It’s not easy racing British Championship as a privateer running your own team, and it’s even harder when you work full time and have to travel by boat across the Irish sea every week to compete!
That is what Stuart Edmonds is doing every weekend at the minute after losing his ride unexpectedly and with late notice at Apico Husqvarna leaving the friendly Irish rider with limited options for the 2023 season. But Stuart isn’t one to give up and, backed by some essential and loyal sponsors has been putting his 450 Honda well inside the top ten – but he wants more! And he may even ride the British GP later in the year and hopes, once again to be in a position to race for Ireland at Ernee.
We caught up with Edmonds during a practice day in Northern Ireland to get his thoughts on his year and an insight into what his week looks like – it’s packed!
“I had nothing at Christmas time, coming up to Christmas I was kind of sat there going, it’s maybe time to hang up the boots, I cant really get anything,” said Edmonds. “I managed to salvage something with Gavin and stuff and then Spencer Briggs came along and offered me a couple of bikes and to run something myself and get something going. I have pretty much built something myself from the end of January.
“What I want out of this year is to get myself racing and get myself up to the top again, currently everyone is saying my results are okay but I’m not happy! I’m finishing OK results but my potential, I should be higher. I have to be conscious of what I’ve been doing, how late I have started I’m on a new bike and trying out new things and sometimes I want a little bit too much of myself in such a short period of time.
“I’m full time now (working) obviously I am not getting out half as much getting out, so I am losing out on testing and ride time, so I am trying to test and get my fitness up and ride all at the same time. It has definitely been fun but it is also mentally draining.”
A week in the life for Edmonds looks like this…”I’ll run you through a quick week of mine so, Monday, let’s say we aren’t going to a British championship, Monday is my rest day but I’m getting stuff ready for the bike, getting stuff ready for the van.
Tuesday, up at 5am to go training. Some days I am that tired, i actually have to leave my training to the evening. The Wednesday if I have a chance and I am able to afford I will get out on the bike, or it is a full week’s work. Thursday up again at 5am, training in the morning, gym in the evening.
Friday is a rest day if I am travelling but still p to get the boat or I am up late to get the late boat and then I don’t arrive in the UK to 1am and then up early again Saturday morning. So literally, I am only there, get set-up, race and then go home again and get a 2.40am boat, arrive in Dublin at 6.30 am then straight to work”
And even finding a track in the South of Ireland is hard for Edmonds due to an ongoing insurance issue. in what a big blow to the sport. “It’s a lot harder for me to ride (down south). I am up in the North here now, there are no tracks down south, there’s a couple of private tracks that are open and a couple of people let me ride there tracks but there is no actual practice tracks, clubs can’t open because there is no insurance, so there is only people who own there own tracks that allow me to go riding. Even at that, the tracks aren’t rough enough to allow me to ride what I need to ride across in the British and stuff so a lot of the times when I get to the British it’s really, really rough because I’m riding flat stuff all the time. I like it when it’s rough but at present I am not fit enough to be doing what I want to be doing at the British.”
Get the full interview below including Edmonds aspirations to ride at the British GP and his thoughts with the MXON back at Ernee – and his memories of his run in with Cooper Webb!
Interview: Jonathan McCready