Charlie Nesbitt

Our last chat with SHARK Helmets’ 2023 crop of British riders is with Swindonborn Hawk Honda man Charlie Nesbitt.

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He’s only 22 but has been riding for 20 years already, and came up through the race ranks via a now-familiar route. Kicking off on minimoto racing soon after he could walk, he went on to Metrakit racing before moving to Spain from his home town of Swindon for a season in the Spanish series, aged just 11.

That Spanish sojourn seems like a common theme – was it an essential step for Charlie? “Yes, it was the next level for my age. I wasn’t old enough to go to 600s and at the time my dream was to go to a world championship, and that was the only way of getting into a championship: go to Spain, get a few good results, and then hopefully look to get picked up by a Grand Prix team. Unfortunately, that never happened, but it is what it is.

“Dad and Mum and everyone put everything into it. They sold their house to put me through the Spanish championship – they literally went all in.”

Perhaps surprisingly, that commitment came from a family who hadn’t raced bikes themselves. “No, my dad always rode bikes on the road, he never raced or anything like that. He only started to race minimoto when me and my brother were racing – he just wanted to be involved. My sister got a bike too, so we were all into minimoto!”