TWO young racers are set to compete at Silverstone in junior motorcycle races this weekend.
For CJ Maguire and Freddie Fletcher, both from Winsford, featuring in the MotoGP weekend will be the highest-profile stage of their blossoming careers in a sport for which they have huge passion.
CJ, 11, who starts at Winsford Academy in September, will take part in the 160cc FIM MotoMini UK series.
His interest in racing began as a spectator at Oulton Park, where he told his family that bike racing was his dream.
"Since that defining moment, he has turned that dream into reality through sheer determination," said his dad, James.
He began riding aged eight, progressing to master a 90cc pit bike in the British Mini Bikes Championship.
By 10, he was riding a 110cc Ohvale and recently celebrated his first podium finish in the series.
Support from the Winsford community has been crucial to CJ’s progress.
Sponsors include DC Lomas Ltd and The Royal Oak in Wolstanton, which has promoted his racing through community bike nights.
He will now move up to the demanding Ohvale 160 FIM class for the Silverstone event, riding a GP-0 160 machine.
Riders will compete under strictly equal technical conditions.
CJ and fellow riders in his class will not only be performing in front of a massive global MotoGP crowd, but they will also be bidding for highly coveted spots at the FIM MotoMini World Series Finals in Valencia
Meanwhile, Freddie Fletcher, eight and a pupil at Whitegate Primary School, has also earned a place on the Silverstone grid.
He will be racing in the FAB British Championship Rookie minibike class.
Freddie began his racing career in motocross before discovering minibikes on YouTube late last year.
In January, Freddie joined M4 Minimoto in Chippenham and has completed three British Championship rounds in Kent, Dorset, and Ellesmere Port - securing a podium finish along the way.
He also competes at Stretton in Leicestershire and trains regularly at his nearest track in Hereford.
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