From balance bike to podium finishes: a family's journey in Junior Motocross

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A family affair! With a love of racing and bikes that began as a child, Nick Chesworth from Wigan couldn’t be prouder of his son Tommy who has been making waves in the junior racing circuit.

“As a child I loved bikes but getting into the racing side of things could be an expensive hobby and one that unfortunately we just couldn’t afford at the time. So, when Tommy showed an interest at such an early age, we wanted to support him in whatever way.” Nick, Tommy’s dad.

As soon as Tommy could get his leg over the seat of a bike he was hooked. From the age of 2, he preferred pushing himself along on his balance bike to walking.

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Nick said: “Once he got older, we got him into the smaller electric bikes, he then had a quad and after that, it was the introduction of the Yamaha PW50. The Yamaha PW50 is a great beginner bike, it is incredibly capable and a great bike to start learning.”

Tommy ChesworthTommy Chesworth
Tommy Chesworth

The Yamaha PW50 is designed to be a safe, easy and enjoyable option for those ready to take the first step into riding. The 50cc engine gives a smooth acceleration but also has a throttle limiter allowing parents to adjust the top speed.

Instilling a passion for racing from an early age usually comes from having great role models. While there are plenty of talented racers out there, Tommy found lots of inspiration from local lad Bailey Mitchell who competes in national motocross championships. Another huge source of encouragement and inspiration has come from the world of social media.

As well as watching other racers’ content and feeling inspired, Nick began documenting their journey and Tommy’s racing success through Instagram under the handle @tommy_two_stroke which now boasts a following of over 15,300 fans.

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Nick continued: “We didn’t find there was a great deal of junior racers local to us but as soon as you went on Instagram there was a whole community of parents and kids that we connected with. We see each other at the different races and now there are a whole group of them that race together but also play with each other and just enjoy being kids. It’s been a nice result from starting the social media account. Don’t get me wrong, after a weekend of racing coming home and putting together all the content is a lot of work, but we are proud of the following we have and hope to keep building on it.”

Since throwing themselves into the racing circuit, Tommy’s parents have commented on how much it has improved his confidence. He recently completed training with Josh Spinks, JSMX Coaching, a midlands-based motocross coach.

“The training with Josh has been helpful to teach Tommy not just the race but to improve on body position and style. There is a lot more to it than people initially think and following his training, he went on to win his next race.”

At the beginning of Tommy’s racing career, the Chesworth family travelled across the midlands, competing in a range of races. Now, skies are the limit and Tommy and his dad kick up dirt on tracks across the UK with seven rounds of races in the Winter and seven rounds in the Summer, travelling up and down the country most weekends.

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“This Summer we are doing two rounds of seven laps and we have started doing a bit of Enduro racing which we are looking to do more of. As long as Tommy continues to enjoy it, we will do as much as we can physically and financially.”

Heading across the country throughout the year and ensuring Tommy’s two PW50 bikes are in racing shape consistently doesn’t come without its costs. The Chesworth family are very grateful for their team of sponsors that support Tommy’s journey, these include FPR Motorsports, Grip it Co, Muk Junkie Cleaning Products and Yamaha dealer MES Powersports.

Nick also runs his own engineering company; NC Engineering, all repairs and maintenance for the PW50 bike are carried out by Nick with support from MES Powersports on the parts needed.

Nick added: “MES Powersports have been great supporters, and nothing is ever too much trouble. It helps a lot to have a supportive and reliable dealer not too far away.”

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MES Powersports said: “This lil champ (@tommy2stroke) popped over to see us at Arenacross UK last year with his trick PW50. From there on we have closely followed his progress in the Tom Arnold Race series only to see him win time and time again. We have been pleased to give support where we can for the last 12 months and can't wait to see what he does next!”

Tommy is showcasing incredible promise with plenty of top-tier results in the races he has competed in, most recently winning the two first rounds of their Summer programme and the whole of the Winter series of 2023. Then in April, Tommy completed his first Enduro race and placed third, where he was pipped to the first place post in the final three minutes.

Nick said:“He held first place for the first 42 minutes of the race, but I think he ran out of a bit of puff towards the end, but for our first one, we are incredibly proud of how he did.”

When asked what he wants to do when he grows up, Tommy quickly responds with “Racing” and with full support behind Tommy, we have no doubt the future is bright! The family have ambitions to head overseas soon to compete in places such as Belgium at their indoor supercross race, there is also talk of heading to America if the opportunity arises.

We look forward to seeing Tommy’s racing career flourish and thank you to the Chesworth family for choosing Yamaha.

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