Callum Pearce is cutting his motor cycle road racing teeth in the Rookie and Clubman 400 classes which, any motor bike enthusiast will tell you, are not for the faint hearted.

Racing marshal Karen Higgens, who follows the Southampton racer's career closely, revealed: "It's his first season but he's already been called up to race control and told off for letting his adrenaline get the better of him!"

Pearce currently lies tenth in the Rookie 400 King of Clubs championship despite the fact that he's experienced mechanical problems - and a crash.

He wouldn't be able to race but for the support of sponsors E & J Jarvis Motor Engineers, Wiz Racing and Visordown.com. (14)

Karen, who says she can be found "lurking on a circuit corner wearing orange overalls and picking up hapless racers up after they crash," has a sound theory why youngsters like Pearce compete in one of the most dangerous sports of them all.

She explains: "You'll certainly see a few crashes, especially at club level racing. But many are out there because they used to ride bikes on the road and quickly realized that it's safer on the track than it is on the road!

"You may crash more on the track but you don't have to worry about hitting hard static objects or cars pulling out in front of you."

And, thanks to people like Karen, the best assistance possible is there to hand in seconds should a rider come to grief.

"Callum and I became friends after he'd crashed at Oulton and we've stayed friends since them," said Karen.

"But there's a terrific camaraderie in the pits where fellow competitors often help each other rebuild their bikes in order to get them out there so that they can compete against each other in the next race!

"You'll find many a racer giving their hearts, souls and every last penny they earn to their racing."