Personal History
Hi, my name is Benjamin Vaters, I am 11 years old and a grade 6 student at PCSP Intermediate. I live with my Mom, Dad and 3 sisters, Hannah, Jessie and Shaye, in Portugal cove-St Philips, NL, a small town just outside the Capital city of St Johns on the east coast of Canada. When I'm not out riding with my friends, I like to spend time riding BMX and Scooter at the local skate park, or playing basketball with my school and club team. Succeeding in motocross has been a dream of mine since i got my first dirt bike when i was 5yrs, and I am determined to do what it takes to achieve this. My favorite Pro riders are, Ken Roczen, Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed and Kavin Benoit.
Riding Goals
2016 was my first year racing motocross and it went extremely well. With the help of my father, mentoring from older riders , and lots of hard work, I was able to learn and improve essential skills and techniques needed to become a safer, faster rider. For the 2017 season i have 2 main goals.
1. Win the 85cc class at my home track, Riverview Motocross.
2. Qualify for Nationals.
This year we will be attending National Qualifying races in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and possibly Quebec. Not only will it be great to see how i match up to other riders, but I am really looking forward to representing my home track and showing the rest of eastern Canada that Motocross in NL is alive and growing.
Competitive Highlights
1. Finishing second and 3, for a 2nd overall in my first races ever. This was defiantly the one i will never forget.
2. Mastering a difficult double jump at my home track we call the ditch, and being the only person in the 65 or 85 class able to do it.
3. Winning the 2016 65 cc championship. On the Wednesday before the final race I went down (jumping the ditch) breaking the clutch lever in half. when the bike came down on me the end of the broken lever managed to get me in the leg, resulting in an ambulance ride and 28 stitches. If i couldn't start the final race that Saturday, the person behind me in points could take the championship if he won both races. So against the wishes of my mom, my uncle wrapped me up good and I rolled the track for the 8 points i needed to clinch. Wasn't exactly the way i wanted to finish off the season but a highlight none the less.
4. We just wrapped up the 2017 season at my home track with a 1st overall in the 85cc!!!