RYAN Smith may be small in stature but his reputation as the most consistent young motorbike rider in the country continues to grow after finishing the season with two second places at the National Long Track Championships.
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This comes on the back of an identical performance at the state level in August, and earlier in the season an Australian Title on his preferred racing surface – a dirt track.
The current Australian under 9-11years 85cc dirt bike champion only narrowly missed on claiming two national crowns across the two disciplines in one season when he headed to Tamworth on the long weekend.
On the Saturday he was actually half a second faster than his competition in both the 65cc and 85cc classes but on Sunday his arch rival, Queenslander John Lytras, passed him early and held on to the lead.
With a shrug of his shoulders, the level-headed little champion concedes “that’s racing” and says he is happy with his performance.
And so he should be, a second place in the 65cc and 85cc classes at a national meet is impressive.
His dad, Darren, says Smith is by far the most consistent young rider around on both a dirt and long track.
“However, at the moment Lytras has the edge on him when it comes to the long track events,” he says.
“But Ryan is better than him on a dirt track, and they were both way ahead of the others on the weekend.”
However, Smith’s consistency will once again be rewarded in December when he attends Motorcycling NSW night of champions at the Penrith Panthers Pavilion in Sydney.
This is the fourth year he will be attending the red carpet event, hosted by sports presenter Mark Beretta, and is to receive three gongs.
The fierce competitor is not too concerned with this; he is just looking forward to next season and stepping up to the “big wheel” class.
First he has to practice during the off-season and would ultimately like a third bike so he does not have to constantly change the wheels on his 85cc.
This would mean more sponsorship dollars, and this talk prompted the mature Smith to acknowledge the important role they play.
“I would like to thank Port-Tune Performance, Pro Moto Suspension, Chris Watson Motorcyles and Link International,” he says.
Darren says without their mechanical expertise they would not be able to get the most of Smith’s bikes.