Chaos amongst the Kevlars

Wow, it’s been a while since my last blog, as life has been quite frankly - chaos!

Here's a little catch-up, so grab a cuppa and come along for the journey.

In my last post (many months ago), I hinted at some exciting news - Cruz, at 4 years old, was announced by the King’s Lynn Stars as their Official Mascot for 2025, becoming their youngest-ever signing. Social media, DMs, and news outlets went wild. As parents, we were overwhelmed; it’s pretty surreal to witness all the love for our boy more than ever before - and boy was he excited.

At times, it’s difficult to put into words what it feels like from behind the scenes – being wife and mum. With the new 2025 season approaching, I will be watching my husband and our soon-to-be 5-year-old son walk out together on a pre-match parade in the Premiership, wearing matching Kevlar, both signed to the same club. Just take a moment to let that sink in ... it still hasn't for me.

We went on to celebrate our birthday boy, turning 5. For at least a year – no joke – Cruz had been asking for a birthday party. So we hired a local hall, a fantastic entertainment company and threw Cruz a Superhero/Princess party. Cruz invited all of his friends and classmates, so as not to let anyone feel left out, in his own words. The party theme was a huge hit; everyone turned up dressed as their favourite superhero or princess, and the room was filled with smiles, laughter, and pure excitement as the children played games, danced, joined in activities, and, of course, had cake – anyone who knows Cruz knows that, like me, he loves his cake.

Then it was the usual pre-season chaos - Kevlar design, logo placements, deliveries galore, a workshop build in progress and of course Chris itching to get back on a bike - driving me absolutely nuts - in the nicest possible way.

March arrived, and King's Lynn held their official P&P event, and of course, Cruz went along with Chris as the Official Mascot and was authorised to have the day off school. It was the first official appearance for the KL Stars together at the AFA - pictures that will stay forever in the memory bank, and yes I did shed a tear or two lol.

Cruz then headed to Glasgow for a special video recording where they revealed him as their official team No.8 - as Poland didn’t work out lol, a little tongue-in-cheek follow-up video from his viral appearance in 'The Apprentice' team reveal back in December.

Then came KL Debut day - Everyone at the club was so welcoming to all of us, and the fans were lovely - so many people queueing to see Chris and Cruz for pictures and autographs, whilst I watched on feeling emotional with both the Harris boys in the pits wearing matching Kevlars.

Chris then made his long-awaited debut for the King’s Lynn Stars, and it certainly was memorable with a six-ride 17+1 maximum in trademark style and bagged himself rider of the night, on the same night that Cruz made his official mascot debut for the club.

This should have been a really enjoyable moment for everyone involved in the club, the fans, and of course Cruz and our family - but drama unfolded with just hours before Cruz's debut, once we had already arrived at the track. We were told that Cruz could no longer go on track with his Oset bike (and/or Revvi) - because now ALL electric bikes had been banned by the SCB on any licensed speedway track.

You can only begin to imagine mine and Chris's reaction to this news as well as KL. Officials and clubs have asked Cruz for the best part of 2 years to make official appearances on track with his Revvi - opening tracks, taking part in academy races and second half events as well as demonstration laps up and down the country.

Cruz was so upset, but made up at the end when the referee allowed Cruz to go 'from the tapes' after the meeting was ‘officially closed’. Chris reassured him 'you can still be official mascot, you just can't use your electric bikes anymore, you will have to ride your PW50' Cruz's face lit up like a full moon, I'm pretty sure you would've been able to see his smile from space.

We then went on to celebrate our Amara-Mae turning 7. Our sassy little girl full of character - always singing and dancing, growing into a lovely little young lady and one of the most resilient people I know - with the most infectious laugh ever. We also were lucky enough to celebrate a huge health milestone - after she was finally was discharged from Paediatric Respiratory Care and able to manage her medications at home with our support and the local GP - what an absolute warrior she is.

