There are lots of different reasons why road riders take up racing, but Gary Lingham’s route into the sport must count as one of the most unusual.
“I was riding my Triumph Bonneville in Elephant and Castle, going round the roundabout then down the Old Kent Road on my way back to Peckham,” he explains. “As per usual, I was weaving in and out of the traffic just for fun, then I pulled up at traffic lights and a copper on a motorbike pulls up next to me. He says: ‘For f*ck’s sake, I’ve been chasing you. I was going down the middle, outside of the traffic, and I still couldn’t catch you. You’re nicked!’”
As irate as the policeman was at the time, he actually helped Lingham when the matter came to court.
