Now that he's got a bike that behaves more like a rocket when he cranks the throttle, it seems there's no stopping Kyle Odiorne.
He's taking the Interior Motorcycle Association Spring Series motocross circuit by storm.
In only his first season racing with the big boys in the intermediate MX-2 and youth classes, the 15-year-old rider has already climbed into the top-five in the season standings. He'll have two chances to improve his overall ranking this weekend in his hometown when IMA racing returns to Blackwater Motorcycle Park.
Odiorne won the IMA junior class Fall Series in 2009 and got bumped up to intermediate, a class one step down from pro. That means he has to line up for hole-shot sprints with the likes of Tyler Paziuk of Winfield, Nolan DaSilva of Fort Fraser, and Josh Hamelin of Langley, and Odiorne has proven he belongs. He racked up a third-place finish last weekend in Pemberton and now ranks fifth in the IMA intermediate MX-2 class. He's also fourth overall in the youth (14-24-year-old) class, which brings out the pro riders.
"I placed first in my junior class overall and the way I was riding it would have been stupid to stay back in junior because the only way you get faster is if you ride with faster guys," said Odiorne.
"It's cool lining up with the pros, you just try to hang with them as long as you can and pick up their lines.
"I'm in a pretty good battle now with some of the guys and a couple of them will be out the races this weekend. There's going to be a couple of fast guys there."
Racing starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
See Thursday's Citizen for more
