By Lilly O’Gorman and Emma Sun
THE Johnsons of Monomeith are one fast family.
Siblings Zackary, 11, Felicity, 12, and Natahlia, 14, are keen motorcyclists and all enjoy riding competitively.
They took to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit recently to show off their racing skills.
And it turns out the trio are not only close in age and interests but also speed, all returning successful results after a weekend of wet weather racing.
Overall standing for the weekend saw Zackary finish in third place and Felicity in fourth place for the 70cc two-stroke class. Natahlia finished in seventh place in the 80cc two-stroke class.
An impressive effort – especially considering the kids only get the chance to practise on the track on the day of their big race.
Dad Luke said Zack was the first to get into motorbike racing in 2009 and the girls followed a year later.
“Zack was always going to do motorcycle racing of some description, so I looked into it and found there was junior road racing around – we checked it out, got him his first bike and put him out there,” Luke said.
“The girls both worked with Zack for the first 12 months and decided to give it a go – they’ve always ridden motorbikes, dirt bikes at home and ride horses, too, so they were used to riding and wanted to get involved.
“Once they did, they became more interested and they had a crack and it’s all worked out pretty well.”
Mum Charmaine said the children have been travelling to the GP from a young age and stayed up to watch it at all hours of the night.
“People don’t realise how full-on it is, the kids are doing mini Moto GP stuff and riding on the big circuits,” Charmaine said.
“Junior road racing in Victoria is increasing in numbers, and the competition is getting stronger.”
While motorbike racing is becoming more popular, Luke admitted it wasn’t the cheapest of sports to maintain, especially with three kids.
“It is a costly hobby, extremely,” he said.
“Motorcycle racing in general, same as car racing, is very expensive, but we’ll support the kids as far as they want to go and as far as the budget can stretch.”
The Johnson family thanked Pete and Ryan Taylor from Pakenham Yamaha, Bill Lambert Motor Body Works and Mark Cooper Automotive for their continued support.
The siblings will compete in round four on 17 and 18 September at Broadford, Victoria, and hope to do rounds in Queensland in the near future.
“We welcome spectators to come and visit the children in their pits and check out the bikes and have a chat with them,” Charmaine said.
