Startline Ep 52 - Markus Karlsson: New Dad, newcomer, no giving up

Start Line with Beth Espey

Thursday, 23 July 2026 - 32 minutes

Markus Karlsson has spent almost his entire life on two wheels.

The 27-year-old Swedish rider received his first motorcycle at the age of two, began racing at seven and grew up surrounded by bikes, with a road-racing father and a mother who served as a motorcycle police officer.

Now Markus is preparing for his biggest challenge yet: making his debut at the Manx Grand Prix in 2026.

In this episode, he tells Beth about building his own 600cc race bike from scratch, travelling repeatedly to the Isle of Man to learn the Mountain Course and the moment his acceptance email made him realise that the dream had suddenly become very real.

Markus also reflects on struggling at school, finding sponsors from the age of 13 and developing the belief that if somebody else can do something, he can learn to do it too.

The Startline podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Manx Motorcycle Club, the Promoter and Rights holder for the Manx Grand Prix. Startline is on Facebook and Instagram, so please give the pages a follow and keep up to date with the latest episodes and see some extra content, you can find some great photos on there

And if you'd like to be part of the podcast, you can email beth@startline.im

You can follow Markus on Facebook here and Instagram here.

With an epic journey from Sweden to the Isle of Man ahead of him - and a newborn daughter joining the travelling race team - Markus explains why reaching the Manx Grand Prix is a challenge being taken on by the whole family.

Startline Ep 52 - Markus Karlsson: New Dad, newcomer, no giving up

Start Line with Beth Espey

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