They do in Grason Veitch's case, with his time on the bike paying off in impressive results in 2011.
The Bradford School year 4 pupil won the five-round Southern Moto-X Series' under-12-year-olds class this year - riding his KTM 65cc motorbike early on in the competition before switching to a KTM 85cc machine.
"I was stoked when I won it," Grason said of his second win in the series, the first coming when he was riding in the mini class about four years ago.
His mother, Maree Veitch, said the series was a real test for competitors as they had to ride well on varied track surfaces, at Poolburn, Invercargill, Gore, Mosgiel and Balclutha.
"Winning the Southern Series is huge."
Grason stuck to his smaller bike for the 2011 New Zealand Mini MX Championship, near Greymouth in early November and finished ninth in the 9 to 11-year-olds class. Mrs Veitch said she was "very pleased" with how Grason's five races went, considering there were about 50 riders in his category, mostly closer to 11-years-old.
"He was probably one of the youngest."
Competing against older riders gave him the impetus to spend more time training on his family's Dunedin lifestyle block, where he has a practice track, with some "big" jumps, he said.
He will be putting in the hours these school holidays in preparation for the annual Woodville Motocross Grand Prix at the end of January, where he will race in the 8 to 10 year, 85cc category.
Mrs Veitch said Grason began racing when he was 4 years old, which was hardly surprising given his lineage. His father Dean and grandfather Bill were both successful riders on the national scene and co-own Dunedin's McIver and Veitch motorcycle dealership with Dean's brother Jason.
"He was following in their footsteps," Mrs Veitch said.
She goes along to every event to supply lunch and support.
"I absolutely love it but it does sometimes scare the pants off me," she said.
