Rising motocross star, Thor Johnson (9) from Douglasdale will take on his biggest MX50 class race yet, in August.
Thor’s dad, Damien, told the Randburg Sun that his son will be representing South Africa for the first time and racing internationally. Thor is one of five youngsters nationwide who has been chosen to represent South Africa in the MX50 class at the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Africa Motocross of African Nations event at the end of August near Gaborone, Botswana.
Thor, who was named after a motocross kit brand, previously raced in the inter-provincials for Team Gauteng two years in a row and the MSA National Motocross Championships.
“As a youngster, he always wants to win and yes, as his parents we also want him to do well but to be on the podium would be a fantastic feat. In general, any race he takes part in and does his best, and we all get to go home together, is a good one,” Damien said.
Thor trains with his father, who is also his biggest hero and trainer, every weekend. “Sometimes we race on the Saturday and practise on the Sunday,” said Damien. “At his age there is no real need to do any type of muscle training, it’s all about saddle time, mental strength, positivity and learning the basics. During the week, he watches motocross, plays motocross on PlayStation, plays with motocross bikes, talks about it and helps me work on his bikes.”
Two of Thor’s heroes are racers Ryan Dungy and Ken Roczen and like them he wants to train hard every day ‘and ride even harder’.
“I love the speed, airtime and getting dirty. I get to spend every weekend with my family travelling around the country. [I also love] the freedom of the outdoors. My favourite part is making friends and being a role model for the juniors.”
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