Chris then headed to Glasgow for P&P, before his first meeting for Glasgow, whilst the kids and I enjoyed a night out in Birmingham for the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live - Cruz absolutely loved it, especially at the end when they gave him a shout out.

We watched on at home as Chris went on to win the Individual CLRC at Scunthorpe, as well as bagging a bronze medal in the Championship Pairs representing Glasgow.

Cruz then went on to make his King’s Lynn PW50 debut, a super proud milestone. He was flat out, standing up on the pegs, sliding around corners and going out wide (just like dad). I want to tell you how awesome he was, but in all honesty, I couldn’t watch. My stomach was in knots, and anxiety was through the roof. I hid behind the air fence and kept asking, “Is he ok?” and only stood up when the bike came to a stop. I watched the videos back, though, and he was indeed - awesome, my little superstar.

Sitting in the grandstand at the Adrian Flux watching Cruz walk on parade with Chris, honestly welling up, and then I opened my programme to the autograph page - a picture of Chris & Cruz together in their Stars Suits - absolute emotional wreck at this point!

The juggle at home continued to be real - being a working mum, managing school, out of school activities, home, and mostly GCSEs - Mia-Faye is in the thick of it and to be quite honest at this point, I can't wait until it's all over.

Another trophy returned home, with a P3 Bronze in the La Reole, International Grass track. Honestly, i really don't know where I am going to put everything !

Our Mia-Faye turned Sweet 16 - much to her delight, we celebrated with a party at home with family who travelled from Cornwall, along with the arrival of her Provisional Driving Licence. Absolutely no words right now.

Then it was British Final time (again at Belle Vue) - The NSS isn't one of Chris’s favourite tracks, even though he’s had some great races and results there as i always try and remind him. Most riders feel the event should be held over a couple of rounds at different tracks - as is the case in other countries, or at least at a different track every year. It says a lot, really, when riders openly withdraw from the event, stating, 'because it’s being held at Belle Vue again.'

Chris made it to the final in another race that will go down in history. You could hear the crowd go wild when Chris hit the front - the loudest cheer. The race was what you would call a proper race, not a gate-and-go track like most these days. Chris finished the race 4th - he was gutted - he so wanted to lift the title again, and of course, a Wild Card for the Manchester SGP. Sometimes you can’t put into words the emotional rollercoaster of races and moments like these - and this was one of those moments. Watching the race - the highs, the lows, the hope and everything in between, whilst also living with the reality when it’s over and Chris comes home...

Chris then went on to sign for Valsarna Speedway in Sweden, and continued adding to his trophy collection with P1 Gold at the International Grass track in Bielefeld, as well as P1 in the Bahn Record - Flying lap at 118kmh / 74mph, and P1 Gold - European Grass track Championship Semi-Final 1. If any builders want to build an extension at our home for a trophy room / mini museum - that would be amazing lol, as we are seriously running out of room ..

It was then time to head to Manchester for the Speedway Grand Prix, where Chris was first reserve. Both nights, he received the biggest cheer - it actually gave me goosebumps. It was so lovely to see and hear fans, riders and staff across the two days wanting/hoping to see him ride. Whilst Chris and his team were at the track during the day, I enjoyed some downtime with my best friend – champagne brunch, shopping, and a lovely meal at the Ivy, before we headed to the track. Overall it was a good weekend, spent time with friends, caught up with people, the racing was pretty decent to be fair and the atmosphere was ok but slightly hampered by a few teething problems across the event. Saying that, would I go again - yes absolutely!

In all honesty, after being a speedway fan since I was 3 weeks old, I can't quite get my head around the speedway community saying this was a 'win' for the sport. SGP were once delivering a British Speedway GP round to a stadium filled with circa 40k people with lined streets full of atmosphere and crowds galore in Cardiff with shops, bars and restaurants all aware of the big event, to now being held in Manchester NSS across two race nights with a total attendance of circa 11k.

Our hotel staff, taxi drivers, and restaurant staff alike were unaware of the event taking place or what speedway even was - hard to believe, I know.

