Racer of the week – Tom Robinson

Ever since I was a young boy, riding dirtbikes has seemed like a dream that was worth chasing. I started out getting my thrills from jumping pushbikes and wanted to take that excitement to the next level by stepping up to motorcycles. I was obsessed with Crusty Demons of Dirt, and spent all my spare time reading any magazine that had a motorbike in it.

On my eighth birthday a little part of that dream turned into a reality when I woke up to a ’96 Yamaha PeeWee 80 sitting in the lounge room. From then on my dad started taking me to a family friend’s farm to ride where their son, Liam Goesch, was starting his FMX career. I thought it was the coolest thing seeing him hang off his bike and that’s when I knew I had to be a FMX rider. For the
next few years Liam’s compound was where all the RFDmx crew would train so I’d watch them ride and try to copy them.

The first event I did was an RFDmx competition in 2009 at Rhys Hillier’s house in Corryong, Victoria. Joel Rayner invited me to the competition a few months prior but said I had to be jumping 75ft to be able to ride. I was only 16 years old at this stage with an old CR125, but I pulled the ramp out to 75ft that weekend and started jumping it in third gear wide open. Unfortunately, the CR wasn’t quite up the task and it ended up blowing up on the ramp and sending me into the back of the landing. I was injured pretty badly but all I could think about was that I was going to miss out on riding the competition. So I sat on a tractor for my dad for about two months during harvest to save up to buy my first 250cc bike, a two-stroke YZ250. I didn’t have much time to get used to riding it but headed down to Corryong anyway. I think I ended up coming second-last but I was just stoked to ride with all the guys that I looked up to when I was younger.

Fast-forward to 2016 and I was lining up for the FMX Grand Prix held at Albert Park in Melbourne. It was an awesome event, and there were some big international names in attendance, so I knew I’d have to pull out all my big tricks.

The weather wasn’t kind to us, with windy conditions and rain for the first two days, but luckily the sun came out on Sunday so we could get stuck into it. In the ‘speed and style’ final I battled it out with pro supercross rider Lewis Woods to score the bronze medal. That afternoon it was the FMX qualifications. I’d been putting a lot of hours into my riding so I was feeling comfortable doing all my big tricks in the crosswind and managed to snag second in qualifying with France’s David Rinaldo first and NZ’s Nick Franklin third. Unfortunately, just before the final kicked off the wind picked up to about 50km/h and we were forced to shut it down, meaning final results went off qualifying. So in the end I finished up with a silver medal in FMX and a bronze in speed and style which was a great result. I went in as a bit of an underdog so I was over the moon to get on the podium for both classes.

At the moment I’m being filmed at Jackson Strong’s house for his second Headstrong Movie so that will keep me busy for another month or so. I’ve also been playing with some body varials in the foam pit so I would like to get those sorted out soon. I try to push myself every ride to learn something or make something look better so I can keep progressing. I guess at the end of my career I just want to know that I gave it 110 per cent every time I rode, and didn’t let fear stop me from achieving my goals.
Riding is what makes me happy. It’s the only time I ever feel free.

Big thanks to my sponsors for all their support – City Coast Motorcycles, Fish Fingered FMX, Fist Hand Wear, Steve Cramer products, One Industries Australia, C & R Imports, MDP, Grant Cross Photography, Smith Optics, ARD, FMX KAOS. I couldn’t have done it without you!