James on track to become a world champion

Now the 17-year-old from Kings Worthy is getting closer to his goal of becoming a professional, having finished third in the 2002 British Aprilia RS125 Superteen Challenge in his first season at that level.

It's all a far cry from the days when he started to learn the basics of riding motorcycles on a Yamaha TY80. "My feet could barely touch the ground when my father first got it for me," he recalls. "I had a few collisions with tree trunks, fences and some other very large objects. "Dad bought a JCM trials bike too and we did some competitions together, and that's when I really knew that I wanted to reach the top." James joined the Southampton Vikings and Waltham Chase motorcycle clubs and entered competitions in both summer and winter. He took some nasty falls but always climbed back on. At the age of ten he outgrew his bike and, as the family couldn't afford a bigger one, he didn't do much riding for the next two years. He first went into mini motoing at the Isle of Man TT in 1997 and spent a year or so competing in championships before getting a Ducati 916 as a Christmas and 13th birthday present. He finished second in the British Junior 4.2 Championship in 1999. The following year James moved up again to the 6.2 Super Lightweights and saved hard to buy a 6.2hp GEM. He went back to the Isle of Man TT and raced against the Swedish minomoto champions, but the bike had a number of problems and he part-exchanged it for an old hire bike for the 2001 season. He did only a few meetings before a friend who was competing in the 125 Superteen Challenge moved on to a 600 late in the season. "It meant that his Aprilia 125 was sat in his shed and I asked if I could race it," says James. "His father agreed and I rode it with some success at both Snetterton and Brands Hatch." In November he attended the Red Bull Academy Day at Mallory Park on the same 125 Aprilia and learned a lot about handling the bike from top riders like Jeremy McWilliams and John Reynolds. In January 2002, Martyn Hillier bought his son two second hand '99 Aprilia Challenge bikes to enable him to compete in the Challenge for the season. "He could only afford to do it for one season, so I knew I had to do well," said James. He responded in fine style, claiming 16 podium places out of a possible 25, learning a whole lot more about racing in the process. James recently left Peter Symonds' College and is now working as a mechanic in an Eastleigh motorbike shop. But he wants to take part in the 13-race series of the Junior Superstock R6 British Championship. The incentive for winning that event is to race for Great Britain on superbikes next year. The big problem is that he needs to find more than £17,000 for a bike, tyres, crash repairs and entry fees. He's managed to collect a number of minor sponsorships over the past couple of years, but now needs a lot more financial support. "I really believe I have what it takes to get to the top, but I realise that I can't do it without sponsorship," he says. "I'm determined to work long and hard to achieve my aims - I owe my parents that after all they've done for me." Anyone interested in helping James should contact his mother, Carol, on 07751 580303 or 01962 852362 (daytime).