The Harris family then celebrated another significant milestone as Mia-Faye officially completed her final GCSE exam and finished school. No parenting guide can truly prepare you for these experiences—the intense hell of GCSE revision and exams, along with the stress they impose on your child and the entire family, and they certainly don't prepare you for the emotional journey of watching them leave school. It seems like just yesterday I was by her side in the NICU with my resilient, tiny preemie, and now she is 16 and about to embark on her next chapter.

Speedway often becomes a victim of rain-offs in all leagues across Europe, thanks to good old Mother Nature, and usually, Chris gets very frustrated because he just wants to race his bike. And yet here we are, it's Friday 4th July, and it's a very sunny, warm day at home, but a horrible wet forecast lies ahead up in Glasgow. Mia-Faye and I had secretly been praying that Glasgow would make an early call (which they did - miracle) - because it was a very special day in the Harris household - Prom Night for Mia-Faye.

Our special girl had worked super hard for her 'prom-passport' (who knew that was a thing?) and picked out the dress and accessories months ago, and in all honesty hadn't stopped talking about it pretty much every single day until the day finally arrived. My best friend Emma had travelled up to help with hair and make-up and was going to chauffeur Mia-Faye to prom, but with the rain-off confirmed it meant that Chris was able to drive her to prom in the gleaming Bentley Bentayga and also surprised her all suited and booted in his race suit beforehand and took her for a spin on his bike. Another one for the memory bank, and yes a few tears were shed I can't deny that.

Then, the end of the school year arrived for Cruz and Amara-Mae, both of whom finished the year with outstanding school reports and did us proud.

Chris bagged another trophy with a P3 Bronze - WLT R2 in Marmande, France, and continued his busy race schedule.

Away from the track, we travelled to Cornwall for Chris’s sister’s wedding. Chris had the honour of walking her down the aisle in place of their late father, Cedric - watching Chris step into that role and give his sister that special moment was really a lump in the throat, tears in the eyes moment - without actually letting the tears roll for fear of ruining my makeup for the photos. The rest of us all had key roles as part of the wedding party - Cruz was a Paige boy, Amara-Mae was a Flower girl, Mia-Faye was a Bridesmaid, and I had the key role of Maid of Honour.

We are now in mid-august and it was time for the British International Masters Grass Track. The day started off memorably with Cruz officially opening the meeting and leading the riders out on parade - I’ve played the video so many times of Chris & Cruz riding side by side on the grass - what a moment! Cruz then handed out gifts to the riders on parade shaking hands with everyone like a true gentleman whilst I walked beside him filming and taking pictures - in the rain lol.

The main event was lengthy due to so many race incidents which meant long delays, luckily we were with friends and family and the kids were all playing which made the time pass. Eventually the racing managed to pick up some pace and Chris surprisingly had his gating gloves on all day (don't know where he found them) and he made it to the Final. I was so nervous, I couldn't watch - I kind of hid behind the food van and was listening over the tannoy and looking at friends for reassurance - the race was re-run 3 times with Chris leading each time - due to separate race incidents. Finally, the final was run, and Chris won in style - from the gate - we all ran to the barrier to meet him as he came round on his celebration lap…

A British Masters is never really without drama to be honest, and this one was no different, as just before the 3rd attempt of the final, one of the riders in the line-up tried to get the result declared on points - true story that, lol.

A weekend away beckoned for myself and my best friend Emma - we enjoyed a stay at The Retreat in Elcot, where we took advantage of the spa facilities, great food, a lot of fizz, and a cheeky shopping trip to Bicester - but most importantly, great company and a well-deserved little bit of “me time”.

Another history-making milestone for Chris as he hit his 100th meeting for Glasgow Tigers. With the help of Kerry and Allied I arrange to fly up to surprise Chris on track - seeing his face light up and the shock in front of the fans was priceless. He stormed to a 15 point full maximum. My first ever visit to Ashfield and boy did it live up to the hype. Stadium and facilities are brilliant, and very organised - and the racing - well if you haven’t been, you need to and boy are you in for a treat! Proper “racing” like speedway should be.

