MOTOCROSS mad Brandon Sharples has shrugged off a serious injury to claim his first 65cc championship title.

Despite breaking his collarbone in a practice accident, which left him out of action for two months, the plucky 10-year-old from Accrington went on to win the Vale MX series.

And Brandon, who attends Benjamin Hargreaves School, did it in style, winning eight out of the 10 rounds on his KTM bike.

“He’s had a great season, and proved himself to be a very determined racer,” said his dad Mick, who is also an accomplished trials and motocross rider.

“The broken collarbone was very painful for Brandon, but as soon as he had recovered there was no stopping him.

“After making the move last year from automatics to geared 65cc bikes, I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get used to it. I had visions of spending all year repairing mashed gearboxes, but he took to it very quickly.”

Brandon is now looking forward to finishing the year with the British Supercross Championship, which comprises four indoor races at the NEC in Birmingham, the Liverpool Arena and the O2 Arena in London.

“It’s very competitive, with all the best young riders in the country taking part,” explained Mick.

“There are 60 kids competing for 12 places in the final, and there’s a lot of tears when they don’t make it.

“Brandon finished fourth in the autos class last year, but the 65cc is super-competitive, so we’d be happy just to qualify for the finals. Anything else would be a bonus.”

l Mick and Brandon Sharples would like to thank their sponsors for 2009: Kevin Barrow from Chester Street Garage in Accrington and Steve Thornley, from Thorncraft Motorcycles in Roe Lee, Blackburn.