Stewart McDonald: 'I'm not saying I'm making a comeback, but I fancy a skid!'

NEWS Friday 25th September 2020, 3:00pm

by PR Team

  Edinburgh Monarchs

Monarchs rider of the 1990s, Stewart McDonald joined John and Liam for another excellent question and answer session in the most recent edition of Sunday Lunch.

Stewart's speedway journey started on the terraces as a supporter with his father, attending Glasgow matches, "Every week, we never missed a match! We would go to the away matches too, we always went to Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle and it stemmed from there.

"My father was so keen on it. We got the bug. The smell of it and the speedway atmosphere, it was just great."

Having followed the sport so passionately, the time soon came for Stewart to have a go on a bike, "It was just before my 15th birthday when I first got on a bike at Linlithgow. Jim Beaton used to go along with us and my first ride out on a bike I will never forget it.

"You can imagine what it was like, really slow, baby steps. Then Jim Beaton jumps on the bike, no helmet, and he just went out and absolutely flattened it and I thought, wow!

"He came in and he said, 'that's how you ride the bike'. The baby steps became bigger steps. The Linlithgow experience was to get on with it, get in and pin it. It was a great start."

Despite growing up supporting Glasgow Tigers, Stewart's first professional club was Edinburgh, "To sign for Edinburgh was a massive thing for me, I was on the back of the Evening News. It was a proud moment. The Monarchs did everything for me that they could, it was a no-brainer at the time.

"I chose to ride for the opposite of who I supported and I got a bit of stick for that, but I eventually jumped back [to Glasgow], and back, and back again."

Stewart recalled his racing days with great fondness but admitted that they might not be over, noting that he is just two weeks older than recent returnee to the sport Jason Crump, "I'm going to get a bike, get it up to scratch, have a skid and see what happens.

"If I could come back and do anything like Jason Crump can do then I would be back on the bike tomorrow! We'll see what happens, I'm not saying I'm making a comeback but I fancy a skid."

If you missed Sunday Lunch with Stewart, you can watch now over on EMTV.

EMTV:Rewind wraps up for the season on Friday (25th) at 7:30pm with the 2002 Scottish Open Championship.

Season One of Sunday Lunch also concludes this Sunday (27th) at midday when John and Liam are joined by Edinburgh-born former Monarchs captain Kevin Little. You can send your questions for Kevin to johnandliam@edinburghmonarchs.co.uk now.