Lyons – a ‘Roaring’ success in the saddle

NOWADAYS Adam Lyons spends much of his time sitting behind a desk, under a car bonnet or shaking hands on the sale of a new (second hand ones are also available) vehicle to yet another satisfied customer of the long-established business of Lyons Bros Garage in Castlederg.

However life wasn’t always as straightforward and structured for the affable Derg man. In fact, it was anything but.

For the guts of 15 years Lyons put all his energy and enthusiasm into his passion for the sport of motocross and for eight of those rode professionally and competed against some of the very best in the business. After success on the home front in winning numerous Ulster and Irish championships, the North Tyrone flyer mixed it with the best of British before moving into the professional ranks for eight years and tussling with the sport’s greats on the Grand Prix circuit.

While Lyons had the time of his life following his dream and enjoyed more than his fair share of successes it wasn’t all plain sailing by any means. There were many highs and lows, good times and bad, and while he never looks back with any regrets he openly admits that he made a few mistakes along the way.

However, through it all he always lived by his late dad Robin’s motto of giving 100%. When he wasn’t doing that he quit at the age 27.

“My dad was a massive influence on me,” said Adam.

“He didn’t mind if I didn’t win as long as I had left everything out on the track. He would rather I came fifth having done that than cruising home in first having eased off in the final lap. In fact, it was my dad who showed me that it just wasn’t about trying to go around a track as fast as you can. In the early years I was miles off the pace and I didn’t seem to be getting any quicker. It wasn’t unusual that I would get lapped in a race.

“I remember on one Tuesday night he suggested I should give it up if I wasn’t going to become a ‘proper’ racer. He taught me that you had to be competitive, a fighter, the dig deep concept. He told me that whether I was first or last it was about giving it 100%. The following weekend in Cork the penny had dropped with me. I holeshot three races 
and won all three, that was a turning point for me.”

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