King's Lynn speedway star's crash recovery hits the big screen

When King’s Lynn Stars captain Rory Schlein suffered serious spinal injuries in a crash in Poland last May, many feared his career was over.

And his fight to return to the track packed more than 200 people into the Majestic Cinema on Wednesday night for the premiere of Addicted To Speed: The Rory Schlein Story.

The film follows the popular Australian through his recovery to his return to the track at the Adrian Flux Arena last month.

He admitted it felt “weird as hell” to watch himself on the big screen, but hopes it will give viewers greater insight into what both riders, and those closest to them, endure for their sport.

He said: “That’s the point of the film. We started filming about three months after the accident. They followed me every step to get to where we want to be.

“It picks up every detail of what we go through to get back on a bike, earning a living.”

Initially, the film was only intended to be a five minute piece to be seen online.

But director Max Hind, from the Huntingdon-based TooFast Media Group, said that plan was very quickly redrawn once filming began.

He said: “We did the first day of shooting and we had a three hour interview. We knew then we couldn’t do this justice in five minutes.”

Although the company specialises in projects on motorcycling, Max admitted he had known little about speedway before he began working with Rory.

He added: “He is such an inspirational character and the physical and mental battles he had to overcome to get back to doing what he loves were immense.

“Seeing it all behind the scenes and working with him over the last nine months we have not only made a new friend but have found a new hero.

Rory arrived at the screening after learning he faces eight weeks on the sidelines after suffering a dislocated shoulder and a fracture to his upper arm in a crash during last week’s meeting with Coventry.

But, having come through so much in the last year, he is already looking forward to getting back on his bike for the second half of the season.

“At one stage we were looking at nine months. It’s only eight weeks.”

Following the premiere, the film will be split into seven episodes, which are set to be released weekly on YouTube from next week.