A STUDENT from Redditch is making his sporting dreams come true this summer as the only British rider to race his motorbike in the Supersport world championship.
Trystan Finocchiaro is already five races into this year’s World Supersport 300, a motorcycle series which sees teams of two compete in eight different countries over six months.
A total of 40 riders from 14 different nationalities are this year taking part, with Trystan being the only competitor from Great Britain.
The 19-year-old started racing when his family took him karting at the age of 10.
After years of training his talent secured him a place as one half of the Italian team, Scuderia Maranga Racing for this first international competition.
Since the circuit racing series started in April he has racked up points in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Czech Republic as well as on home soil in what he said is taking him closer to one day achieving his goal of a podium position.
Trystan, a journalism student at Coventry University, is now preparing for the last leg of the high-level competition before he returns to his studies in September.
“I got the bug for racing when I was young and it just kept growing,” he said.
“I was 14 when I started riding my bike in the Thundersport GB contest and wanted to get to the very highest level so I kept pushing myself and training.
“To be here now competing in the world championships is just an incredible experience and the whole competition is much bigger than anything I’ve done before so there is a lot to learn.
“Motorcycle racing is all about confidence and having fun but believing in yourself. My family has always been behind me and that really helps when things get tough.
“Off the track I want to be a sports journalist so when I am no longer racing I can still be in the paddock and around the track.”
Trystan flies out to Italy for his next race on Friday, July 6 before the final two in Portugal and France in September.
Track his progress, or find out more about World Supersport 300 at http://www.fim-live.com
