Rider gets into a spin
A fundraiser who has been learning to ride the Wall of Death during lockdown is to make his public debut at the MotoFest Coventry Bike Weekend. Paul Malin (not the 1995 British 125 MX GP winner of the same name, although the two do know each other) will join the famous Ken Fox Wall of Death on the 20-foot high wall, in what promises to be one of the highlights of the show on July 24-25.
The ride will be the culmination of months of training as he bids to raise £10,000 for four separate charities: Prostate Cancer UK, Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes, Positive Bones and Pawprints.
The 55-year-old said: “I was treated for a serious illness a couple of years ago and after getting the all-clear, I wanted to give something back. I wanted to do something spectacular but different to raise the money, so I began to think about the Wall of Death. “When I visited MotoFest back in 2019, I got talking to the Ken Fox Wall of Death team about the idea. After some initial reservations from them – they don’t often train people up as it’s quite dangerous – they eventually agreed to let me have a go.
“I was a motocross rider back in my younger days, but this is something else. I have done over 60 hours training and while it’s a very difficult skill to perfect, it is incredible once you are up on the wall riding the bike.” The Bike Weekend is part of a new format for 2021, as the UK’s largest free-to-attend motoring festival switches from its usual date on the first weekend in June, to a new MotoFest Month 2021, stretched out across four weekends, from July 17-18 until August 7-8.
There will also be the popular ride-in (July 24) from the historic Coombe Abbey Hotel – Brinklow Road, Coventry – to the city centre.
June 9 2021