Middlesbrough is a medium sized town in the North East of England. A town founded on manufacturing industries like Iron & Steel, Shipbuilding and Chemicals its people tend to be gritty and tough but can also be very warm, friendly and above all have a brilliant sense of humour.

 Lynn and Winston Cole brought Richard into the world on April 12th 1965. He attended Beechwood Junior School and Kings Manor Secondary Modern School showing, at both establishments a very keen interest in sports activities of all kinds.

 Richard said, "I just loved playing sport, it was all I wanted to do. It didn't matter whether it was football, rugby, athletics or squash, I would compete at just about anything. It was at the age of six that his interest in motor sports started to take over. His Dad was a keen motorcyclist, owning a trials bike and this interest rubbed off on Richard. 

Richard said, "Initially I was racing on an 80cc Yamaha, a bike that belonged to my sister. My Dad had bought me a 125cc Honda but because of race regulations I wasn't allowed to compete on that bike until I was 15 years old. So, after proving my interest and aptitude, my Dad sold the 125cc and bought me a 100cc Suzuki which I could use to enter competitive races. Initially I mainly competed in the intermediate class events in the North East; York, Pickering. Stanley and Thorne.

He said, "At the age of 14 my Dad arranged for me to go to the Brian Wade Moto X training school in Shropshire. Brian was a former 5 times winner of the British Moto X Championship and his advice, assistance and tutelage were not only invaluable but proved to be a turning point in my life.

Three of the young hopefuls at Brian Wade's MotoX school in 1980

A very young Richard Cole setting out on his successful MotoX career.

Whilst at Brian's school I was given the opportunity to trial for the Honda British Moto X racing school and, thanks to Brian, I was chosen, one of only six. I knew then that what I really wanted to do was get involved in motor sports. I owe Brian a great deal for the success I was to have in two wheeled racing.

After leaving school at the age of 16 Richard went into a variety of jobs, mainly delivery and driving work before settling into his current job as dock worker with Teesside based shipping firm, Containerships. In the early 1988 Cole talked himself into competing in an event screened on Dutch television called, 'Run the Gauntlet'. A multi-disciplined challenge which included quad racing, jet skiing and off road buggy racing and a few other competitive events. Click here for more detail.

In 1989 Richard struck up a friendship with Martin Fletcher and Phillip Crabtree, two guys who also had the quad racing bug but who went on to form a company specialising in quad bike sales and accessories. Phillip Charles Leisure was a pioneer of the quad racing scene in the UK. Since then they've changed their name to ATV World and are now Europe's biggest ATV/Quad dealership. It was a friendship that paid off because ATV World has sponsored Richard's racing ambitions for the last 14 years - a mutually beneficial experience.

Down the years Richard has been associated with a number of companies who have helped to make ATV/Quad racing what it is today. Cole said, "I met Theo Verbrugen at a race in Germany in the late '80's and I'm really pleased to have been associated with the man who went on to produce the world's best Supermoto quad tyres under the Goldspeed banner.

After becoming European quad racing champion in 1991 Richard used his new won fame to raise money for some worthy causes. In 1992 he completed a marathon 24 hour and 5 minute quad bike ride, a British record that stands to this day, in aid of a local Teesside school for kids with learning difficulties and for meningitis research. Click here for further details.

Not surprisingly, for a man with a fantastic career in quad racing, Richard's need for speed is also noticeable in his choice of day to day transport. He said, "I've had quite a few fast cars down the years, a Toyota Celica, Peugeot 205 but I'm pretty satisfied with my current set of wheels a Suburu Impreza. Oh, and I've also owned a few road bikes including a Honda CBR600 and an XR 600 Enduro machine.

Richard also has an ongoing friendship with former World Boxing Champion, Barry McGuigan. Richard explained, "I first met Barry when I was involved in shooting a Dutch TV programme called 'Run the Gauntlet', which also made it on to UK TV. Barry was really keen on quad racing and he invited me down to his house in Kent. I discovered that he actually had a small track set out in his back garden and it gave me great pleasure to take him on at a quad jumping competition. Mind, I wouldn't have liked to take him on at boxing even though I am almost a 6 inches taller than him."

Boxing Champion Barry McGuigan congratulates Cole on a race win.

McGuigan was invited by Richard to the North East to participate in a quad beach race at Redcar. Cole says, "Barry managed a creditable 20 minutes or so of racing but at the end of the event, after my 3 hours of racing the first thing he did was to grip my forearms to test the muscle strength, he said that his arms were aching like hell after such a short race and wondered what muscle strength I must have in order to keep going in races that lasted for much longer."

Richard adds, "Oh, and I met the actor Daniel Day-Lewis while I was at McGuigan's. He's a really nice fella, just one of the lads really."

These days participation in many of his sporting interests has been curtailed. He said, "I think I'm getting a bit too old to go haring round a rugby pitch like I used to and anyway, at 37 you're entitled to think about taking life a little easier."

Recently divorced the father of three sons now lives with his new partner Eileen in a quiet suburb of Middlesbrough. "We like to take things easy, just sitting in a comfy chair watching the Osbournes or Phoenix Nights is our idea of a good night" said the teetotal Cole. He added, "We also like going out to see a movie, my favourites of all time are Top Gun, the photography in that is stunning and the Silence of the Lambs series of films.

You're more likely to find Richard in his back garden tending his impressive collection of Koi carp. Other interests include dining out, predictably red meat figures large in any Cole choice from the menu. He said, "A nice medium done fillet steak will always be my first choice but I'm also partial to the occasional curry - as long as it's hot."

 As long as it's hot - could well be a metaphor for Cole's philosophy on life.