BROTHERLY LOVE…
Far away from the better known superstars of this world, there are many unknown siblings who race together, including Fast Bikes’ Bruce and Brod. Bruce explains...
You don’t choose your family, but the decision is yours as to whether you go out of your way to help a sibling. When I was young, dumb and having lots of fun in the paddock, my youngest brother Brod would always skive off school to make a round of BSB. From the age of 10 he put his education second to lugging tyres around and cleaning my frequently crashed bikes. He didn’t have to, but I appreciated it and I’ve never forgotten his selflessness.
Brod went on to start riding dirt bikes in his early teens, becoming a multiple ACU enduro champ and AMCA MX winner. When he was 20 in 2015 he came to me and said he wanted to start road racing. I’d long since given up on trying to go fast in circles, but I owed him big time and figured the best way to pay him back was to get out there and teach him how to road race. We bought a knackered old R6 that came in several boxes, built it back together and signed up to race endurance. The idea was that if I raced alongside him I’d be there to point out which way the track went, what gears to run where, and how to do fat wheelies. The latter point never stuck, but from the outset we won the first race we did together, followed by every other round that season. Brod was also getting stuck in with sprint races and was cleaning up there, too.
It was awesome to see my brother doing so well and learning so quickly. We won the championship that season, which was a really proud moment for me and my family. It was awesome. The only problem is that he’s now got the better of me and I know there’s no chance of beating him on track, as he proved to me just a few weeks ago. That’s irrelevant though, because he’s the one with the potential and I just want him to stay safe and do well. After all, that’s what big brothers are for – especially when it comes to racing.