Stockton's Colin Mooney nifty at 50 and he's on right track for the title

Colin Mooney has been doing so well since taking the plunge that he’s in with a realistic chance of winning a national title in his first full season

With his 50th birthday approaching, you might have expected Stockton’s Colin Mooney to pick up his pipe and slippers and start winding down.

Not a chance!

For Colin, a lifelong fan of bikes and motorcycle sport, decided to take up road racing.

And he’s been doing so well since taking the plunge that he’s in with a realistic chance of winning a national title in his first full season.

A seasoned road rider, he’s ridden far and wide including a trip to the Arctic Circle en-route to Pamplona for the Bull Run, and been a regular at race meetings on the other side of the fence.

And last year, at the age of 49 he took the bold decision to enter a meeting at Anglesey where he raced in the Thundersport 500 Senior Cup.

The event is incorporated into the Thundersport 500 Cup but is for riders over 40 years old.

“To my absolute amazement I only went on to win a race at my first ever event to take the top step of the podium and attract an interview on Sky TV,” he said.

“This spurred me on to take part in the last two rounds, I finished every race and ended up 11th in the championship.”

Encouraged by his early success, Colin signed up for the full Thundersport 500 Senior Cup 2014 season.

In the first round at Brands Hatch he qualified fastest senior and finished second in every race. Then at Donington Park last weekend he had a win and two seconds, although he was knocked off in his other race, and is currently second in the championship table.

“It’s been a bit of an adventure,” he admitted.

“I used to follow some of the local lads who were racing at club level and then I started doing a bit of riding myself.

“A number of people encouraged me to have a go at racing but I never did until last year.

“It’s gone a lot better than I expected, to be honest.

“On Sunday morning I was leading the championship but I got knocked off in my second race, and the guy who won is now leading.

“At the start of the season I said, tongue in cheek, that I’d like to finish in the top five.

“But the way it’s going, I don’t think it’s too ambitious to say I’m in with a shout of winning the championship.”

Colin is now hoping to attract some backers to help fund his title bid.

He’d already invested in two Honda CB500 machines before an anticipated sponsorship deal fell through. Anyone able to help can contact him at colin.mooney@hotmail.com