A special thank you to Kerry and Allied for helping to make the surprise happen, from picking me up from the airport, to hiding me in the office at Ashfield, on what was the hottest day of the year in Glasgow. Once I was out of the office, I was treated to a few cold alcoholic beverages, which, to be honest, I think were well deserved.

August 22nd - Results day - I was hit by huge anxiety awaiting Mia-Faye’s GCSE results. I did not sleep a wink the night before, and my stomach was in knots all morning, as were hers. She headed off to school with friends at 9am, and arrived back at 10.30am with the unopened envelope – an overwhelming mix of pride and nerves regardless of the results. She absolutely smashed it - getting the results she needed and secured her place on her first-choice college course for T Level 3 Early Years. She cried, I cried. What a moment.

Myself and the kids headed to Cornwall for a week to spend time with my parents and to celebrate my mums birthday where we enjoyed some time at the beach, slip and slide fun and of course Ice Cream - whilst Chris carried on his busy schedule.

Chris then went on to pick up P3 Bronze in the European Grass track Final in Eenrum, followed by P1 Gold in the WLT Round in Scheesel - his first ever win on the 1000m track. Seriously, the way we are going i'll have to start displaying some trophies in the bath lol.

For KL's last meeting Cruz was allowed to go out after Heat 14 for his mascot laps and was awarded on track with a lovely trophy for being 'the best chief mascot' for the stars, his little face beaming with pride at the rapturous cheers and applauds from the track staff, fans and riders. He told me 'I helped KL win as my laps before heat 15 got them extra points' - honestly 5 years old and the stuff he comes out with is pure gold, so innocent, but also full of hopes and dreams of what is to come.

Cruz has spent the season lap after lap on his PW and absolutely owned it. He's been out there showing off, standing up, waving, testing out long track style and even getting a slide on - looking every bit the mini Bomber - seeing the crowds gather to watch him on track from riders, to race officials, to mechanics, to fans - it really is overwhelming. So proud of our little champ, the most polite little gentleman, full of funny stories and lots of hidden talents, with a huge heart and a pure passion for motorbikes.

Summer quickly came to a close, Glasgow are top of the Championship table, storming into the play-offs, whilst King’s Lynn's season came to a battling end in the Premiership.

It was now time for a bit more routine, with the children all embarking on their new chapters. Cruz was starting Year 1, Amara-Mae was starting Year 3 in KS2, and Mia-Faye was starting college. It’s times like these, when it really feels like time is a thief.

And now, as the season is slowly coming to an end, I find us already amidst the crazy season. The time of year when the phone doesn’t stop, rumours swirl, and the rollercoaster does not stop. This year, it comes with much more anxiety than ever before - with British Speedway in such an uncertain state, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of it all.

But, can we just take a minute - because on Monday morning at 5.30am Chris returned home from Germany, a World Champion. Let that sink in. Even now, those words feel surreal to write.

It isn’t just about winning a title. It’s about the journey he’s endured over his career to date - across 3 disciplines. The personal journey, the family heartbreak, the highs and lows of racing, the countless times he’s been screwed over, overlooked, or treated unfairly in this sport that he loves so much. The injuries, the setbacks, the moments that would have made most people give up - he's fought through them all - proving with heart, grit and determination - even the biggest dreams can come true.

For our children to experience this moment is truly amazing, and I feel fortunate for them. From the excitement of screaming and jumping up and down in the living room, to the FaceTime call whilst Chris walked to the podium, to me printing pictures of them wearing the medal next to Chris at 8am on Monday morning so they could take them to school for 'Show and Tell' are moments for the memory bank for sure.

Chris Harris - World Champion - Four words that will stay with us forever.

What an end to a blog! I look forward to writing the next one already, and i hope you will look forward to reading it ...

Photos - Team Harris©️ (Unless stated otherwise)