For top Kiwi speedway solo exponent Brad Wilson-Dean the goal is as clear cut as a chequered flag.“ I want to be world champion,” the Hastings-born 23-year-old said.“ That’ s the goal and always has been, ever since I was only 11 or 12 because I don’ t want to do anything by halves... you gotta do it properly.” And at this stage of his rising career he has indeed been doing it properly, to the pride and delight of his father Darrin who is also very adept aboard a howling speedway.“ Yeah, dad’ s 52 and he’ s still out there riding... pretty good too,” he added with a smile. But when it comes to who’ s“ pretty good”, Darrin said there’ s no arguments.“ Oh look he’ s awesome,” Darrin said.“ He’ s a hell of a lot better than I ever was.” Darrin, during his English league years, rode for the Swindon Robins, but as he pointed out, that was for the second team, the junior reserves.“ He’ s in the top league.” Indeed. Last season, as a high-flyer for Swindon, Brad helped the team pick up the British Elite League title, and that added to a National League title in 2015( with Eastbourne) and a Premier League title in 2016 with Somerset. The hattrick made him the first Kiwi to pick up an Elite title in three consecutive seasons. And on that sort of the form, the reigning New Zealand title-holder is more than likely to make it four in a row as he dons the leathers and lid for Somerset in the coming English set.“ Yeah, back with Somerset— we’ re in Division 1.” His team will be made up of three Australians( including World Champion Jason Doyle), two British riders, a Danish rider and him, the sole Kiwi and the only Kiwi currently racing in the league. He’ s looking forward to the usual banter with the Aussies, and happily points out that, yeah, he’ s beaten Jason Doyle the World Champion a couple of times. The one thing he will miss, as he has in previous seasons, is not having any other Kiwi riders around the scene.“ There’ s just none around any more and that’ s a shame,” he said. It was also a graphic example of how much the speedway solo scene had dissolved in this country.“ It’ s just dead now,” he said in his summation of where it was at.“ The solos in New Zealand are dead. We need more tracks, that’ s all we need because if we had more tracks we’ d have a shitload more guys coming out to race.” Darrin agreed, and said speedway in New Zealand had veered a path toward the four-wheelers, despite the remarkable legacies initially woven by riders like Ronnie Moore, Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs.“ All the tracks these days are made of clay and that’ s no good for the bikes... clay’ s only good for making pots with,” Darrin said.“ They used to be lime and we’ d go out after the cars which would polish them up a bit, and really go for it.” He said so many tracks around the country had been“ ruined” and the result was that young riders who wanted to pursue speedway simply did not bother any more.“ We’ ve lost about 10 tracks and each of those tracks would have had about six riders at them... lost them.” Without more tracks and more meetings there would be no more riders, Darrin said. He continued to say there were meetings where up to 20- solo riders would turn up, and doubts that will ever be seen again if Speedway New Zealand did not address the issue. Brad saw that for himself at the New Zealand National Championships( which he dominated) at Christchurch in January.“ There were only eleven riders there and that was the worst in its 76 year history... pretty sad.” So he is effectively flying the Kiwi flag internationally and will continue to return to race here in his English and European off-seasons. Brad took up speedway at the age of 11 having done a few years of mini-motocross riding, which he was also very adept at.“ I was always fascinated by it and I met the overseas riders who would come out here, and of course seeing Dad racing.” So it came to pass that one day he arrived home