MARK PLUMMER catches up with one of the key men in the chase for Elite League title glory "“ flying Fast Track star Jason Garrity of Coventry . . .
JASON Garrity was proficiently riding a speedway bike before a lot of kids can even ride a pushbike.
He was just six years of age when taking his first laps aboard a 125cc machine. Four years later he was throwing his leg over a full-sized bike.
And he hasn't stopped progressing since. Garrity is the proud owner of British Under 15 and British Under 19 titles and now, aged 20, is one of the key riders in the race for Elite League glory.
"My granddad was a big fan of speedway and he got me into it," recalls Garrity, from Droyslden, a few miles east of Manchester.
"I had always liked bikes since I was little and I loved riding them. I was hooked straight away and knew I wanted to be a speedway rider.
"I can still remember my first skid. I used to crash a fair bit back then although I've still been doing that lately!
"I did a bit of swimming and a few other sports when I was younger, but speedway was always the one I loved.
"I've always put everything into it that I could and I'm very pleased with where I am now."
Garrity, a product of the old training track at Sheffield, has shot to attention during the current campaign as one of the stars of the inaugural Fast Track Draft.
He has piled up the points at reserve for Coventry and his display in the second leg of their semi-final showdown at Swindon on Monday is likely to prove crucial to the Bees' bid to reach the Grand Final.
They will roll into Wiltshire in possession of an eight-point advantage following a 49-41 success in the opening leg earlier this week, but Garrity is only too well aware of what unfolded at the same venue four weeks ago when Coventry were crushed 60-31 by the rampant Robins.
"We got absolutely dismantled the last time we went to Swindon," added Garrity. "I had a bad night and so did most of the boys in the team.
"We can't afford for that to happen again because we all really want to make the final. We've got an eight-point cushion and I think we can do it if everyone scores the points they should.
"I've got a new engine for the play-offs. It cost me a bit of money, but you get out what you put in and it felt good in the home leg.
"It can be hard to make a living in speedway, especially in the Fast Track, but it is all about the opportunity and getting your name out there."
Garrity - who says his speedway hero is Nicki Pedersen (a "˜great rider and a hard rider too') - has been doing that for several years. His Under 15 crown was captured in 2008 when he pipped current Coventry reserve partner James Sarjeant to the honours.
He then helped Buxton to a National League treble in the 2010 campaign before the individual accolades flooded in again in 2011.
Garrity scooped the national Under 19 title and the National League Riders' Championship crown with both successes coming at Rye House. It was perhaps inevitable that he was soon snapped up by the Rockets supremo Len Silver and has spent the last three seasons with the Hertfordshire club.
His 2013 campaign was virtually a write-off thanks to a broken leg sustained in May, but he has returned with a bang this year.
Aside from his top-level exploits with Coventry, he has turned a 5.31 starting Premier League average into a smart 6.75 current figure despite Rye House being rooted to the foot of the standings.
"It's been a good year," continued Garrity. "The Premier League is a really tough league now so I'm pleased to have got my average up towards seven.
"I just want to keep improving year after year and progress as far as I can in the sport.
"I've not managed to win the British Under 21 title, but I really want to be British champion and I'd love to be world champion one day.
"I think I would have won the Under 21 this year if I hadn't been excluded in the final, but everything happens for a reason and that just wasn't my night.
"I had a good night in the British Final and won a couple of races to show people what I could do."
Garrity's love for speedway is so clear that he admits he would probably have sought work as a mechanic in the sport if not making the grade as a rider.
But from an early age he was destined to star on the track rather than work off it.
