Help young riders reach their dreams
FOURWAYS – Four young men want to make their racing dreams a reality. Find out how you can help here.
Young local motorcyclists are appealing to the community for sponsorship as the racing year begins after they formed their own private team to compete in the sport.
Matthew Stewart (9), Thor Johnson (9), Jake Pretorius (7) and their Pretoria-based teammate Mark Jordan (9) have formed the Just Kids Racing team with the help of their fathers.
“We found during last year that racing as part of other teams was just too competitive for the boys,” explained Steve Pretorius, father to Jake. “So this year we decided to start our own private team so that we can half the number of races we take part in, from 34 in a year to 17.”
The trouble comes in with financing the sport. Pretorius explained that in order for the boys to compete in a couple of local competitions throughout this year, it would cost about R40 000 per rider.
“What we find is that, like every other sport I guess, it takes a lot of money to make it big,” explained Malcom Stewart, Matthew’s father. “But at the end of the day, this sport is about youth development and keeping our and other kids out of trouble, and away from playing Playstation all day.
“We want people to help us develop youth participation in this sport and enjoy the community feeling of motocross.”
Over and above the numerous local competitions that the boys are interested in, there is also a chance that Thor Johnson could qualify to take part in the World Cup [www.ma.org.au] competition, taking place in Australia in August. Unfortunately, his participation in this race is largely dependent on being able to afford it – according to Pretorius the elder, costs for him to take his place would be about R60 000 not including the actual bike that Thor would ride (it would be too expensive to transport his own bike to Australia, so they would need to either buy or rent one there) and the necessary spare parts.
“We gave Thor his first bike for his fourth birthday, and he started racing at about aged seven,” said Damien Johnson, Thor’s father. “In terms of the World Cup, the idea is that it would be a great experience for him to have, as he just started riding a 65cc bike.”
“I love this sport, it’s awesome,” said Thor when asked about his time on the bike. “My dad and I talk about it a lot, and when we go out riding together we get to spend quality time as father and son.”
The Just Kids Racing parents are quick to add that they have received some sponsorship – the team is powered by RAD – KTM. Michelin sponsors four rear tyres and two front tires per rider, Verosity Lubricants has made a donation, WD Ice has sponsored ice to the families during races, M.R. Performance has donated bike spares and Pneumachtech, Steve Pretorius’s company, is lending a hand with all things mechanical.
“We still need help though, and anything that people can sponsor or donate would be so helpful,” concluded Steve Pretorius.
Details: If you want to find out more, or to help, email the Just Kids Racing team on JustKidsRacing@gmail.com
