Kelso’s Troy Jeffrey blazes a trail in mini moto

Seven year old Troy Jeffrey at home near Kelso.

Troy Jeffrey, who only recently turned seven, will travel to Assen, in Holland in two weeks time for a packed week of high speed activity culminating in the Junior European Championships.

Last year Troy managed to get five podium places out of seven races in the Scottish Championship, finishing 13th overall, but after progressing to a bigger bike he and his parents, Ross and Allyson, decided to enter the UK and the British championships in 2015.

Competing at Kirkcaldy, Knockhill and Raceland in Edinburgh Troy has notched three firsts, one second, two thirds and three fourth places in the UK event. His hat-trick at Raceland being witnessed by Hawick Superbike star Stuart Easton and his son Finlay who follow the progress of the Kelso mini rider closely.

In the British Championship it hasn’t all been plain sailing. In the opening round at Northampton Troy high sided in qualifying so started at back of the grid, his parents, who are also his pit team, blame the wrong tyre choice.

“It’s still very much a learning curve for all of us,” said Ross.

“Thankfully we have a lot of help both at home and within the racing fraternity itself.

“Troy has taken to everything so quickly and is constantly punching above his weight but he handles all situations well and just enjoys it.”

Further races in Teeside, Shropshire, and Cumbria have resulted in a spate of podium places for young Jeffrey with his latest outing, in Suffolk, resulting in his first win in the British Championship despite more wet weather. Unfortunately Troy crashed in race two but remounted with bent handle bars and finished fifth.

Crashing is quite a common occurrence in Troy’s chosen sport and the youngster takes it all in his stride which is more than can be said for mum Allyson.

“Fortunately safety is paramount at these events and Troy has all the correct gear,” she said.

“It’s probably safer than most sports but I still prefer to watch the races on my own so that I can give it my full attention.”

In addition Troy, who is named after Aussie three times World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss, has also done a mini moto demo at Knockhill this year as well as a sponsored endurance race where he managed to do 30 laps at East Fortune.