BELLE VUE wonderkid Tom Brennan has vowed to get his “mentality” right for another Premiership title assault.
The ATPI Aces star had a sensational 2022 season as the club won the league title for the first time in 29 years. But Brennan, who lost his mum and nan to cancer within seven months, admits that he has struggled psychologically to deal with personal grief and his racing.
Brennan said: “It’s been a struggle at times. Losing my mum and nan was tough. Speedway kept my mind busy but it’s still hard to deal with everything life throws at you.
“I think the main thing for me is to enjoy myself. But I only ever race to win every time I’m on the track.
“This coming season I really need to work on my mentality. I still feel confident and still feel good.
“There are so many ways to try and figure it out. I’ve spoken to Jeremy Holt within the Great Britain set-up a few times. But it always comes down to me, I try to work it out on my own.
“I just need to find the right method and what suits me individually, everyone is different.”
Brennan scored seven points for The World in a test match against the USA in California last month. He was paired with fellow ATPI Aces’ No.1 Dan Bewley in the same side as former British Champ Adam Ellis.
He added: “It was good to be around Dan and Adam. They are experienced at the top level.
“It always good to see how they work, how they approach meetings and situations. It actually seems to be very different to how I am at the minute.
“They seem so relaxed all the time. They are the same person 24/7 until the crash helmet goes on. That’s something I need to learn quickly.”
For the last couple of seasons it’s been a constant upward trajectory for Brennan. A gold medal and two race wins in Great Britain’s stunning Speedway of Nations victory in 2021, a bronze in Speedway of Nations 2 last year and a Premiership title. But Brennan knows that there are hurdles to come. After becoming the first Rising Star to move out of the reserve berth last season, he now wants to push on yet again.
He said: “It’s a big season ahead. Coming off winning the Premiership with Belle Vue, expectations will be high.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think that can be a real motivation. It’s good to be back at Belle Vue so we can continue that story and try and build something even more special going forward.
“It’s a really good team in my opinion. Dan coming back is going to be awesome and I feel that Jaimon (Lidsey) can be a massive success story.
“We already know what Brady (Kurtz) and Charles (Wright) can do and I know that my German buddy Norick (Blodorn) will be fired-up big time to be an even bigger success.”
By Phil Lanning
Photo by Taylor Lanning