At ADB, we’ve always believed Australia’s motocross and enduro heartbeat isn’t found only in the big cities or factory-backed hubs, it pulses strongest in the smaller towns, the dusty regional tracks, and the pockets of this country where riders grind away without crowds or cameras. C-graders, B-graders and A-graders trying their hardest for some local stardom. For every headline name on the east coast, there are dozens of coaches and racers out in regional Australia quietly shaping the next generation. They don’t get the spotlight, but they absolutely deserve it.
Some of the most influential figures in our sport aren’t standing under pit tents at national rounds, they’re spinning spanners for their kids out of farm sheds, running coaching clinics mid-week after work, and hauling vans full of young riders to club tracks most people outside their postcode have never heard of. These are the people keeping grassroots moto alive (and funding our sport might I add) giving kids a pathway, and teaching the fundamentals long before anyone thinks about factory rides or sponsorship deals.
That’s why we’re committed to shining a light on them. This feature is about the coaches, mentors, and racers who form the backbone of Australian motocross and off-road racing, especially those who operate far from the major centres. Their stories matter, their impact is massive, and without them, the sport simply doesn’t function. This month, we’re heading to South Australia to check in with one of those unsung legends and the young chargers he’s helping shape into tomorrow’s contenders.
ADB’s Ed Hartley headed out to his local track to do exactly that and got a good look at the local talent in his area. The 85s were rolling down from the backs of big Mercedes Sprinter vans, wheels clanking against alloy ramps (and by 85s, we mean race bikes, not elderly citizens). Out at South Coast Motocross near Murray Bridge, the scene is pure South Australian moto: deep loam still damp from recent rain, carved into flowing berms, ruts, puddles and whoops, framed by gum trees under a cool but sunny sky. It’s the perfect afternoon to ditch the last period of school and head straight to Thursday race training with Daniel Banks of Banks MX Coaching. And that’s exactly what these lads do, every single week.
Soon the calm is shattered by the sharp crack of 85cc two-strokes with FMF pipes being warmed up. They might be minis, but they sound every bit like proper race machinery. All three 85s and the lone 65 are GASGAS models (basically KTMs with a friendlier price tag) and all are running proper race-ready suspension: WP 6500 or 7500 cartridge kits paired with Pro Trax shocks. Most vans carried both a practice bike and a race bike, though plenty of kids hadn’t bothered washing either after the weekend’s racing, which, honestly, made me feel better. A few were quickly told by Banks to lift their maintenance game: “Clean your bikes, check your chain tension and oil. If you’ve got air forks, release the pressure valve, it’ll feel completely different.” These were Banks’ opening words as the kids rolled in from their warm-up laps.
The boys get straight to work, cutting rapid laps around the rough circuit, the landscape echoing with two-stroke ping and the rumble of a single 250 four-stroke joining the action. Banks soon has them focusing on technique, standing tall through whooped-out outside lines, tightening body and foot position, and getting on the throttle earlier in right-handers. Small corrections, big gains.
Five laps later he pulls them in. “You all need to be more aggressive. Ride faster and you’ll feel better through the chopped-up whoops and ruts and you’ll get out quicker. Riley, you’re a state champ, trust yourself. Bodhi, shift gears with less body movement. You’re changing 80 times a race; every motion counts. And other Riley, your upper body needs to be further over the bars, you’ll get way more front-end grip.” He spots details I completely miss, all the little habits that add up. Another five laps and the improvements are obvious. From there it’s race starts on a separate track, then working different inside/outside line choices to build instinct for overtaking.
Daniel Banks is a former factory KTM rider and pro motocrosser who knows exactly how tough it is to make a living in the sport, especially coming from a smaller state like SA. Alongside coaching, he’s a race mechanic, suspension tuner and WP dealer, yet still finds time to line up himself. Right now, he’s dominating most rounds on his Stark Varg and leading the SA Vets, and that experience filters directly into the kids’ coaching, bike setup and engine work.
The five boys training today are mostly around 12 (give or take a few years) and share a strong sense of camaraderie. Their parents put in huge miles, local enduros mean an eight-hour round trip; national races can swallow more than 20 hours but the results are coming through. Not in cash (yet), but in trophies.
And the young guns absolutely deserve a spotlight.
WANT YOUR LOCAL GROMMETS FEATURED?
If you’ve got a crew of fast local kids, a hard-working coach, or a hidden riding scene that deserves some love, we want to hear about it. ADB is putting the spotlight on the grassroots legends shaping Australia’s next wave of racers.
Hit us up and show us what your region’s producing. Your young guns might be the next ones we shine a light on! adbmag@adbmag.com.au
