Tyler Govier Interview

Tyler Govier is a young man on a mission, there can be no doubt about that. The 16 year old Exeter based rider is facing the best part of a 500 mile round trip for home meetings to take his place as a Buxton Hitman in the 2013 National League season.

Govier has a drive to succeed in the sport, yet a mature, realist approach to his first league campaign which belies his tender years. “I’m excited about riding for Buxton this season and really looking forward to it. And if I could finish the season on my 3.00 average or achieve greater I will be very happy.”

When it comes to the amount of traveling ahead of him this season Tyler takes it in his stride, accepting that it is part and parcel of the sport. “Traveling won’t be a problem because we used to travel to Mildenhall and Ipswich for the junior leagues which were unpaid for traveling and it’ll definitely be a bonus getting paid this season!”

Looking toward the season, in a Buxton team containing Three Three point riders (Tyler, Matt Williamson and Tom Wooley), there is a possibility Tyler could be forced to start the season in a second string berth, however he would prefer to begin the campaign at least, in a reserve position. “I think starting off at reserve for the start of the season would be better for me because it would help me to gain confidence quicker,” however he has no problems with stepping up into the 1-5 “depending on how it goes through the season and also average wise, I would be more than happy to move into the main body of the team.”

Preparation for the season has been high on the Exeter born racer’s list of priorities, investing in faster equipment over the off season “during the winter we sold both of our bikes which weren’t up to National League standard, so having 3 months out to get some more money together we have invested in 2 Premier/Elite League standard bikes which will be a lot more capable for the job in the national league.”

Tyler was naturally disappointed he didn’t get a fair crack of the whip on his new machinery as his first meeting of the season, the British Under-21 Semi-Final at Plymouth was disrupted by rain, stopping his hopes of qualifying for the showpiece event at the first hurdle. “In my opinion the meeting shouldn’t of gone ahead, I managed to pick up up a second and my other two rides I had to lay the bike down to miss others and by that time that was enough for me, the track was un-raceable.” A view shared by many of the other participants, more frustrating as Tyler had high hopes for the meeting. “I felt it was possible to get through and qualify to the under 21s final because every time I was laying the bike down, I was in decent point scoring positions.”

Whilst league racing will be new, the Hitman will have seen many tracks in the National League during his Junior League and youth racing days and he is excited to take to the circuits as a fully fledged National League star. “I’m really looking forward to going back to the Isle of Wight and also Kent being a new track. Kings Lynn is one of my favourite tracks and I seem to do well there.”

When talking about riders who have impacted his fledging career, Govier admits he owes a lot to a former Exeter Falcons star, although he was only Eight when his hometown circuit shut it’s doors as well as some riders who made their mark on the International scene. “Mike Coles for starting me off in the sport former Exeter Falcons star, also Jason Crump, Emil Sayfutdinov and Lee Richardson made an impression on me from their style and professionalism.” Tyler hopes he will too grace the world stage in the same vein as the latter trio, however he is open ended about his long term future in Speedway. “I’ll try to go as far as I possibly can in the sport and to achieve good things along the way and also to avoid injuries.”

Of course that journey begins now, so what of Tyler Govier’s ‘Five Year Plan’? “I like to think I would be able to make a good Premier League second string rider, doubling up in the Elite and possibly ride in a few of the world under 21s qualifiers/final and push on again from there.”

One thing is for sure, Govier has his feet placed firmly on the ground and will look to make steady progress up the Speedway ladder and at just 16 he his whole career ahead of him to make his mark.

Keep up to date with Tyler on Twitter @Tyler_Govier6 or via his website tgracing.weebly.com

You can also help Tyler with sponsorship via gofundme.com/tgracing