ARISS 鈥� Eric Sergi has his eyes on the prize as he competes in the 2025 FIM (F茅d茅ration Internationale de Motocyclisme) Mini Moto GP Canadian series.
The teen鈥檚 need for speed seems to be genetic as his grandfather was also involved in the sport, although not professionally.
Sergi, 13, of Ariss, began his racing journey just last year, but first dabbled in the sports when he was just eight or nine years old.
鈥淲hen I was like eight or nine I went to Toni Sharpless鈥� racing school for a day and I enjoyed it a lot,鈥� said Sergi.
鈥淏ut then it kind of just faded and I didn鈥檛 really do it again and then last year in September I did it once and I got hooked.鈥�
Sharpless, the founder and director of Mini GP Canada, was the first woman to win a Canadian Motorcycle Association championship.听
She has spent decades racing motorcycles in North America and around the world. After seeing the training and support that exist throughout Europe and Asia for young riders, she made the decision to bring some of that home to Canada.听
Sharpless now owns her own school, Super Sonic Road Race School, which operates out of four locations: Brechin Motorsports Park near Beaverton, Lombardy Raceway south of Smith Falls, Flamboro Speedway听 in Millgrove and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park northeast of Toronto.
Sergi regularly attends the Brechin location to practice on his Ohvale 160, the only make of bike permitted to race in the series.
Sergi races alongside his good friend Stefan Tanasic from Elmira. Both racers sang the praises of Sharpless and her school.
鈥淲hen you start with Toni … you can start as young as five years old and they will teach you every little thing you need to know,鈥� said Tanasic. 鈥淎nd the way they do it is amazing.鈥�
While the racing season is relatively short, training and preparation make for a long and grueling season.
鈥淗e has training available to him all throughout the spring and into July, and then his actual racing begins end of July and goes into September,鈥� said Sergi鈥檚 mom Kelly.听
The season consists of 10 races and based on each racer鈥檚 best eight race times, scoring is decided.
The top two racers from the Canadian series will ultimately qualify for the world championship hosted in Spain in October.听
鈥淗e鈥檚 [Eric] been on a dirt bike since he was maybe six years old … we had training wheels on his dirt bike,鈥� said Kelly.
Tanasic will be travelling to China at the end of July to compete.
Unfortunately for the young racers, the race series is not recognized as a sport by the Canadian government for grants or funding.听
鈥淚 believe the hope is that with more awareness this can be recognized as a national sport and gain more support across Canada and encourage more kids to give it a try,鈥� said Kelly.
Tanasic and Sergi voiced their support for those hoping to give the sport a try and assured parents that with the proper training, the sport is relatively safe.
鈥淎s long as you鈥檙e trained and everything is good, you鈥檙e safe,鈥� said Tanasic.
The Mini Moto GP series is for riders aged 10 to 14. After that riders move on to bigger and faster bikes.
鈥淚f you live in Canada, you should try and come to Toni Sharpless鈥檚 school,鈥� said Sergi.
For more information on the school and the sport in general visit .听
To follow along with Sergi鈥檚 racing journey, follow the young racer on Instagram @surgeracing111.
