![SUCCESS: Heddon Greta rider Josh Pickering has qualified for a permit to race in the UK next year. Picture: Hope Photography SUCCESS: Heddon Greta rider Josh Pickering has qualified for a permit to race in the UK next year. Picture: Hope Photography](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H4rQr3kwJCDkT9nukzGYK/2348127f-a48d-4ee5-bc82-f3d6091ed44c.JPG/r0_105_2048_1261_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Heddon Greta rider Josh Pickering has won the chance of a lifetime after qualifying for a permit to race speedway in the United Kingdom next year.
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The 20-year-old travelled up to the Queensland titles on the weekend, and raced his way through to the A-final which qualified him for the permit.
But it wasn’t as easy as that, Pickering had to compete in five races against 17 other riders just to qualify for the heats, and then finish in the top four of the heats to make it to the final.
“It was a big day,” Pickering said.
Pickering won three heats and came away with a second and a third in the other two, which put him in third place overall and qualified him for the permit.
A bike malfunction meant Pickering finished last in the final, but he said he didn’t care as he had already won what he was really after… the chance to race overseas.
“I wasn’t focused on the race,” he said. “If I got first or if I got fourth it didn’t really matter.”
Pickering said winning the permit was an overwhelming experience as it had been his goal “since day one” of riding speedway almost three years ago.
He had previously competed on both road bikes and dirt bikes, and said he always wanted to make a career out of riding, no matter what the avenue was.
“When my dream stopped on road bikes, it pushed on to speedway,” he said.
“The plan was to [get the permit] in three seasons, which was setting the bar pretty high.
“But you’ve got to do that if you want to get somewhere.”
Winning the spot was also redemption for Pickering, who just missed out on on qualifying for a permit at a Victorian meet a month before.
Ironically Pickering beat the same rider on a count back in Queensland who beat him on a count back in Victoria.
It has taken a lot of sacrifice for Pickering and his family, travelling to every meeting possible as well as working full-time to fund his dream.
“I’ve done 40,000 kilometres in the car since January,” he said.
“I’ve just been racing here, there and everywhere.”
He’s also had to balance 10-hour shifts as a carpenter and hours tinkering with his bike with the help of engine builder Mark Penfold.
But all the hard work has paid off, and Pickering is one step closer to his ultimate dream of racing in the Speedway World Championships.
He is in talks with a few clubs in the UK to determine who he will ride for next year and hopes to venture into racing in Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
But the 20-year-old said he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.
“I’ve got to keep a cool head and not get too excited,” he said. “I’m not planning to go over there and set the world on fire straight away.
“I just want to race over there and keep impressing the right people.”
It’s also going to be tough for Pickering to be away from his family who have supported him through his racing journey.
But he said he was thankful he was taking his partner Brooke, who has been by his side at all meets.
“It’s a big step obviously, I’ll have to leave a lot of family behind.
“But hopefully I can make a living out of it. I’m really looking forward to going over.”
Pickering’s next meet will be the first round of the Australian Speedway Senior Solo Championship in South Australia on January 4.