Tyler Lincoln is not your average boy racer.
The 14-year-old Hastings Boys' High School student's track exploits during the past year have gained him a national motorcycle racing title and attracted the attention of the Moto Academy NZ, which is lining him up for a stint in Europe.
"He has good racing skills out on the track and a good temperament and attitude off it," Academy chief Steve Bagshaw said.
After tabs were kept on Tyler last year, he was taken on as one of the academy's seven students, effectively topping the class.
He has been provided with its GP125 racer for the final two rounds of the national championship series and is its selected rider to take part in the Red Bull Moto GP rookies cup selection races in Spain in October.
If he makes the final 18 there, he could score himself a World Moto GP3 place.
"He's got a real future in this," Mr Bagshaw said.
"All we need to find for him now is some financial backing to get him there."
Tyler's father, Jason, said local businesses such as Barry's Motorcycles, Ridelife, City Steel, Process Controls and Better Brakes had helped in his campaign so far.
For Tyler, riding motorcycles began as having a bit of fun being doubled around the family property on the back of Jason's TY80 mini-bike.
Then he wanted to ride by himself so, for his fifth birthday, Jason gave him a little JR50 bike - although his first solo effort was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
"The first thing I did was ride into an electric fence," Tyler said.
Within a few years, he began riding the 80cc bike, although it was on the little 50 that he first took to the track.
"Dad got some scooter tyres for my JR50 so I could thrash it around the Roys Hill kart track."
That eventually led to being offered a dash aboard a Honda CBR125 at Roys Hill - and Tyler realised that racing bikes was something he wanted to pursue.
Jason recognised real talent and built up a Yamaha-based 125 for Tyler to use in "bucket" racing - which is for small, clubman-styled motorcycles.
When he was 11, one of Jason's mates loaned him a 150cc racer to ride at Roys Hill.
"It was in the wet but it felt really nice to ride, but then I crashed it on the fourth lap. I took it back to the pits and said 'sorry', but he just said 'get back out there'."
Seeing Tyler's pace and growing confidence aboard bikes, Jason bought a Suzuki FXR150 road bike and began transforming it into a race bike.
At 12, Tyler rode at his first full meeting at Roys Hill and the results began to emerge.
The bike with the number 117 started to get noticed.
Why 117?
"Because it was the code number of the Master Chief from the X-Box Halo game."
He first took to the big tracks at the start of last year and, at Manfeild, bagged second place in his class aboard the FXR150.
He grabbed another second at the Taupo circuit a month later, but it was at the Victoria Club's Winter Series that he was able to celebrate his first win - this time on a Kawasaki KR150.
At the second round of the series, he finished second and, at the final round, really raised some eyebrows with another chequered-flag finish as well as posting the fastest 150 Streetstock lap - and he was still only 13.
Tyler took the Winter Series 150 Streetstock title and the good results kept coming after Jason took him to the South Island to build on his growing skills and experience.
He grabbed second at Ruapuna and a third at Levels Raceway - then stunned the established 150 racing fraternity (many who had been riding for several seasons) by winning at Teretonga.
Jason, who has competed and ridden for many years, said with a laugh that his teenage son had already shown him up.
He took the 150 out for a few laps and thought his times were pretty good.
Then Tyler went out and his laps were two seconds quicker.
Tyler says he simply wants to go as quick as he can and as far as he can in the sport.
He has time on his side, but more than that, he has a genuine spark.