Pascal Rauchenecker has loved riding motocross ever since childhood, and the first thing he does in the morning when he gets up is post a lap on his bike. Even in his spare time, the 21-year-old likes nothing better than tinkering with noisy engines to extract the last ounce of horsepower from them. "When I was four years old, I pleaded with my father, Robert, to get me my first small cross machine. That was a 50cc KTM on which I used to ride around my parent's garden, said the ADAC MX Masters driver reminiscing.

Even as a small baby, his dad used to take him to motocross races where he himself rode as a professional rider until the age of 19 and then worked as a mechanic for many years after that. "That's how I got the motocross bug. The engine noises used to drive me crazy but in a good way," said Pascal with a chuckle. When he was just six years old, the youngster from Ried in Upper Austria contested his first real race in the McDonalds Cup and finished sixth at his first attempt. A year later in Bavaria, he competed in his first full racing series, and when he turned eight, sponsors first became aware of his talent and began to support the young motocrosser. "KTM hired me as a test driver and gave me all the kit I needed. That spurred me on tremendously and, of course, made me very proud. For my parents, it was also a great relief, because motocross is an extremely expensive hobby and they had funded everything for me on their own prior to that," explained the 21-year-old, who has put his training as a carpenter on hold in view of his career as a rising MX star.

In 2010, the hopeful motocrosser achieved his first real success with a third place in the 125cc Junior World Championships in France. A year later, he secured 18th place in the MX2 World Championship and took sixth place in the daily standings in the last race in the Italian town of Fermo, despite some very strong competition. So far so good, Pascal had his sights set high with lofty ambitions for 2012. In the third world championship race in Saint-Jean-d'Angély, though, the dream of motocross stardom abruptly came to a temporary end. The KTM rider lost control of his bike when jumping on the penultimate lap, seriously injuring himself in the fall.

However, he did not realise how bad things were until much later. "Although I received medical treatment after the accident, somehow, no one realised that I had what is known as an atlas fracture, damage to the atlas vertebra. So I lined up in the next world championship race in Portugal but had to retire as the pain was so bad." the HSV Ried rider told us. I had another medical examination, where the doctor finally diagnosed a serious neck injury. He prescribed that Pascal should wear a brace and banned the young trainee motocrosser from riding and doing sport of any kind for at least five months. The diagnosis was a devastating blow for Pascal: "I was totally frustrated at not being able to ride. Five months break was a very long time for me, because every time I watched my fellow riders out on track, I was dying to join them," said the 21-year-old, looking back with the easy, engaging manner that has made him so popular with fans and everyone in the motocross scene.

In November 2012, he finally got the green light to go motocrossing again and threw himself back into the fray once more. "I know that my guardian angel was watching over me, yet fear never played a role, nor is it ever going to. As a motocrosser, you know the risks and learn to deal with them right from the beginning, which is why I've never thought much about the accident since," said Pascal.

Although he had quite a mediocre 2013 season, he set the record in the long jump competition at the ADAC MX Masters in Ried with a massive 66.7 meters, proving that he is a true local hero, at least where long-jumping is concerned. All traces of the incident were gone by early 2014 in France. Pascal now rides a 350cc KTM and can control his bike better than ever. At the opening event in Fürstlich Drehna, he impressed with a race win and third place in the ADAC MX Masters overall standings. The young motocrosser was aiming to be back in the points again in Ried on his home track and prove himself against a top-class field of riders. "HSV Ried's circuit is just five minutes away from my house, so I know it like the back of my hand. I've even repaired parts of it myself with a digger, "said the 21-year-old.

A few months ago, Pascal, who loves to eat traditional Austrian fare, veal schnitzel, Kaiserschmarrn pancakes and apple strudel, bought a house with his girlfriend Jessica near the Asenham military training area not far from the track. And now, the ambitious rider can easily combine his private life with his professional career, as his better half also rides motocross and spends a lot of time with him at the track.