Five minutes into the interview and one thing is clear: you would grow old waiting for Mark Grinnall to sing his own praises. A man who has achieved much on two, three and four wheels, he is pathologically averse to the limelight, openly wondering if anyone will want to read about him. He also hates having his photograph taken, that much is clear. His discomfort is writ large. After a lot of ribbing, Grinnall reaches a strained détente with the snapper – a mate of long standing – before finally relaxing his shoulders and unclenching his jaw.
It is this lack of the Big I Am that makes you instantly warm to the Worcestershire man who is clearly happier lost in pencil-chewing contemplation than in playing the frontman. ‘You could say that I am out of my comfort zone,’ he offers somewhat redundantly before turning his attention to discussing how this farmer’s son made the transition from junior motocross ace to car builder. That, and marque founder, trike magnate and most recently cocreator of dealer/biker destination Midwest Moto, alongside his wife Sonia.
‘It started with motorcycles,’ he says. ‘I was fortunate enough to grow up on
