 5 nights and 6 days in Tunbridge wells hospital I was finally was allowed home to recover. Now I’ve got my splint off my leg after a month and I am starting to bend my knee also my leg does not hurt as much.

It all seems like my recovery is going well and heading in the right direction now and give it some time I will be back riding and I’ll be faster and stronger physically and mentally than before and racing in no time at all.

p.s thanks for all your cards it cheered me up I will try and update you all as things progress through the year.

thank you.

Shane