MARK Seabright still hasn’t fully come to terms with the loss of his close friend Lee Richardson a year ago today.

The 44-year-old was the late Lakeside captain’s mechanic for the best part of nine years, and the pair travelled Europe together during a period in which Richardson competed against the world’s best and became Great Britain’s all-time leading points scorer in World Cup speedway.

Seabright now works with Swindon Robins skipper Hans Andersen, but it is with Richardson with whom he has the greatest bond having joined his crew at the start of his career in the Grand Prix series.

The mechanic still remembers the moment he heard of his friend’s tragic death, and admitted he still hasn’t completely come to terms with what happened in Wroclaw a year ago.

“I was at home when I heard, and his engine tuner phoned me and told me the news and I just couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“When you hear things like that you just don’t accept it can happen, especially to Lee because he was the type of rider who would not take risks unnecessarily.

“He gave his racing everything, but he would much rather ride the next race than crash.

“I don’t think it has sunk in now really, because it is just so tragic and just such a shock.”

Seabright has a lifetime of memories mounted on the wall of his workshop, and will never forget the bond the pair shared both in the pits and away from the track.

“Lee was a good mate, and he was the sort of guy you could ring if you had a problem, which I often did,” he said.

“He would always give you his opinion of how he would have done things, and that was a nice part of Lee because he would always say what he thought.

“It was the same when we were working, and he was super-organised and his kit was always spotless and in the best condition. When people are like that it is very easy to work with them.

“My workshop is full of pictures Lee gave me at the end of the seasons, some of them with messages on from him, and I also have a few of his rider of the night trophies and things like that.

“I will never take those pictures down, never, and sometimes he gave me some trophies he had won which was a lovely touch because he valued us all as a team.

“He was a great rider, and that is sometimes forgotten, and he was the sort of guy you could always rely on to go out and get you something when the team really needed it.”

The first time Lakeside took to the track after their captain’s tragic death was against the Robins on May 18 last year, and after struggling to keep his mind on the job during the meeting while working with Andersen, Seabright still finds returning to the Arena Essex Raceway difficult.

“I can remember the first meeting after it happened, we were at Lakeside and it was probably the hardest meeting I have ever done because I just couldn’t think straight,” he said.

“Even going there this year was hard, because I went there with the guy who did his engines because we are all mates, and we went to McDonald’s for a coffee which was what we did with Lee at Lakeside every Friday. He obviously wasn’t there, and that’s when it hits home.”

Several riders, as well as Richardson’s wife Emma, have raised concerns about holding tonight’s British Final on the first anniversary of his death, but Seabright believes running the meeting is the perfect way to remember everything the popular rider achieved during his career.

“I think everybody will do it in their own way, and me and my partner will do the same,” he said.

“I know what Lee would have felt and he would have just carried on, so I think to stage the British Final would be right. Having it on is maybe a mark of respect for everything he achieved in world speedway.

“I understand the way the family feel, because it’s his day, but unfortunately we have to carry on and that’s what he would have wanted.”