FTB endorses Enduro Rider Tristan Hedgcock and collaborates with T-Bone Racing.

Focus Trust Believe seems to be getting a huge pull into the Enduro Motorcycling scene, after signing the rising star, William Oosthuizen. William is currently sitting in 6th position in the country in the open class for enduro.

FTB has since joined forces with the Kartel Exchange, which is a retro bike shop that has a consortium of like-minded individuals under one roof in the heart of Mossel Bay.

And as this initiative gains momentum FTB meets Graham Hedgcock, who himself was in the top 20 in the world for Extreme Enduro Racing. Graham has taken a back seat from racing over the last two years as he is focusing on building Junior Enduro Racing in South Africa. His main aim for doing so is that is so that Enduro riding in SA has a strong base from which to grow. His goal is to have at least three riders competing on the world stage by 2022

Q. You clearly love bikes and it’s an expensive hobby to have especially having your son involved too, what is your day job?

A. I am lucky enough to be a partner in Action Frames. Action Frames is a multi functional company that focuses on primarily on innovation.

Our main line is in store marketing and a display stand manufacturer.

We also have a large format digital printing department, a design studio, metal manufacturing and carpentry divisions and a display stand manufacturing facility. We also run product distribution countrywide.

Q. How long have you and Tristan been riding bikes for?

A. I have been riding bikes on and off for 35 years now. But I only started racing when I was 24, which was 16 years ago. Tristan has been riding since he was 8. This is his second season on his KTM 65SX

Q. What is your roll in the junior off road scene in South Africa?

A. I have been coaching and mentoring riders for nearly a decade now and from there it has progressed into me starting T Bone Racing. This is a company that focuses on the growth of junior riders in SA. We take rider safety and mentoring extremely seriously.

Q. How old is Tristan and where does he place in the motor cross scene in SA; is there ranking for his age group?

A. Tristan is 11 years old and is currently ranked top 65cc rider in SA. The races are raced under the T Bone Racing Junior Enduro banner and we are currently experiencing amazing results in the sport with up to 80 riders at an event.

Q. The whole family is involved with motor bikes and I’m sure it’s your son’s dream to become a world champion. To support the dream you started T-Bone racing, please tell us a bit more about it?

A. T Bone Racing is basically a company that I formed a couple years ago. T Bone Racing is actually run by my lovely wife Julia. Although she does not ride that much anymore, she has exceptional skill on a bike and would have done extremely well had she focused on riding a little more seriously. My daughter, although fond of her quad bike, has not been allowed the opportunity to ride a bike, as I have not wanted the riding bug to bite her. The sport has its dangers and I would not be happy with my entire family racing.

Tristan is another story altogether, as I started training him the day he stood for the first time, which was at 7 months old. I have groomed him in every aspect of the sport, focusing primarily on the power of the mind. In the sport of Extreme Enduro you are exposed to hardships that most people could not even begin to imagine. Teaching kids to deal with winning and losing and showing them how to keep control in extremely difficult situations is the main aim for T Bone Racing. We hope that they can use what they have learnt with T Bone when they become adults and need to go out into the real world.

Q. What made you approach FTB and why did you choose to work with and collaborate with this brand.?

I believe that every good sportsman needs to have a strong support structure. For this reason I approached FTB as I believe in their ethos and will enjoy growing the T Bone Racing Brand alongside FTB as they grow from strength to strength.

Focus trust Believe would like to welcome you guys to the FTB family and we look forward to watching Tristan using the FTB ethos and reaching his dreams.

I would like to extend a massive thanks to FTB for trusting and believing in T Bone Racing enough to partner with us for the foreseeable future. May we both grow from strength to strength.