GROWING up in a family where everyone else rode horses, Mick James was probably not the most likely person to take up motorcycle racing.
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James, who stopped counting his age after turning 50, is a builder by trade and now lives in Sussex Inlet.
In his own version of a midlife crisis, James took up racing in 2012, but his love of motorbikes goes back a long way.
Growing up in Wollongong, James was introduced to racing in his teens by his friend, none other than future world champion Wayne Gardner.
His racing career suffered a major setback in 1982 during a day at work when he fell 16 feet backwards onto concrete and sustained multiple fractures in his skull and back.
After the injury, he was not able to dress himself for three months as he underwent a long rehabilitation, which kept him off the bike for 10 years.
For a number of years, racing took a backseat to his working life, until 2011 when he attended a stay upright motorcycle training course at Eastern Creek.
“After lunch I had a one on one with an instructor and when I pulled into the pits after two laps, he was 20 seconds behind,” he said.
“He told me I should race, because he couldn’t keep up,” he added.
He bought a Yamaha R6 race bike in October 2011 and when it was fully set up, he started racing in 2012 at Wakefield Park in Goulburn.
James went to six race events in 2012 and found instant success, being on the second row initially and then on the front row of the grid of 20-25 riders in an open class of 600-1000cc.
In 2013 he was graded as D grader in the Formula Xtreme Club series and came second overall at the end of the year.
But there is little doubt 2014 has been his best year on the bike, having won 17 trophies and thousands of dollars in prize money.
The highlights were winning the 600cc Formula Xtreme Club series in A and B grade at Wakefield Park.
He also won the NSW Road Race championships, run by St George Motorcycle Club in the 600cc A and B grade and was the overall state champion in the 600 open.
He was one of only three riders over the age of 50 in the state championships, which is open to anyone over the age of 16.
While he may be one of the oldest competitors James works really hard on his fitness.
Because he rides up to 10 events in a day, it is very physically and mentally demanding, but he is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
James said all his achievements would not be possible without the help of the team at Nowra Motorcycles.
