McGregor finds success on motorcycle race circuit
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But one local man is not only doing what he always dreamed of, he has reached his goal once and now is after another.
Lindsay McGregor has been riding motorcycles since he was 7 years old, and these days he is riding faster than he ever has. McGregor had been riding motocross for several years with great success, but now is trying his skills at road racing.
“I have always loved riding bikes and going fast,” he said. “I had a lot of fun riding motocross, but in 1995 I had a little accident and broke my back in five places.
“The doctors told me my riding days in motocross were over. If I wanted to ride a motorcycle get a street bike and don’t jump anything.”
McGregor purchased a sport bike, and before long his natural desire for speed took over once again, leading to a visit to an “Open Track” day.
“That’s where you go to a track like Talladega, and they have a day were you can take your bike out and ride,” he explained. “I really liked that. It got my blood pumping a little. So I decided to go and get my racing licenses.”
McGregor went to a racing school to learn the finer points of racing and earned his licenses, with no intention of actually racing. But once again, old habits are hard to break.
“After I got my licenses we went to another track day in Talladega — just for fun,” he said. “But I ended up entering a race and came in third.”
Since that first race in February, McGregor has had not only a full schedule, but a successful one, as well. He has participated in seven races sanctioned by the CCS, winning six while maintaining his amateur status. The CCS — one of amateur road racing’s two sanctioning bodies — moved the local racer up to the “Expert” division at the conclusion of the season, when he won the Southeast region in his class.
“When you move to the expert division everything you do cost a lot more money,” McGregor said. “I have been riding a 600 cycle in the amateur division and now that I’m going to be riding with the big boys I will have to move to a 750.
“Right now we are in the process of building a 750 bike, and things are starting to get very expensive. These guys are very serious about racing and if you want to have a chance to compete with them you have do the same things they’re doing.”
One of the things McGregor has had to do to stay competitive in his new division is pick up sponsors.
“Most of these guys have sponsors and I have been lucky to pick up a couple,” he said. “Lockhart-Phillips, EBC Brakes, Silkolene, Pirelli Tires, Mid-Tenn. Cycle and Ace Hardware are helping me out right now, and hopefully we’ll pick up a couple of more.
“Tires are the biggest expense. The hard surface eats the rubber up real fast and you can easily go through $600-900 worth of tires in a weekend.”
As for the future, McGregor knows 2003 will be a learning experience. All the skills he learned riding motocross mean nothing when you’re going 140 miles per hour, with your knee two inches from asphalt.
“I love to compete and I will have my work cut out for me this spring,” he said. “I don’t expect to win any races next year, I just want to go out there learn from the other riders and have fun.
“The speed will be the biggest adjustment for me. These guys go to a place like Daytona and run 170-190 miles per hour. At speeds like that you don’t have any room for error. You have to stay focussed on what you’re doing or you’ll be sliding across the pavement at 170.
“This is a very mental sport — it’s not like motocross. Motocross is physical with all the jumps; it wears and tears on your body. Road racing wears you out mentally; you can’t let your guard down for one second. You have a 385-pound bike with 140 horsepower and it only takes one little mistake. Compare horsepower to weight ratio and it’s like an Indy car — these bikes can fly.”
McGregor said his wife and family have been very supportive, standing behind him from the very start, and added that he feels very fortunate to have this opportunity. Daytona Speedway will be the first test for the local rider in the “Expert” division, as he takes his new bike and heads to Florida in February. He said he’ll still spend most of his time at his business, ACE Hardware, and with his family, but he hopes to be able to compete in 10 or 12 races next year.
And while he hopes to one day see his share of success, he said he always keeps in mind the main reason he first began racing — because of the thrills.
“I think maybe the success I had this year was because I didn’t put any pressure on myself,” he said. “I went out there and had fun it didn’t matter if I finished last or first. From my experience in motocross, I was more successful when I was just out there having fun.
“If you enjoy what you’re doing and happen to win a race or two then that’s just icing on the cake. I’m just having fun.”