Ruben Schmid (14) from Schorndorf has only had one thing on his mind since childhood. The young German teenager has thought incessantly about nothing but motocross ever since he can remember. And in his case, it wasn't his father, grandfather or uncle who introduced him to the sport as usually happens, Ruben hit upon the idea of taking up motocross in his free-time all by himself. "I once saw an older boy on a plastic quad-bike near where we live and then pestered my parents until I got one. Things just took their course from that moment on. After posting my first few laps in a farmer's field and being told to go and not come back at some point, I switched to the motocross track in Rudersberg, but quads weren't allowed there either, so I saw it as a good opportunity to try a motocross bike," said the young grammar school pupil, looking back.

Having started in the 50cc class, the schoolboy slowly worked his way up, took part in a few races and contested the first few championships. In 2013, he was given what's known as a wild card by his local club, MSC Gaildorf, to have a go in the ADAC MX Junior Cup. One year later, and Ruben is now in the line-up at every meeting and has finished regularly in the points in the Cup competition ever since. "There are quite a lot of competitors in the race series, and it's great fun to see how I compare with the many top-class riders from around the world. Plus, I also like the whole environment, it makes me feel really great," said the 14-year-old. The young MX talent is particularly impressed with his rival, Rene Hofer (14) from Austria, whose riding style he watches to try and learn one or two things. "My goal is to be able to emulate his performance, so I have to consistently do better and can only really do that by improving my performance and by taking inspiration from the better ones in my class and from the big boys in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup and the pros in the Masters class," he added.

However, the teenager cannot keep calm when unable to attain personal goals. "I get very annoyed when things don't work out the way I think they should, but I don't take it out on others and am always fair on the track. If, for example, someone is clearly faster than me, then I don't block their path. You have to be fair," said the determined ADAC MX Junior Cup rider. In the meantime, two of his three sisters have caught the motocross bug from the KMP Honda Repsol Racing Team protégé, so now his parents, Tobias and Irena, rarely get to spend any free time away from the track. However, the siblings haven't yet formed a gang of three, despite sharing the same passion, as the 14-year-old thinks he's a much better rider. "Katharina (13) and Patrizia (9) aren't bad, just much too slow," he said with a chuckle. The girls are not bothered by their pretentious brother, instead they cheer him on loudly whenever he's battling for a decent finish in the ADAC MX Junior Cup.

At any rate, the Schmids always come to the ADAC MX Masters in Gaildorf to actively support their very own MX star. "The Auf der Wacht track is quite challenging. There are lots of big jumps, so you have to concentrate really hard, but that's all part of the charm," said the teenager.

He's aiming to secure a good position in the ADAC MX Junior Cup this season so that he can have a fighting chance in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup next year. With that in mind, he intends to really open the throttle wide again at the last two meetings in Gaildorf and Holzgerlingen.