By Wade Aunger WHEN a three-time world champion offers you some direction about your speedway career you’d be well advised to listen.

And that’s exactly what Rockhampton Speedway motorcycle rider Zane Keleher did.

When triple World Champion Jason Crump raced in Keleher’s hometown four years ago the young tyro asked the living legend how he could go about living his dream. Crump’s advice was simple.

“He told me to go to Mildura,” Keleher explained. 

“He said if you’re serious about your racing spend at least one season in Mildura. That’s where it happens.”

The words rang loudly in the former motocross rider’s ears and he packed up his van, bikes and tools and headed south to Sunraysia where the stars of the future reside and slide.

“He was absolutely right,” Keleher said. 

“I couldn’t come last year because I wasn’t organised enough but this year I did it and I can see the difference in my riding after only being here a month.”

Keleher has landed a job here and spends every spare hour he has in the Stewart family shed working on his bikes alongside Jordan Stewart and the gaggle of international young hotshots also here for the summer.

“I ride every weekend I can and practice every Wednesday night,” he said. 

“I can already feel the improvement I’m making in just a short time. I wish I’d done this earlier. 

“Being around the Aussies and the internationals is just such a huge help. Everyone is so friendly and supportive.” Crump should know.

He and his immortal father Phil called the dirt at Olympic Park home where they honed their skills as youngsters before moving on to the national and then world stage.

“Jason was really helpful,” Keleher said. 

“There was no way I was not going to take his advice. I want to work on riding overseas in 2020 so I need to get a move on. 

“I just can’t ride as much in Rockhampton as I can here and the standard of rider makes you better every time you line up.”

Keleher wants to compete in the Australian Championship held between SA, Mildura and NSW over the Christmas-New Year period and hopefully it leads to an international opportunity.

Inheriting his passion for motorcycling through his motocross racing dad, Keleher was profoundly impacted by Crump’s racing visit to Rockhampton in 2015.

“I knew when I saw what he could do on a speedway bike that’s what I wanted too,” he said.

Keleher has been nominated for the second year in a row for the Motorcycling Queensland Speedway rider of the year and hopes he can go one better after being runner up last year.

The next phases of his swim in the “deep end of the speedway pool” is at Olympic Park this Friday night where he faces off against riders from the UK, Poland, Germany and Denmark plus Mildura heroes Justin Sedgmen,...