A YOUNG motorbike racer has been given a boost by forming a sponsorship deal with a local catering supplier.

Lane Tildesley, 13, has linked up with Dales The Chef’s Choice of Malton ahead of the new flat-track season.

With race days costing around £100, the financial support is welcome for Lane and his supportive family, who travel from their Norton home to follow the action.

Thanks to the funding, he will be able to enter races more easily, as well as keeping keeping his bike topped up with fuel, decked out in decals and maintained through repairs.

Having started riding bikes at the age of five, Lane began racing around four years ago. 

He has gone from strength to strength, his dad Stuart says, as he has progressed from grass-track racing on a 90cc to flat-track competition on a Suzuki RM85.

“He took to it like a fish to water,” Stuart enthused, and explained that he sold his old Dodge Ram pick-up to help fund his son’s progression up the bike food chain.

Lane started on grass track with Pickering & District Motor Club but now rides at Eddie Wright’s Raceway in Scunthorpe because of its flat-track offering, which means year-round racing. In the 2019 winter series there, he came third and finished just outside the podium places in the 2020 summer series against a strong field.

After the coronavirus pandemic put sporting activity on hold last year, Lane will be getting back in the saddle for the 2021 summer series, starting April 18.

Lane is also sponsored by Mays Garage, LowBrow Surf and T&J Neal Auto Recycling. 

Anyone interested in sponsoring Lane should ring Stuart Tildesley on 07983524519.