Cameron Swain: the 11yo rookie who races motorbikes at 165km/h
It’s not unusual for Cameron Swain to hit 165km/h on his motorcycle, with the 11-year-old’s need for speed putting him in the fast lane to a career on the racetrack.
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Cameron Swain might be a rookie racer but he’s already reaching speeds of up to 165km/h – and he’s only 11.
He’s been racing motorbikes for two years and is currently tied fifth on points in the Oceania Junior Cup, only four points off second place.
He’s the youngest rider in the category which has competitors up to 15 years.
Until coronavirus put racing on hold in March, the Aspley State School Year 6 student was racing almost every weekend.
“Most practice days were at Lakeside raceway with Queensland Minimoto Events and Morgan Park with Motorcycle Sportsmen Queensland,” said Cameron, who lives at Warner on Brisbane’s northside.
“Early on I did a lot of riding with North Coast Road Racers and also MotoStars in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
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“A couple of times I have ridden in the Victorian Road Racing championship and once with the St George club in Sydney.
“My last race was at Phillip Island in the Oceania Junior Cup round with World Superbike on the 1st of March.
“Right now I feel pretty bored and disappointed that I can’t go racing as I was really looking forward to doing the Oceania Junior Cup this year.
“My biggest dream is to get to MotoGP one day but there’s a long way to go and fierce competition to get there.
“Right now I’m concentrating on the first step and hoping to get the top three in the Oceania Junior Cup if the season goes on.”
Cameron (whose race number is 26) said he felt “pretty good” about his progress to date “considering I’m the youngest kid in almost every competition that I race in”.
“I feel a lot of adrenaline and am very focused whenever I’m riding the bike and going fast.
“The fastest speed I’ve ever gone was 165km/h on a Metrakit 80 2 stroke through turn 9 at Morgan Park. We have an app that records it.
“In the Oceania Junior Cup I travel at around 140km/h on 4 stroke Yamaha 150s.
“I get nervous before pretty much every race but try to stay calm and think about what I’m going to do before every race.
“I try not to think about crashing because if I was always thinking about crashing then I’d be worried all the time. I’ve crashed a few times but learn from my mistakes unless I get taken out by another rider, which has happened a couple of times.”
Cameron was just four when he rode his first motorbike.
“It didn’t go well the first time. I had a crash in the gravel and was too scared to ride again for three years.
“When I was seven one of my friends wanted to have a go on my bike after he kept seeing it in my garage.
“Watching him ride it made me want to have a go again. After that I was hooked and just wanted to ride every day.
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“After doing a lot of practice on dirt I tried riding on the road at a come and try day at Queensland MiniMoto.
“I told Dad it was the best day of my life and pretty soon after that I decided I wanted to try road racing. I was nine years old which is the earliest age that you can race.
“At my first ever race I was really happy because I didn’t get flogged and came 4th for the weekend.
“In the last race I had gotten a lot faster and I was catching 2nd place, which was the guy who won the championship that year. That made me happy.”
Cameron’s first serious road race was in the 2018 MotoStars championship, where he came 3rd. He followed that with 2nd place in the NSW short course state titles and a win at the North Coast Road Racers championship.
In 2019 he won the NSW state titles and came 2nd in the MotoStars championship.
Cameron said his friends thought his racing was “pretty cool”.
“But some kids think that you just sit on a seat and that it’s really easy. They also say to me that they could easily beat me if they did it.”
Cameron shares a love of motorcycling with his dad Jason, who started when he was seven and has been riding for 41 years. Jason has never officially raced but has attended many track days.
Jason said it didn’t take much convincing to get Cameron on a bike “because of the bright colours and his Pee Wee 50 looked very cool”.
“When he had his fright in the gravel early on he didn’t want to know about bikes at all and said they were boring. Naturally I was very happy when he decided to give it another try and he fell in love with it.”
Jason said he became “super nervous” every time his son raced.
“But Cameron is totally obsessed with racing and it’s all he thinks about and wants to do and he’s very good at it so we support him as much as we can.
“I also know how much fun it was for me as a child and the amazing memories last forever. “We do however also impress upon him that his schooling is very important as well though, as not many people make it as a motorcycle racer. If he doesn’t do well enough at school then he doesn’t get to race.”
Jason said he was proud of his son’s progress.
“He’s achieved so much more with his racing than I ever thought he would and to watch him ride brings me deep joy.
“Sometimes I actually look up to him. But not just in racing. Being one of the youngest ever to achieve black belt (and then 2nd Dan) in Taekwondo in the country at such a young age, and recently becoming school captain at his school are all huge achievements that he can one day look back on with pride.
“He’s amazing but we as a family are a team. Motorcycle racing can be a tough gig at times and requires a huge amount of work and dedication.
“The help we get from sponsors and friends in the sport, and his school, is also amazing and we’re so very grateful.”
Cameron has had coaching from ex-racer Damian Cudlin who runs MotoStars and who is also the official coach at the Oceania Junior Cup.
He also receives help from another racing family and Jason is in the process of obtaining a level one coaching accreditation with Motorcyling Australia.
Cameron is sponsored by Barrys Dyno at Sandgate, Ride Dynamics at Yatala, Caboolture Yamaha, Queensland MiniMoto Events, Buddha’s Motorcycle Spray Painting at Underwood, Diesel Power Systems at Kunda Park, and Little Martial Arts Australia at Aspley.
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