Rising motorcycling star Ross gets a helping hand from Crossbar

A highly promising motorcyclist from Broseley who currently leads the way in a top national competition is the latest addition to a Shropshire sports coaching company’s Fantastic Five.

Crossbar Coaching Education in Sport want to give a helping hand to up and coming sporting talents around the county and Gavin Cowan, director of the company, said he was delighted to have now linked up with Ross Turner.

The 10-year-old tops the leaderboard after four rounds of the British FAB Mini 50 GP Championships.

He has ambitions to regularly compete in Spain next year as he works towards his ultimate dream of becoming a MotoGP rider.

Ross joins Shrewsbury cyclist Beth Coupland and Telford youngster Mai-Lei King, who has made her mark nationally in Crossfit, as members of Crossbar’s Fantastic Five.

Crossbar director Gavin said: “Ross competes nationally in motorcycling and he’s at the top of the rankings at the moment. He’s only 10 but he’s reaching speeds of up to 80mph.

“His mum and dad are fantastic in the way they cater for his motorycyling needs and the finances that are involved, but he needs exposure to hopefully attract some sponsorship and we’re able to give him that.

“It’s great to link in with Ross and we’re looking forward to receiving regular updates on his exciting progress.

“We can help with his nutrition and his hydration, provide a little bit of a different angle on what it takes for him to prepare for a race, and he’s certainly got the potential to go places as he’s a switched on young lad.

“He’s very focused, very determined and very passionate about what he does.”

Ross, a pupil at Barrow 1618 Church of England Primary Free School, has been competing since the age of six having started in Minimoto and simply loves the thrill of racing around a race track.

Proud dad Simon said Ross had adjusted well since making the step up to battling it out for honours in the British FAB Mini 50 GP Championships.

He won the opening three rounds of this year’s championship at Llandow in South Wales, Shropshire’s Rednal track and Rowrah in Cumbria to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

He suffered a nasty fall in the opening race of round four at Red Lodge in Cambridgeshire last weekend but showed courage to quickly get back on a borrowed bike to complete the meeting.

The next round of the championships will be held at Lydd in Kent on July 19 and 20 with three further rounds to follow as Ross chases title glory.

Dad Simon added: “Kids like Ross who do this are all special as they all need to focus and be totally committed to what they do.

“They need to be intelligent to take in all the things they need to do at the speeds they are racing.

“He wants to be a MotoGP rider one day, that’s his aim, and my job is to give him the tools to help him get there.

“Ross has a very sensible head on his shoulders and as much as he loves racing he knows it’s important he concentrates on doing his school work well so he has something to fall back on.”

Simon stressed he was pleased to now have the backing of Crossbar – Ross often attends the company’s football coaching sessions – and insisted sponsorship was key to enabling his son to compete at the highest junior level.

He said: “The plan next year is for Ross to compete in the Spanish CEV Championships in the Moto 4 class. That would involve racing on all the big circuits in Spain and going over there once a month.

“We are trying to generate some sponsorship to help with that.

“The more exposure we can get for Ross the better as he’s competing already at a high level and it would be great to attract some more sponsorship.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Ross in any way can contact his dad Simon via email at simon@sturner.wanadoo.co.uk

Pictured: Ross Turner on his motorbike surrounded by his friends at Barrow 1618 Church of England Primary Free School and Gavin Cowan, director of Crossbar Coaching Education in Sport.