exclusive steve saunders interview 2013
In June 2013 RetroTrials interviewed Steve Saunders.
Steve is a few years older than me , although my grey hair tells a different story. Never the less , as i grew up and became involved in motorcycles at the age of 14 i would like most kids , buy a motorcycle magazine or a paper when ever my meager pocket money would allow me. Gods of Trials would present themselves to me from these glossy pages riding at the very pinacle of the sport and the very finest motorcycles money could buy. Throughout my time growing up , there was one English rider who stood head and chest above the rest - Steve Saunders.
Steve Saunder's success is remarkable, spanning 26 years , yes 26 years. Just imagine yourself being as good a rider as Steve and then maintaining it all that time. Its mind blowing.
Just to fully appreciate Steve's achievements , here they are. Just read them , one by one.
Steve is a few years older than me , although my grey hair tells a different story. Never the less , as i grew up and became involved in motorcycles at the age of 14 i would like most kids , buy a motorcycle magazine or a paper when ever my meager pocket money would allow me. Gods of Trials would present themselves to me from these glossy pages riding at the very pinacle of the sport and the very finest motorcycles money could buy. Throughout my time growing up , there was one English rider who stood head and chest above the rest - Steve Saunders.
Steve Saunder's success is remarkable, spanning 26 years , yes 26 years. Just imagine yourself being as good a rider as Steve and then maintaining it all that time. Its mind blowing.
Just to fully appreciate Steve's achievements , here they are. Just read them , one by one.
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1977-Aged 13 he won the B class British Youth Championship
78,79,80+81 Won the A class British Youth Championship 4 Scottish Six Day Trials wins + runner up 3 times 9 World round wins 1984 - 6th in the World Trials Championship |
1985 - 3rd in the World Trials Championship
1986 - 2nd in the World Trials Championship 1987 - 4th in the World Trials Championship 1988 - 4th in the World Trials Championship 1989 - 5th in the World Trials Championship |
10 Times consecutive British Champion from 1983-1992
The very nature of this website being Retro Trials suggests that most of its visitors reading this were riders or involved / watching the sport during at the time Steve was riding at the top of his career.
Many readers , including myself are aware of the generic story of Steve Saunders. The aim and purpose of my interview was not to repeat the basic feature articles and interviews that have been carried out in the past. My aim as in all my interviews is to get at the detail , about the man , the exotic machines , the factories , the good , and the bad. Im pleased to say , that im very very pleased with how this all went. There is a great amount of information throughout this lengthy interview to satisfy all Retro Trials fans , some of it new to me and perhaps new to you.
I took with me over 200 questions that were put together by myself and JB from uuuupppp north . We logically went through Steve's career in chronological order ensuring that we didnt miss anything out , but of course no ones infallible. It was time well spent. These questions often got interesting answers and great stories .I learnt a great deal .
Many readers , including myself are aware of the generic story of Steve Saunders. The aim and purpose of my interview was not to repeat the basic feature articles and interviews that have been carried out in the past. My aim as in all my interviews is to get at the detail , about the man , the exotic machines , the factories , the good , and the bad. Im pleased to say , that im very very pleased with how this all went. There is a great amount of information throughout this lengthy interview to satisfy all Retro Trials fans , some of it new to me and perhaps new to you.
I took with me over 200 questions that were put together by myself and JB from uuuupppp north . We logically went through Steve's career in chronological order ensuring that we didnt miss anything out , but of course no ones infallible. It was time well spent. These questions often got interesting answers and great stories .I learnt a great deal .
Steve Saunders interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Steve Saunders interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Steve is absolutely passionate about the Sport of trials. He loves it to bits and talks with great enthusiasm about trials then and especially now. Steve's family are all immersed in it. His children Izzy and James both ride well and often. Sarah , works a good portion of the week at Jotagas Uk . Steve spends all of his working time with a number of trials businesses that he runs and is connected with . He and his wife Sarah run Saunders Extreme Sports selling a huge any spares , customisation parts and anything else you could image for modern trials machines along with a very experienced advice and workshop service. Steve runs trials schools from the superb piece of land Zona 1 nearby.He is also involved in a number of other trials related businesses. Lastly and of course the most significant addition to this stable of companies is Steve passionate love for Jotagas trials machines , which rewarded him with being given the Uk sole importer for Jotagas , the exciting Tarres bike from Spain. So ,im sure you can imagine , all this work and a young family keeps Steve , probably the busiest guy north of Portsmouth.
Steve Saunders interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
Like most of us , i consider myself to be a good judge of character. What i learnt about Steve is that he is a very honest ,decent and straight forward man. He is very level headed and gives careful considered answers and does not partake in speculation. If he might very occasionally speculate he makes sure that i'm aware of this and that he has nothing to back this up with. You'll see this in the interview.
As with all Retrotrials interviews, it will be immersed in exclusive and rare photographs, most of which you will not have seen before. Although efforts have been made , not all the photographs are in chronological order.
As with all Retrotrials interviews, it will be immersed in exclusive and rare photographs, most of which you will not have seen before. Although efforts have been made , not all the photographs are in chronological order.
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In summary
1 - Visit Steve's childhood house 2 - Visit the infamous practice grounds where he honed his skills and became the "King of grip" 3 - Visit Steve's current house 4 - Meet Steve , and his wife Sarah 5 - See his trophies and medals 6 - See exclusive photographs from Steve's personal collection 7 - Full exclusive ,detailed interview including some surprises This is without doubt the biggest Steve Saunders interview ever. I hope you enjoy So grab a drink , put "Im busy" on the front door , take the phone off the hook and brace yourself . |
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