Parker Engel's nickname is "The Jet."
His plate number is 737.
While he's had the number for the last three years, Engel earned his nickname when he started hitting podiums at motocross tracks across B.C. in 2012.
In 2013, he became the top B.C. Motocross Association racer in his 85 cc and Supermini categories. It's a feat he's accomplished only three years after taking up the sport.
He's only 13-years-old and a Grade 8 honours student at Kelly Road secondary.
"I like the nickname, I've embraced it," said Engel. "[To stay motivated], I just like going to all the races and riding my bikes. It's the physical training and pushing yourself."
The physical training includes going to the gym twice a week to strengthen his core, legs and upper body as well as riding outside every day after school in spring and summer.
It's critical to maintaining control of the bike as racers navigate around a dirt track that includes a series of corners, camel bumps, and jumps, among other elements.
On the B.C. circuit every weekend from April to October, riders such as Engel usually compete in three different categories per day, which adds up to six races per day.
The 85 cc class is comprised of racers aged 12-16. The Superminis are 7 - 16 year-olds racing on bigger 100 cc bikes. Usually, 30 riders speed out of the starting gates to see who can cross the finish line first.
Engel, whose home track is the Prince George Motocross Association's Blackwater course, is a member of Team Green Canada sponsored by Kawasaki.
The 723 points he accumulated on the race circuit in B.C. and the Western Canadian championships in Raymond, Alta. in 2013 put him atop the Team Green Canada B.C. standings.
His point total was the highest amongst not just those in his 85 cc class, but every class of riders of all age groups across Canada, including the pros.
For being named the top Team Green Canada racer, he won a brand new 2014 Kawasaki 250 bike, valued at $10,000.
He picked it up at the Vancouver Motorcycle Show in Abbotsford in January.
Kawasaki only gave one bike away and Engel won it.
"That was a big goal to win the Team Green Canada title and I did that," said Engel.
Engel was also named the 2013 Rode Warrior for being the top rider in the BCMA series.
But his rise to the top wasn't easy.
Engel remembers the first time he raced motocross three years ago.
"My first race was at Blackwater. I crashed 13 times but I still kept going," he said.
He won a trophy for finishing ninth that first season. He finished second overall in the 85 cc and Superminis in his second season.
He's accumulated 40 podium finishes.
With the help of Cycle North and other valuable Prince George sponsors, he now has five race bikes and practices on two of them during the week.
This season, he'll race as a junior and continue to maintain a balance between competing, school work and hanging out with his friends.
"I'm really excited for next season," he said.
The Prince George Motocross Association's first race of 2014 is slated for May 24 - 25.
