Aiden does really Wells taking third place in rookie campaign
Picking up third place in a club championship is impressive enough – but with what has been going on behind the scenes this year for Aiden Wells, his achievement was even more notable.
Wells, from Wolverhampton, who moved to Telford two months ago, decided to give proper racing a whirl this year having first tried two-wheeled motorsport on motocross machines as a child.
He entered the East Midlands Racing Association (EMRA) Rookies class, with the blessing of his partner, and was ready for his first assault on a club championship on board his Yamaha R1.
But soon after it seemed Wells, who works for Pellovy in Telford as a crane maintenance engineer, might not make the start line at all after his second son fell ill soon after birth – and then his older son also had a stay in hospital to have his tonsils removed.
"I started doing motocross when I was about four and kept it going for about five years," said Wells.
"This has been my first season since deciding to get back into racing, so it's been quite a gap.
"But I didn't think I would make it on to the grid because my second son was born two months before the start of the season and was then taken into intensive care.
"Frankie was diagnosed with a rare bone condition so he was moved to Birmingham's Children's Hospital.
"I thought making the start line was going to be a real struggle, because obviously family comes first, but my partner was so supportive and told me to go for it.
"My other son, Logan, four, was also in hospital for a while during the championship too, to have his tonsils removed, so it has been a busy year.
"Frankie is now six months old and thankfully both are doing really well."
With both of his young children in fine health, Wells was able to concentrate on his racing, in between working full time and being a father, and soon began picking up some very good results.
"I crashed during the penultimate round and I didn't think I'd be able to get back enough points for third," he said.
"We had three races during the final round and I managed to get a sixth in the first, fourth in the second and third in the final race.
"Most importantly, I managed to finish in front of those closest to me in the championship.
"The weather was fine on the Saturday but it turned really bad on the Sunday. Luckily, I seemed to go better in the wet weather and was so pleased to grab third in the standings.
"Going into the final race, the rider ahead of me in the standings usually beats me but I managed to finish in front, which I wasn't expecting to do.
"I would not even have made it to the final round without sponsorship, so I'd like to thank Air and Fire Services, which works all over the country but is based in Wolverhampton."
Wells admits his year racing with EMRA, which solely takes place at Mallory Park, in has been a rollercoaster but he is already planning to return to the club racing scene for 2020.
"I'd never been club racing before and had only done seven or eight track days as practice. I wanted to do something competitive so I got my race licence last year," he said.
"I'll probably be moving to No Limits next year, doing a bit of the endurance and sprint racing.
"It's something I've always wanted to do and my first season has been great – despite my sons being in hospital!
"I didn't think I'd make the top three in my first year but I'll be back for more next year."
