Sporting a trophy collection that numbers in the hundreds, Austin Forkner has become a dominant force in the motocross racing world.
He has taken wins in his career in such events as the Texas Winter Series, Missouri State Series, North Central Youth Regional AMA, the Florida Winter National Olympics, Oklahoma State Series, Hale Arenacross, Texas State Championship, Show-Me Fall Series and Central Missouri Midwest Spring Series. That win list is impressive at any age, but Austin has accomplished all that and more at the young age of 10.
This year alone, Austin took his 65cc Cobra to top 10 finishes in 13 events, with his most notable performances coming at the Texas Winter Series where he won the 7 to 9-year-old Modified class, the Missouri State Series where he took first in the 7-11 Open class and second in the 9-11 Modified, and the Super Pee Wee Oak Hill GNC International Motocross Final where he placed second in the 50cc 7-11 class.
Austin’s motocross career began when he was 4 years old, simply as an activity that he had always had a passion for doing. His father, Mike, has been riding with friends as a hobby for years, but Austin was always the one who made his own decisions when it came to his racing career.
In 2003, Austin started his career with a win in the 4 to 6-year-old class at the Show-Me Fall Series and has been racing almost non-stop for the past five years. According to his parents, Austin and his family spend an estimated 40-45 weekends a year on the road at various races.
Austin recently moved up to a bigger, 85cc bike that he got as part of a sponsorship deal from Donnell’s Suzuki, but hasn’t quite mastered it just yet. He has only had opportunity to race it twice this year and Mike said, “He’s not quite up to speed on that yet.”
Austin even got an opportunity to go to a professional motocross race in Minnesota where he got to meet several of his favorite pro riders and even took some track time for himself.
Reflecting back on the event with a smile, Austin said, “I got their autograph and stuff.”
