Hudson Cooper: 11-year-old motorbike racer from Sheffield travelling the country and earning podium finishes

Hudson Kai Cooper, from Sheffield, has been doing motorbiking from the age of eight, starting out doing trial biking at the age of six. Wanting to do racing on track, Hudson began doing motorbike racing on tracks all around the UK.

Ry, Hudson’s dad, said: “He showed an interest in racing bikes so then we took the plunge, and he did a test on one of these bikes and the skills transferred over, so we headed into doing racing on basically go-kart tracks all around the UK.

"He’s at 11 now so he has been doing it three or four years now and he is getting really good at it and is really enjoying it.”

Hudson usually practices once a week at his local track, which is in Mansfield, and he races every month, having one race every month this year since April.

Races take place over eight rounds and take place all over the country, from Cumbria down to Southampton, and even in Wales.

"In his first season he came about eighth in the championship, what they call the rookie season,” said Ry. “He started to steadily improve in the second season and he got his first podium which I was really chuffed about.

"Steadily from that point, once he had started pushing towards podium places, he was getting closer and closer to the podium more regularly. Last year, he came third in the championship, which got him a trophy.

"Now, we have moved over to a different type of bike and he jumped straight on this bike and went training in Spain at the beginning of this year which was massively beneficial to him. He took to this new bike straight away and we started the season in April and he won his first three races.”

Ry does say he is very nervous watching Hudson on his track, but tries not to show this to his son.

"At first it was difficult watching him, your heart rate would be pumping so, as a parent it is quite frightening, it is a stark comparison to what he was doing before, trial riding.

“You can see on my Apple Watch when I’m watching him, you can see my heart rate is pumping when I watch him racing.

"I am confident in his ability though, and my nerves settled a little bit when he began pushing towards the front. I’ve all of a sudden gotten a new category of worry watching where he is leading a race, and it is now more agitating watching him lead races, which is obviously good as I want him to win races but it is still nerve-racking.”

On their aspirations for the future, Ry says: “We are taking each year as it comes, it is right at the grassroots at the moment but he is doing really well. It is a long ladder to even get to the national level - it is still a long road to get to that.”

To keep a tab on Hudson and his motorbike racing, follow his social media channels @hudsonkaicooper or follow the hashtag #HKC217.