Rusty Harrison

His name certainly bears no reflection on his riding! 
Born in Elizabeth, South Australia, Rusty Wade Harrison first got the speedway bug after watching his first meeting at the age of three at North Arm in Adelaide.  Four years later, he was on his own bike racing competitively at Sidewinder Speedway.
At the age of nine, Rusty competed in the Australian Under 16 Championships, picking up the first prize twice.  It was then followed by four years experience in the Under 21 contests, which he also won.  Also in his list of achievements, is coming third three times in the South Australian Championships and finishing in fifth place on two occasions in the Australian Championships.  One of his most disappointing years was in 2002, when a broken coccyx denied him the Australian Under 21 crown.  But he fought back the year after, picking up the Australian Championship crown in 2003.
He first appeared in this country in 1998, when he had a couple of meetings for Peterborough’s Youth Development side.  But he finally made his break into British speedway in 2000, making his debut in the Premier League for Glasgow.  But his stay with the Tigers was short lived, making a move to Workington in 2001, where he stayed for four successful seasons. 
Still on a steep learning curve in British Speedway, Rusty was set to move back to his former club Glasgow at the end of last season.  But in a move that surprised many, he signed on loan for the 2003 Premier League Champions Edinburgh, in a last minute switch. 
Rusty has been enjoying some excellent performances for the Monarchs in 2005, where he scores have been consistently high, earning himself a place in the top ten averages in the league.  But by his own admission his scoring doesn’t always match his ability.  Yet he’d done enough to impress his former Comets boss and now Belle Vue manager Ian Thomas, who called him up in April to replace struggling Steve Maters.
Now sharing his Aces number seven place with Isle of White rider Krister Marsh, Rusty was allowed to join Belle Vue after the Australian authorities granted him a British ACU Licence, allowing him to step up to the top flight.  And Rusty certainly justified his call up, scoring a brilliant six points in his Aces debut against Ipswich.
Since then, Rusty has been a regular feature in the Aces line up, where he continues to be a valuable member of the team in the reserve berth.  Still only 23 years old, Rusty says he’s determined to prove himself in the Elite League with Belle Vue, whilst enjoying the experience of riding alongside his all time speedway idol, Jason Crump.