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Driver Profile - Ryan McKenna V14

With the off season rebuilds in full swing and no racing to report on.

We thought we would share a little back ground on some of our drivers and how they made their way to the Speedcar ranks.

First up we have V14 Ryan McKenna.

Having grown up around speedway all his life & spending most summer weekends at the now defunct Melbourne Speedbowl or the local track down the road in Nyora, it was only a matter of time before Ryan Mckenna made the transition from spectator to competitor, which happened way back in 1998.

The now 36 year old from Pakenham spent 13 years in the Mini Sprint division, enjoying a lot of success and significant results along the way.

Four state title are at the top of the honour board but Ryan says his most memorable moment was winning the Geoff Moule Memorial, a race in which Ryan had a large part in implementing to honour Geoff and the Moule family after his passing.

"It was the second running of Geoff's race that I won, it meant a lot for a lot of different reasons.

We had cars from NSW down racing in Victoria for the first time, including the new Australian champion, it was really special".

Having re-entered the sport in the 2016-17 season after a four year break, Ryan has found it to be a steep learning curve in the Speedcar ranks.

"I took a break for a while to concentrate on family and set myself up a little better.

Back then I had the talent but not the budget, now I can afford it the talent side has alluded me...

We had some big crashes this year and it took me a lot longer than I thought it would to get my head around not having a wing!

Speedcars are such a different car to drive and there is so much more you need to concentrate on, set up is everything in these cars, close enough is not good enough anymore" he jokes.

"Racing is not a full time thing for me like it used to be, I have 2 beautiful boys that need me far more than I need a race car, I do what I can when I can, takes the stress out of it a bit too".

For 2017/2018 Ryan has updated some equipment and hopes lessons learnt over the preceding 12 months will hold the team in good stead to be a more competitive unit when the new season rolls around. Ryan would like to thank the following people for their support and making it all possible.

The wife (of course), Global Machinery Sales, Mr.Stumpy Tree Services, Surfcoast Tree Services, Highport Cylinder Heads, Thommos Race Graphix, and of course the spanner men Tom, Mal, Craig, Dean & Charlie.


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