Cody Sousa-Saints has devoted nearly all his 17 years to motorcycling, starting at the age of three riding a scooter in his back yard.

Now in his third season of racing locally and Cody entered a different league representing Bermuda abroad over the summer which culminated in the recent United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) championship finals in Utah.

Along with Andrew Decosta and fellow Team Tuned racer Bruce Degrilla Jr., Cody took to the track in three races at Salt Lake City's Miller Motorsports Park, where the stands take 8,000 spectators in an area notoriously keen on racing.

For Cody, Utah was all about getting closer to his dream.

The CedarBridge Academy S4 student said: "My ultimate goal is to be pro-racing in the American Motorcyclist Association in the next three to four years. For some it's a hobby, but I want to go that extra step."

Getting there boils down to constant practice and staying in shape. "Mostly it's cardio, keeping your fitness up, a lot of running and pedal-biking. Eating healthily is a big part of it — not eating a lot of junk food."

Motorcycling is also an unavoidably expensive sport, he said. "Truthfully, there's two ways of going about it: sponsorship, or you have to pay a lot of money to race. The more you race, the more you get known and the more easy it is to get sponsors to support you to do it."

It costs about $8,000 per season for a 125 class rider like Cody to motorcycle. Suit, gloves and helmet take another $2,000.

And to go overseas and race in a single event costs around $4,600.

"Right now the sponsors we have are giving every bit they can, so we're always looking for donations so we can get out there, further our race experience and pursue our careers."

The Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club (BMRC) is the club under which Team Tuned operates. The racers use the Bermuda Motorsports Park track in Southside, St. David's.

Team Tuned was founded in 2007 by coach Cyril Whitter III and registered as a charity in 2008. Its primary focus is to train future national champions from the earliest point in their careers.

In order to send racers overseas, Cody said, Team Tuned does "a lot of charitable events like the Ag show, a lot of packing, bake sales and raffles. We had sponsors here for the season but none to go abroad, so we had to raise more for that extra bit to send us away."

The driving force behind it all is easily summed up. "Adrenalin," Cody said. "I've been riding all my life and I've always had a love for bikes."

"Bike" means the motorised variety. Cody's experience with bikes started around the age of three.

According to Mr. Whitter, the sport allows children of four years and older to ride. "The class where I start is GP70, aged seven," Mr. Whitter said. Young racers typically spend two to three years in each category before moving up.

Cody's parents Alicia and Justin said their son was "probably 18 months old when he could ride a pedal bike with training wheels".

For his fifth birthday Cody got a scrambler, and could usually be found practicing on a field in his Paget neighbourhood.

On joining Team Tuned, Cody said: "I started with the GP80, an 80 cc engine, and did two years on that."

He came second for the category in the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club (BMRC) championships in 2008, and first last year, with the highest number of victories for the GP80.

Earlier this year he won the Kyle Pimental Race of Champions Memorial Trophy.

Now in his first season of racing on a Honda 125, Cody is currently third in the category at this year's ongoing BMRC championships.

"There's nothing like it. Trying to manoeuvre your way just inches between you and someone else — it takes a certain quality to be able to do it. Your mind plays a big part in racing."

The best riders in the world crash, he said. "It's something you have to go through to get faster."

Cody's first spill came within a week of starting team racing, when he was 14.

Cody has two younger brothers, Cameron, 11, and CJ, seven, plus a sister, Ariana, two, but said his parents probably couldn't handle having two racers in the family.

"It's scary enough having one. They're going to support me in whatever I do, they've always been there. They have butterflies on the race days, but as long as I come home safe they're happy."

Cody's first race abroad this summer, along with Bruce, was August's Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix under the auspices of the prestigious Moto GP — the highest level open for them to race, and Team Tuned's first international event organised by the team.

To help them deal with the media, the Centre on Philanthropy enrolled both racers in a public speaking course with professional speaker Jan Fraser.

That weekend of August 28 and 29 also underlined the inevitable risks of a high-speed sport.

On the Sunday morning, competitor Peter Lenz from Vancouver, Washington, was fatally struck by another participant. Cody was within 50 feet of the accident.

"It was very unfortunate. He had a minor crash, was waiting for everyone to clear so he could get up, and a rider didn't have time to stop and collided with him.

"It wasn't a very good sight but it could happen to anybody. It comes with the territory, if you're going to do something you love. You always have to be on your toes."

On September 10 and 11, Cody and Bruce went on to represent Bermuda with Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club (BMRC) racers Andrew Decosta and Khyren Wilson, at the New Jersey GPRU at Motorsports Park. The group took part in six races over two days.

And on October 9 and 10, it was the 125 GP, Moriwaki 250 and Moto 3 races in Utah for Andrew, Bruce and Cody.

At four-and-a half miles, Utah was the biggest track Cody had ever ridden.

"The competition out there is absolutely amazing. These guys are the best in America, so you have to bring your A-game when you try and compete with them."

A mechanical failure knocked Cody out of the 125; he came eighth in the Moriwaki and 12th in the Moto 3.

All of this was on top of a long summer's racing with the BMRC.

There are two more races at Southside, tomorrow and next weekend, before the season draws to a close.

For Cody, even thinking of getting to the American Motorcyclist Association — the world's biggest motor sports organisation — will take a lot more work and sponsorship.

In the meantime, he said: "Once October finishes, it's about spending time with the family, relaxing and winding down. I do push biking, playing football with friends."

He asked for space to thank "all my sponsors, my parents for always being there for me, and also Cyril Whitter and the BMRC."

* For photos and footage from last weekend's race, see www.teamtuned.com.