The need forspeed
Family, thrills and fun are at the heart of a sport with excitement in its soul HUGH MacDONALD TAKES TO THE DIRT TO FIND A HIGH-OCTANE GLASGOW INSTITUTION
SNUG inside a hospitality suite, sheltered from the flying shale and in a moment’s indulgence afforded by a rider’s blessed recovery from a stunning crash, George Facenna shuffles over to photographs and names names.
‘There’s my dad, Francisco,’ he says as other friends and family come alive, if only in memory.
The photograph is of a packed Ashfield in 1947 or 1948. In 2022, George, at 80, is still standing on the hallowed ground. ‘I missed that day because I had the flu,’ he says. Outside, families gently jostle for the best vantage point. There are mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. This is a family story. And the rebirth of the Glasgow Tigers is a Facenna story.
Gerry Facenna, cousin of George, is listed as owner/director alongside his two sons, Peter and David.
With the drive that has made their Allied Vehicles a financial powerhouse, the Facennas have given Ashfield Stadium a good scrub, upgraded facilities and now welcome 4,000 on racedays compared to the 400 who came along when the family took over in 2015.
‘I remember my dad coming into the house and telling us he was going to buy the Tigers,’ says Peter, managing director of what can only be described as a family business, albeit one of hefty proportions. ‘I thought we had enough to be going on with as we had 600-plus employees. But here we are.’
Here is a wooden platform looking down on the track where the Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs are set to play out the second leg of their Championship KO cup quarter-final. Peter is unabashedly nervous. ‘I really have got into it,’ he says. ‘It’s my passion now.’
The family’s connection with speed is long-standing — or perhaps, more accurately, long-sitting. ‘Scotty’ Facenna, father of Gerry and grandfather of Peter and David, was partial to riding the wall of death at the Kelvin Hall.
His grandsons fancied a go at speedway when the Tigers were bought. In a practice run, Peter broke a rib and David fractured his wrist.
The family interest is hands-on but not now on handlebars.
‘I knew you had to accelerate through the bend,’ says Peter. ‘But I ran straight into the wall.’
The Tigers’ fortunes, though, have been on an upward curve.
‘I don’t want to tell you how much we have spent here,’ says Peter, ‘but we are now on track to break even and that’s all we have ever wanted.’
Independent sources will attest that the Facennas has put more than £1m (and counting) into the project. The payout comes in a simple form.
‘We just want to keep it going, want there to be something for the community,’ says Peter (right). His grandfather’s first garage lies barely a piece of flying dirt away and the small town that is Allied Vehicles is just down the road. As children line up during a break in racing to run against the mascot, Peter looks down and says: ‘We took over when my son Brodie was born. He loves it, too. It’s a family thing.’
And will Brodie follow the Facenna trail on to the track? ‘No,’ says Peter. He is smiling but he is serious.
CAMERON BROWN was introduced to speedway by his father. ‘When I was five he took me to Hampden Park and I loved it,’ says the Tigers’ team manager. His dad was a plumbers’ merchant and in the Hampden of 1969 it was almost a trade convention. ‘All his friends were plumbers’ merchants, so they had a sneaky wee beer while their sons watched the racing,’ says Brown, who followed in his father’s professional footsteps. ‘I’ve never ridden but I have been a truck driver for the Tigers, a sponsor and I helped to get the Facennas to buy the club, which is probably the most important thing I ever did.’ He paces around the pitstops as engines roar, riders shriek in frustration and mechanics frantically set up bikes for the next race in a programme of 15 heats. The task for Brown and his charges on a glorious Saturday night is to reclaim a 16-point advantage claimed by the Monarchs in the first leg. The Tigers come up two points short. ‘I love my job here,’ he says, shortly before the first heat. ‘It hurts me more than anybody when we lose. Last night I couldn’t think of anything else other than the loss. That’s where I want to be though. You have to feel it otherwise it doesn’t mean anything.’
Tigers roar but it is not enough. This does not discomfit a speedway obsessive in the shape of Jim, who gives no additional name. ‘When it is good, close racing, there is nothing to beat speedway,’ he says. ‘I don’t mind who wins. It’s the same with football. I don’t mind who wins as long as it is Motherwell.’
Jim’s connection to speedway stretches back to 1948 when he was one of the band who filled a double-decker every Saturday that headed to Edinburgh from Biggar. He changed his allegiance to the Tigers when he came to work in Glasgow.
‘I come every week,’ he says. ‘You ask yourself why when it is raining and everybody is crashing but on most other days it is just brilliant. It has something. Some people just come and are immediately addicted to it.’
THE appeal can be instantaneous to the young. Colin Mackie, pit marshal and youth co-ordinator, witnesses this first hand when he introduces kids as young as eight to the sport. ‘They don’t move up to the 500s until they are 14 but they can still go fast enough on the small bikes,’ he says. ‘Remember, this is a bike with no brakes.’
This is a sobering realisation when the professionals are careering past at speeds of up to 70mph and there are two crashes on Saturday night with both riders recovering.
Mackie, a veteran of racing at Hampden as his dad took him along too, is keen on developing young talent, particularly in the area around Ashfield Stadium. ‘This is an important part of the community,’ he says. ‘You get a buzz just watching this sport but it’s important to bring youngsters in.’ He did this to spectacular effect with Connor Bailey, who at 19 is the second ranked rider on the team.
‘I came here when I was 16 in April, 2019,’ Bailey says with a precision that clashes with his flamboyance on the track. Mackie had seen him race on a trip Down Under and badgered the Tigers’ management to give the youngster from Western Australia his chance. He has taken it.
‘My parents came over with me and found jobs,’ he says. ‘They have been very supportive of me.’
Bailey was first a motorcross rider but soon found his strength was in speedway. He is now in the under-21 Great Britain team.
He is laconic about the culture change of moving from sunny Australia to live in Airdrie.
‘It is a bit of a contrast,’ he admits. ‘I actually feel that the weather is a nice change for me but I am still not a great fan of the food. I miss a bit of good Aussie beef.’
It was this commodity that led him into the sport. ‘I basically went along with my parents to a speedway tryout that offered a free barbecue as a lure. That convinced all of us to go.’
He excelled and decided to focus on speedway. He has come far and not just in terms of travelling from Australia. The murmurs say he could be a major star. He is, too, a quietly engaging personality.
Asked why he continues to hurtle around corners at motorway speeds, he answers: ‘Yes, it is the most exhilarating sport. But it’s not just about the speed rush. When you get everything right, there is a feeling of perfection, of harmony. That keeps me coming back.’
And where does he want to go? ‘To the top,’ he says. ‘That’s the simple answer.’
It is a message that is echoed by Peter Facenna. ‘It’s been seven years and we want a championship,’ he says.
The odds of both occurring for rider and businessman must be short, and getting shorter.