Seven and fearless: Theo Tyler's rapid rise through UK Minimoto ranks

Theo Tyler. Photo credit: Dale Baldwin.

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When Theo Tyler’s parents tell friends their son, who’s just turned seven, races bikes, they presume they mean they rides mountain bikes or push bikes.

But young Theo, from Maidenhead, has a taste for bikes that are a little faster than that because he’s already competing at speeds of up to 50-60mph in the FAB-Racing Minimotos UK championship.

Theo, who lives in Ellington Park, has been riding mini 50cc motorbikes for the past couple of years, having been introduced to the sport through his dad’s passion for biking.

He’s just had a motorbike-themed seventh party, where he got to show off his skills to all his friends, and, when not riding, he loves watching and learning from his favourite British Super Bikes and MotoGP riders compete in races and on YouTube clips.

In fact, he’s coached by one of them, former BSB champion Kyle Ryde, who teaches Theo the art of racing motor bikes every Monday, while his impressive performances in the FAB Racing champs this spring and summer has also caught the eye of the RG Racing Team in Rome, Italy, where he recently went for a training week.

Having finished sixth in his rookie season in the Minimotos Series, competing across eight different UK circuits, he’s now going to step up to the 12mil class - where the bikes go a little faster. The hope is he’ll be picked up by a team like RG Racing in the not-too-distant future.

For now, though, he’s revelling in being one of the best riders in the country at his age, competing against and beating boys aged up to 10. There are plenty of growing up to do, and classes and categories to work through, before he can think of fulfilling his dream of becoming a BSB or MotoGP rider, but this young petrol head lives to ride and hopes to leave rivals in his wake.

“This was his first season, so we weren’t expecting him to finish sixth,” said dad, Paul.

“He’s been competing against 10-year-olds, so he did quite well. There are only three of them that are six years old in the class he’s in.

“I’m into bikes myself and always have been. I didn’t realise that kids this young could do these championships.

“But I saw something on social media about a place called M4 Karting in Bristol and two years ago, just before Christmas, they asked if we wanted to put Theo through their training programme.

“From there he’s entered the championship, and the last round was a month ago. “When we speak to people and say ‘Theo races’ they think it must be mountain biking or a push bike, but it’s a proper petrol motorbike. He goes about 50/60mph. They’re shocked by that. But he’s always been into bikes. He’s always seen me on a bike and he’s always happy watching YouTube clips from MotoGP or British Super Bikes.”

Life in the fast lane does come with a few – potentially painful - complications for Theo and his family, however. Most notably when he crashes off his bike in training or races, often at great speed. But, as Paul says, it’s a key part of the learning process and part and parcel of the sport.

“I’ve got a few videos of him coming off big,” he said.

“It’s hard because we can’t get onto the track. In training, you can get on the track and help them there, but when it’s in the championships and they’re racing, you can’t get on the track at all, so you’ve got to let the stewards deal with it.

“My wife is used to it now, but in the first few rounds, at the beginning, she wanted to get on to see if he was alright.

“It’s good that you’re not allowed on in a way because they’ve got to learn to get back on the bike, or they have to sit by the bike if they’re not able to re-enter.

“They’ve got to learn that we can’t be beside them 24/7.”

That mental toughness and resilience is perhaps what caught the eye of a scout from RG Racing, who invited Theo and his family to come to Rome for a training week last month.

The hope is that a team like this will bring Theo into their fold and provide the necessary training and sponsorship needed to take him to the very top. The rest will be come down to Theo’s talent and perseverance in a competitive sport.

“In his last round, we were at a place called Three Sisters near Wigan,” said Paul. “There was a lad there who races for RG Racing team and the owner’s scouts were at the track. They picked out Theo and two other lads. They asked if we’d go out to Rome and do a training programme for a week. That was pretty good.

When our season restarts, they’ve said there may be a possibility for him to join the team. That would be an interesting one because it would be abroad.

“We have a few sponsors already. Parents told us to get sponsors on board because it does help. Little things like helping to get new tyres or petrol or paying for the fees to enter the championships. We have 10 sponsors on board now and that helps massively.

“Next year, he’s moving up a class to the 12mil bikes which have a bigger engine. It’s a bit faster.”

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Theo’s family would also like to mention and thank his sponsors Luxe projects London; X1 performance; AS Waist & Metal Recycling @ skip hire; FCM; Rmc; The Race Shop; Clikcreate; 151s; DB brickwork; CFF custom paints