Zane Keleher reflects on memorable debut international race season

Rockhampton rider celebrates two major achievements as he realises his sporting dream.

Rockhampton’s Zane Keleher says he has improved as a rider after his first professional race season in the United Kingdom.

The 28 year old spent the best part of the season racing with the Plymouth Gladiators, who finished 11th in the British SGB Championship.

The international debut was a dream come true for Keleher, who also clocked up two major achievements during his six months abroad.

In July, he set a track record at the Gladiators’ home track, the Plymouth Coliseum.

The following month, he represented Australia at the Long Track World Championship qualifier in Pardubice in the Czech Republic where he finished 18th.

“That was a one-off event and it was quite a big job to organise but it was a really good opportunity and I’m glad I had the chance to do it,” Keleher said.

“The highlight would have to be the track record at Plymouth.

“It was just a combination of everything being right.

“It is pretty cool to be the fastest because there’s been some big names go around that track, including three-time world champion Jason Crump and Speedway World Cup winner Bjarne Pederson.”

Keleher raced at about 30 meetings during his stint in the UK.

“It was really good racing full-time. We’d compete three to four times a week and when we weren’t racing we were travelling to get to the next race,” he said.

“I’d worked really hard to get to that level and it was a great feeling to be doing it.

“The experience on all the tracks was fantastic. The UK tracks are so technical and different to anywhere else in the world so it was a challenge to adapt to them.

“I definitely feel I’ve improved as a rider.

“I had some real highs and some lows but when you look at it as a whole, I really couldn’t have expected much more in my first year.”

Keleher will enjoy some downtime before gearing up for the Queensland titles on December 18.

He is keen for some more competition on home soil before he returns to the UK again in 2022.

“I’m hoping from January onwards, there will be more action in Australia, with meetings being held that were delayed because of Covid,” he said.