40 And Not Out!!!
As the teams for the 2006 season are all nearly finalised, I'd like to take a quick look at one of the best privateers this country has ever produced. Several rumours have been around that Peter Trevor Woods McCready (what were your parents thinking when they named you that!!) or Fred as some of his mates call him (its a long story) will once again be mounted on a new 250f Kawasaki supplied by ‘Normy’. The talented rider from Hillsborough is reported to be back in training. We heard that he ran to his brother in laws house on Christmas day for his lunch. Even though the house was only about 2 miles away, it took him 3 days to recover!! But at least he's putting in the effort.
Pete is a well-known rider amongst the older generation; he was winning races in Ulster before Martin Barr was in nappies. He has even got his name on the illustrious Tommy Stewart memorial trophy, with names like Morrison, Crockard, Lyons, Merton and McCullough etc.
Several injuries wrecked championship seasons for the quiet Hillsborough man. Breaking both his collarbones several times and breaking his shoulder to name a few. But this never deterred the talented Pete from trying to qualify for a GP in Ireland. Just to be Pete he tried to ride a stock 2-year-old 125 in the qualifying session. As the bike was a bit slower than the rest he decided to only put a bit of fuel in the bike so it would be lighter an thus go faster. According to Pete he was on a flying lap and sure to qualify when disaster struck and the kwacker ran out of fuel!!! These experiences never seemed to faze the likeable man, in fact the only time I’ve ever seem him angry in the last 10 years was a Donemana a few years ago. Some crazy rider rote Pete off in a turn and he hit the ground hard giving him a mild concussion. He couldn’t even remember what way the track went!!
In 2005 Pete finished 15th in the Semi-Expert Ulster championship, even thought he did sand bag a few races to not get moved up again!! (That was our thought on the thing anyway!) For 40 the man can still ride and when he wants to just seems to find plenty of extra speed. He may just need this extra speed next season when his nephew James Kennedy (leaky) moves up to the semi-experts as the grade c 125 champ, and I’m sure Uncle Pete won’t want the 17 year old beating him on a regular basis.
It’s surprising that even at 40+ the man is still motivated enough to get out of his bed at 6ish in the mornings and bring the family to the races. I don’t think he would have had such a long career if it hadn’t been for his lovely wife Vicky, who I think loves the races more than Pete sometimes. Vicky and the children Joshua and Erin just love the crack at the races and the family day out. And maybe one day Joshua will go on to beat his dad and manage to qualify for a GP and maybe even win one!!.
So watch out for Fred when the season kicks off in full swing in March. He’ll be the blonde haired man with the big grin on face. After all that’s why he races motocross, for the fun. At the end of the day were not all going to be the next Stefan Everts. And if he wasn’t out having fun he wouldn’t have stuck at it for so long.
Pete is a well-known rider amongst the older generation; he was winning races in Ulster before Martin Barr was in nappies. He has even got his name on the illustrious Tommy Stewart memorial trophy, with names like Morrison, Crockard, Lyons, Merton and McCullough etc.
Several injuries wrecked championship seasons for the quiet Hillsborough man. Breaking both his collarbones several times and breaking his shoulder to name a few. But this never deterred the talented Pete from trying to qualify for a GP in Ireland. Just to be Pete he tried to ride a stock 2-year-old 125 in the qualifying session. As the bike was a bit slower than the rest he decided to only put a bit of fuel in the bike so it would be lighter an thus go faster. According to Pete he was on a flying lap and sure to qualify when disaster struck and the kwacker ran out of fuel!!! These experiences never seemed to faze the likeable man, in fact the only time I’ve ever seem him angry in the last 10 years was a Donemana a few years ago. Some crazy rider rote Pete off in a turn and he hit the ground hard giving him a mild concussion. He couldn’t even remember what way the track went!!
In 2005 Pete finished 15th in the Semi-Expert Ulster championship, even thought he did sand bag a few races to not get moved up again!! (That was our thought on the thing anyway!) For 40 the man can still ride and when he wants to just seems to find plenty of extra speed. He may just need this extra speed next season when his nephew James Kennedy (leaky) moves up to the semi-experts as the grade c 125 champ, and I’m sure Uncle Pete won’t want the 17 year old beating him on a regular basis.
It’s surprising that even at 40+ the man is still motivated enough to get out of his bed at 6ish in the mornings and bring the family to the races. I don’t think he would have had such a long career if it hadn’t been for his lovely wife Vicky, who I think loves the races more than Pete sometimes. Vicky and the children Joshua and Erin just love the crack at the races and the family day out. And maybe one day Joshua will go on to beat his dad and manage to qualify for a GP and maybe even win one!!.
So watch out for Fred when the season kicks off in full swing in March. He’ll be the blonde haired man with the big grin on face. After all that’s why he races motocross, for the fun. At the end of the day were not all going to be the next Stefan Everts. And if he wasn’t out having fun he wouldn’t have stuck at it for so long.
posted by Race Deal - Sports PR @ 12:38 PM
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