River Manley poses with his first place plaques after winning a Hoosier Hilltoppers 50cc Shaft Drive and 50cc Jr. events July 13 in Paris Crossing.
Photo provided
River Manley is off and running in his motorbiking career.
At 5 years old and one of the youngest drivers competing, Manley has won a few races so far this year and hopes to win the championship points title when the season ends.
Manley is a third-generation biker in his family. His father Travis and his grandfather Rob were both bikers, as well. Travis started racing when he was as young as 6 years old, and is now part of helping his son enjoy the experience he had as a child. River began with strider bikes at about 3 years old and went to statcyc bikes a year later. He’s been racing for around a year.
”He’s brand new in this. I’ve been grooming him since he was old enough to walk. We went from strider bikes to a stacyc bike.” Travis Manley said. “My dad had reached out to me. The motocycle scene was real big back in the day. It was kind of a family thing we’ve done for years, and it’s his turn.”
River Manley poses for a photo while getting ready for a race this season.
Photo provided
With only having less than a year of competition driving, River Manley has picked up a couple of race wins. He won the 50cc Lites 4-6 and the 50cc Shaft Drive 4-6 at the Hoosier Hilltoppers MX Course in Paris Crossing in July. He hopes to add to the trophy in his young career when the last of three race days at the track will take place this weekend. It was a huge improvement for River from the first race weekend there in May, where he placed in third in the 50cc Lites 4-6 and second in the 50cc Shaft Drive 4-6.
The other two big tracks that River has driven at this season are at Lincoln Trail in Casey, Illinois, where he has plenty of top-10 finishes this summer racing in the 50 Jr. Limited 4-6, and Stoney Lonesome in Columbus, which is located a couple miles west of Harrison Lake Country Club.
“River is the youngest kid running up front every week, a 5-year-old that is racing 6-and-7-year olds,” Travis said. “The competition that enters comes from all over the Midwest to run at Casey.”
River Manley poses for a photo with his father Travis after a Thor Series race at Lincoln Trail in Casey, Illinois.
Photo provided
For some of the biggest races in Casey during the summer, Travis said they camp in a cargo trailer during the weekends when they are out of town. It hasn’t stopped them from enjoying the racing and competition.
“We do this for fun because we’re poor on the scale of what it takes to really compete at a national level,” Travis said. “Those kids literally live at training camps year-round homeschooled. I have high hopes for my boy, and if you ask the people that matter, River’s riding form is perfect.”
