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Rory
Robert Schlein was born to his parents Lynette and Lyndon on Saturday 1st
September 1984, in Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. He has an older
brother, Craig and an older sister Sam. |
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The
personable young Aussie grew up around the racing circuit, it was in his
blood so it seemed inevitable he would end up in the world of motorsport
one way or another. |
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Massively
influenced by watching his dad Lyndon race sidecar speedway and his uncle
racing speedcars and sprint cars, Rory started riding motocross at 5 years
old. Much like those who grow up reading sites like
pokerblog.com
until they are old enough to play themselves, or those who join a football
team at a very young age and go on to play professionally, the passion for
motorsports was instilled in Rory from childhood. At the age of 7 he threw
his leg over his first speedway bike and a racer was born, what had started
out as flirtation soon turned into a full-blown love affair with the
sport. |
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It
was never in doubt this is what Rory was meant to do, he knew it was the
only thing for him and he was going to put all his energy into being the
best. |
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"I
am driven by the feeling of winning and I hate to lose but above all else
I am really passionate about speedway." |
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Rory
started his British racing career when he signed for Edinburgh back in 2001.
He was a member of their 2003 Premier League title winning team, before making
the step up to Elite League racing in 2004 with Manchester side Belle
Vue. |
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2005
was a season of mixed fortunes, Rory signed for Coventry and had to overcome
serious injuries to play an integral part in helping his team win the Sky
Sports British Elite League title. A Knock Out Cup victory followed in 2006
and an Elite League treble of league and cups in 2007. After a move to Ipswich
in 2008 Rory finished the season as Ipswich’s number one rider and top
scorer. |
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With
two thirds of the 2009 season already raced, Rory is having the best season
of his career to date back with his hometown club, Coventry. Even a spectacular
crash couldn’t halt his progress, Rory broke his collar bone, wrist,
hand, knee cap and suffered nerve damage to his finger but despite all of
these injuries he was back racing live on Sky Sports just four weeks
later. |
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It
was only that injury that stopped Rory competing in what would have been
his fourth consecutive World Cup for the Australian national team. Previously
he has helped them into the final on three occasions and won a Bronze medal
in 2007. Many professionals in the sport and the media commented that
Rory’s inclusion this year would have seen Australia win the World
Cup. |
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In
the winter when he isn’t racing in England, Rory heads back to Aussie
for the Australian Championships and catches up with family and friends.
"I spend a lot of time in the gym at the Institute of Sport (most afternoons)
when I’m not racing elsewhere, I have a few leisurely afternoons playing
golf with mates at the Belair Golf Course, surfing on the beach at Moana
(avoiding the sharks), water skiing & boogy boarding. A few hits of backyard
cricket, and the odd game of Aussie rules football." |
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