MOTOCROSS: A broken leg, burst artery, broken arm, torn knee ligament and more haven't deterred Sam Curnow from striving to the top of his sport, motocross racing.
Together with his brother, Jack Sutherland, Sam has a strong passion for a sport that largely goes unnoticed but is actually more physically demanding and mentally draining than many other mainstream sports.
Sam, 15, has been riding since he was eight-years-old. Jack, now 7, was keen to start following in his brother's footsteps and first got his licence to race motocross when he was only four.
The motocross season begins at the end of February and continues through until November and in 2008 Sam already has three first place finishes to his name.
Sam won his age group division in the Tea Tree Gully Masters, the Port Pirie ‘Prince of the Golf’ and the Whylla Clubman Championships events.
When he's not practicing on his bike Sam is busy with cardio and weights sessions as it's crucial to keep fit in this physically demanding sport.
"It's a really active sport, it's probably more active than football and you have to have very good fitness levels," he said.
On competition days Sam races in the junior 125-250f category for 13-16 years and Jack races in the division two 50cc for 7-9 years.
Sam explained that the start and the hole shot (first corner) are the most important parts of the race and can be the make or break.
"You have to get a good start or else you have to work your way through," he said.
"You learn more every race from your mistakes and you need to practice to get better.
"I just love the adrenalin you get from racing … I want to hopefully make it into the pro level and make a career out of it".
Motocross requires a big commitment not just from Sam and Jack but also from their parents Christine and Leigh Sutherland.
Just about every weekend they trek around the state taking their fully equipped motocross trailer to competitions and the boys really appreciate their support.
It's also certainly not a cheap sport to be involved in as the boys require new customised bikes every year, riding gear, entry fees, mechanical maintenance, accommodation, the list goes on.
Sam and Jack now have a number of sponsors that help out including; Bridgeland Motorcycles, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Leed Engineering and Construction, Alltrans Heavy Haulage and Cycleworx.
"They eat, sleep, walk and talk motocross.
"We are happy proud parents, it keeps the boys physically active and it is a great family sport.
"The boys are self disciplined and are great kids because of it," Chris said.