The surname Veitch is synonymous with motorcycles in Dunedin, so it is no wonder the youngest male member, Grason (13), is a motocross star in the making.
He will be racing in the 2016 New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships in Hawkes Bay this weekend, with the combined genetic talent of his father Dean and grandfather Bill behind him.
Now aged 77, Bill Veitch has retired from competitive riding - just.
"He raced right up until last year,'' Dean said of his father, who holds numerous national titles in miniature TT racing and hillclimbs.
Dean was no slouch himself, claiming a New Zealand veteran motocross title in recent years and he and brother Jason raced mainly motocross throughout New Zealand in their younger days.
Like his son, Dean first sat astride a motorbike aged 4 and that Puch moped is still housed in Bill's collection.
The beauty of motocross is the long-term friendships he made throughout the country, which means he always has company and a place to stay as he travels with Grason to events and before him, his older brother Jackson, who raced up until he was 18.
"A lot of my mates I raced with, their boys are into it now,'' Dean said.
The family connection is obviously strong and is bound up in their Dunedin McIver & Veitch motorcycle dealership.
Now a third generation enterprise, it was established in 1932 by Bill's father, Bill sen.
Bill still has an active role in the dealership, while Dean and Jason run the company and Grason now has an after-school job there.
Grason said he enjoyed catching up with his grandfather at the dealership and was given the same bit of advice before he headed away on one of his many motocross racing missions.
"He always says, ‘stop before you get off','' Grason said.
Now riding a KTM 125cc bike, he will step up to the 12-14 years' 125cc class at the nationals and will expect tough competition from riders such as Palmerston North's Zac Jillings and Tuakau's Jesse Te Kani.
Last year Grason won the national 11-12 years' 85cc class and with former World Motocross star Josh Coppins helping out with his training, plus his family lineage, there is a strong chance he will become a senior champion in the future.
Grason's sights are already set beyond New Zealand and he hopes to race in Australia next year and afterwards is targeting the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) series in the United States as a career path.
