Turley gears up for debut British Championship

“It was a great experience and the only problem I had was the dust. Something I don’t get much of when racing at home,” said the 13-year-old.

Turley made his debut five years ago in the automatic 50cc class and two seasons later landed his first Ulster motocross victory came in the 65cc at Tandragee.

He was a rider known for his speed and skill, but it still took some extra tuition from Tommy Merton, Ian Marshall and Carrick’s Graeme Irwin before he put together his championship winning season in 2013.

“I was really focused last season and the help from those guys was invaluable. It all added up to a great year and at the end of it I had won the Ulster small wheel championship,” he said.

In fact, in an excellent year he won every race in his class at the Carrick and District MX event, adding that championship to his Ulster title. If it hadn’t have been for mechanical breakdowns in two of the Irish championships rounds, it could have been a clean sweep for Cameron.

This year he takes a big step into the British scene on his 85cc ‘big wheel’ KTM. The competition will be intense as he found out last year when he traveled to the mainland for a couple of meetings. “It was tough,” he admitted. “I did a couple of the Red Bull rounds and at Weston-Super-Mare I managed to finish 15th, so at least I have an idea of what to expect.”

But, he is not letting the grass grow beneath his feet and has already made plans for 2015 when he hopes to compete in the Honda 150 European Championship. Cameron has been invited by Gordon Crockard to attend the pre-season testing where the fastest 30 riders will go forward into the series.

“I can’t wait. I could have gone this season but I wanted to concentrate on the British Championships first.”

He acknowledges the help of coach Ian Marshall, G&G Stone Crushers, Norman Watt Motorcycles, TAS Performance Suspension and Clean Tec.