James Kelly, of Predator Paintball, Tralee
You're a bike collector - what do you have? Well, the 1962 Honda 50 cc I restored belonged to my father - he was a postman and used the bike for nine years. I also have an electric stock model of the same bike, a Z900 1972 Kawasaki, a 1976 T500 2-stroke Suzuki twin, a 1978 Honda CB50 F2, a 1981 Z750L Kawasaki and a 1987 GSXR 1100 Hypersport Suzuki.
Which bike do you use? I ride the 1987 GSXR Hypersport Suzuki. I use it just for pure pleasure. The rest stay in immaculate condition because they're just for collection.
Is insurance costly? Not really - I live in Tralee which is not considered a high-risk area by insurance companies. My insurance costs 300 for third party fire and theft which isn't bad at all. I can insure all my collection under Carole Nash's policy. I do think the Government should tighten up on insurance though - it's way too high. I have a 17-year-old lad working for me and he has a 125cc bike. He was quoted €5,000 to insure - that's crazy money. I think insurance companies generalise too much.
How did you become involved in biking? I've been involved in biking all my life. My father and mother had bikes and my uncles had bikes. My mother had a scooter she used for doing the shopping. My first bike was a 1976 Honda 50 cc. I've had practically every imaginable bike since then.
Have you had any accidents? A few tips but nothing serious. I had an accident when I was in the US - I injured the base of my spine.
Are you a member of any motorcycling clubs? I'm the president of the Athea Motorcycle Racing Club. It was founded in 2001 because we wanted to run a road race here in the South. I've been a fan of road racing all my life and, since I was a youngster, I've been travelling up North and to Skerries to road races so I wanted to hold a road race in west Limerick. I wanted to let the people at this end of the country see what they were missing.
People have this view that motorcyclists are like wild Hell's Angels and they're not. There's a wonderful camaraderie between bikers and I wanted to widen people's horizons and let them see what biking is all about. Last year 21,000 people attended the road racing so it's becoming a popular festival.
What do you enjoy about road racing? It's the only sport I follow and I love it. I wouldn't be able to list the Kerry football team. The first road race I attended was the TT in the Isle of Man in 1978. I saw the great Mike Hailwood and have never looked back since. Hailwood is considered the greatest road racer of all time with his eight World Championships and 14 Isle of Man T.T. Victories.
Who's your racing hero? I really admired Joey Dunlop when he was alive and Mike Hailwood was great. Nowadays riders such as Martin Finnegan, Robert Dunlop and Richard Brittan are terrific.
Your favourite road race? It would have to be Cookstown up North, a lovely bunch of lads organise that meeting.
What would be your dream bike? If I could have any bike I wanted I'd love the replica of Mike Hailwood's 287 6-cylinder Honda. I'd say it costs around £300,000 so you'd want to win the lottery to buy it.
Athea Road Races runs on June 19th/20th. For details visit: www.athearoadrace.com