Oxford speedway: Life as Cheetahs' nine-year-old mascot

Chloe is joining the new wave of women and girls shaping the future of the sport

Speedway fans are treated to an unusual sight after every fixture at Oxford Stadium - nine-year-old Chloe, the club's adopted mascot, doing laps on her pink bike.

The Kidlington schoolgirl is following in her dad's footsteps, with both father and daughter loving the motorsport since they were old enough to walk.

Last spring, speedway returned to Oxford after a 15-year break, and fans were overjoyed. That was when the home team, the Cheetahs, made Chloe their mascot.

"It was fun because that was the first speedway track I'd ridden and nothing can beat it," she says.

The hobby might be unusual for a girl her age - she says most of her friends are "petrified" of it - but even a recent crash hasn't put her off.

Chloe has a replica Oxford suit that matches the riders' outfits

Speedway bikes have one gear, no brakes, a clutch and 500cc engines running on methanol fuel.

They can accelerate up to 60mph faster than even Formula 1 cars. The fastest Chloe has gone is 42mph.

"It was at the Isle of Wight which is quite a big track, so you are able to build quite a lot of speed there," her dad Matt says.

Both Chloe and her dad Matt have been speedway fans from a very young age

But recently, Chloe and her dad were reminded that accidents could happen.

"The throttle stuck open and it wouldn't stop. I pulled the clutch but it didn't work that quickly", Chloe remembers. "I went into the fence at 33mph."

But she has kept positive and says, for her, the moment was not that scary.

"It went in slow motion for me watching her but we got her up and she was OK," Matt says.

Dad Matt says Chloe was less than a year old when she first met British champion Scott Nicholls

Chloe has grown popular with the Cheetahs team, with captain and seven-time British champion Scott Nicholls having first met her when she was just a baby.

"I'm now riding during the season, so they get to know me more," she explains.

A hundred years ago, female riders like Fay Taylour were a big part of speedway.

Today, Chloe is joining a new wave of women and girls shaping the future of the sport.

"There's one rider in particular, Celina Liebmann from Germany, who is just about breaking on a professional level now. She is an inspiration for Chloe," Matt says.

She is also happy to see more girls in the Young Lions - the British Youth Speedway Championship.

"There are three girls in the Young Lions this year and it's the first time I've seen this," Chloe says.

"I'm close friends with one of them and we're about the same speed so it's nice to stay together."

British rider Katie Gordon is one of Chloe's inspirations in the sport

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