Top Canadian speedway pro Kyle Legault, from St.Catharines, Ontario, has pretty much done it all. He’s won three Canadian National Speedway titles and has raced against speedway pros all over the world. Kyle is a fantastic all-around dirt bike rider, and when he’s home he helps us with our bike and product tests. But for the next seven months Legault is heading to England to race his speedway bike in the most competitive series on earth, just like he has every year for nearly a decade.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: Kyle, you fly to England this afternoon. When is your first race once you get there?

Kyle Legault: I have a press day on for Newport on the 17 ^th , then a press day for Lakeside on the 23 ^st . The first race is the 24 ^th in the Elite league.

Can you explain Newport and Lakeside? Are they like two different leagues?

Yeah, Lakeside is a team based in Essex on the outskirts of London. It’s in the Sky Sports Elite league, top flight. Sky is their big TV provider over there. Newport is with the British Premiere league. I am riding for Lakeside, but my main team is Newport. Newport owns my contract, but I double-up for Lakeside. If there is a meeting conflict I have to ride for Newport in the Premiere league. I share this position with a rider named Stuart Robson, who rides for a team in the Premiere league. We share the number six spot for Lakeside, basically whoever is available or whoever is doing the best. So you have to stay on top of your game or you don’t have a job.

Umm…do you make any money over there? I don’t want to know how much, but will you come home with more than you left with?

Well ya, I’d better because I am going with nothing! (Laughs) I have something like 70 races on my schedule between now and September, so I am racing three or four nights a week. The more points I score the more money I make…so I’ve got to score lots of points!

Well, when you got home last year the first thing you did was run out and buy yourself a new motocross bike. Are you gonna’ do the same thing again this year?

I have some plans…it’s always fun to have lots of toys! But it might be a different kind of bike!

You finished off your ice racing season on a high note, winning in the ‘States last weekend…

It was good to finally win one of the rounds. Racing in the Extreme International Ice Racing Series was all new to me. I’d never raced a speedway bike indoors before! So it took me a few rounds to get into the swing of things. Also I started out the series on a borrowed bike…when I finally got my own bike together and got it dialled in I did better. It was good to finish off my ice racing season with a win in the U.S. It boosted my confidence before I take off for England. I am looking forward to doing the XIIR series again next winter!

And you stuck a normal flat track bike on the podium last weekend too…

(Laughs) That was a last minute thing; I just kind of jumped on a borrowed bike. I had to start off gate eight in the main event, but I still finished third. That was cool for my first indoor flat track race, especially against a bunch of AMA Pros. I’m feeling good now, I’m in good shape and I have been riding a lot this winter so I shouldn’t be rusty when I get to England.

You might even have a bit of an advantage…do the guys over there spend a lot of time ice racing in places like Norway or Sweden?

The Swedes do a bit, kind of like what we’ve been riding. But one of the guys I race with did a lot of outdoor motocross in the snow, with those Trelleborg ice tires with the little pins in them. I know the other riders also do whatever they can to ride and stay in shape and stay sharp.

Will you be coming back to Canada at all during the season?

I don’t have any definite plans, but there is some chance of me coming home to compete in one race…we’ll see what happens closer to the date.

How many times have you been to England now?

This is my eighth season racing over there.

So it’s like a second home now…

Don’t go that far. (Laughs) I’ve got my set up there, and once I fly in I’m pretty much ready to go with my bikes and my workshop. I’m comfortable, but living there isn’t something I particularly look forward to.

Will you do some races in Europe as well?

I have one race in Denmark, a Grand Prix qualifier. That’s my only race scheduled for Europe, but there are other ones like a big race in France in June and one in Germany. As long as they don’t conflict with my schedule I’d like to go to them. I’ve been asked to attend those races in the past but was unable to get there.

I hate to bring this up, but last year you got hurt in England. Does the team look after you for medical insurance and bills and stuff?

Yes, every rider has insurance through the British Speedway Promoter Association. We pay a bit out of our wages for race insurance every time we go on the track. But it’s the rider’s responsibility to have personal health insurance for anything else that happens while we’re there.

You’ve been to England so many times now…do you bother with sightseeing and stuff anymore?

I’m pretty busy when I’m there, between racing so often every week and working on my bikes. I don’t get much time to myself…on those occasions when I do get a bit of time I’d rather just go try to find a place to sit down and have a beer or something. But hey, other than that I’m really stoked about getting back and being part of the Offroadmotorcycles.ca Welland team racing the Numb Bumb 24 hour ice race in Alberta next winter!

Whoaaaaa Welland! You know, between you and Ryan Rainville and Jeff Seguin we’d have a very strong team…

I think so! We’ll be able to hold our ground at least.

When do you get back from England anyway?

As soon as possible. (Laughs)

What, are you just gonna’ sleep at the airport ?

Nah, really it should be in October sometime. It depends on how the teams do and if we make the playoffs. But just like in the past I always fly home the day after my last race. I like to get home as fast as I can so I can get some dirt riding in before winter.

We’ll throw you on a few test bikes again this fall…

Gotta’ be a test pilot for Offroadmotorcycles! Well, crash pilot…

You didn’t fall off too many test bikes this year…

No, Matt McCarthy pretty much took over that duty! (Laughs) That’s his job now! Finally you have someone to take my spot as crash pilot! (Laughs)

Well, good luck Kyle. Have a safe trip and keep us informed on how things are going over there.

For sure. I’ll keep you posted and have some TV video feeds from over there for you as well!

You can find out more about Kyle Legault and his 2011 UK race series by checking out his website, http://kylelegault.com/

Photos courtesy of Kyle Legault, Arley Orosz, Dan Paris