Victoria’s Geran Stapleton is one pumped kid. After a mixed 2012 that saw him land his first MX2 podium at Phillip Island, then crash out of the season two days later in a practice get-off, Stapleton has caught the attention of the Raceline Suzuki team and earned himself his first-ever team ride in 2013.

With the support of his parents’ construction business on the Mornington Penninsula, Geran began riding at such an early age he can’t even remember his first ride or race. His older brother, Tarrick, used to race, but Geran continued to rip up the tracks after his brother quit.

He’s been a regular with Lee Hogan’s BCP coaching schools for so long he’s now one of the coaches, and received support from Hogan for his first stab at the MX2 class in 2012.

However, despite the coaching, Stapleton’s step from juniors to Under 19s in 2009 came as a shock to the system.

“My first two years in U19s wasn’t great,” the Rosebud local explains. “My best result outdoors was a top 15, but then I made a couple of supercross mains. I’ve always been better at supercross than motocross for some reason, but I’m working on changing that now.”

Geran Stapleton will be with Raceline Pirelli Suzuki in 2013. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

In 2011 Stapleton had a massive crash in the Murray Bridge whoops and broke five ribs and damaged his liver. He came back in time for the supercross and finished second behind Errol Willis, including a last-round win at Ipswich.

2012 was Stapleton’s first year in MX2 and he’ll be the first to admit the competition is a damn sight stiffer than it was in U19s.

“Everyone in the top 10 is so quick and can potentially win any race,” he explains. “I hurt my shoulder in pre-season training and it only just came good before Conondale.

“Then at Wanneroo I crashed and hurt it again. I had to sit out a couple of rounds but came back from Horsham onwards.

“My goal was always to finish in the top 10, if I did that I was happy. My sixth place moto finish at Moree was the highlight of the outdoors for me, for sure. I was pumped with that.”

However, Geran’s biggest result of the season came at the Phillip Island round of the ASX when he stunned the masses with a second place in the MX2 class.

“I was really surprised with that result,” he laughs. “It was an awesome race and I had quite a few drunk mates in the crowd, which cracked me up. But yeah, I definitely surprised myself there.

“I don’t like to be unrealistic in my goals like a few of the other riders out there. I’m realistic and don’t want to pump myself up.”

Things turned pear-shaped just a couple days later when Stapleton crashed hard in the whoops at Kade Mosig’s test track, breaking both his right arm and left wrist as he went over the bars.

Stapleton impressed with a second at the Phillip Island supercross round. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

“At the time I was in full denial, because I was still on a high after Phillip Island. When Lee Hogan picked me up to take me to hospital I had a golf ball-sized lump on my wrist and I knew then it was over for me. I was gutted, and it was definitely interesting having both arms in a cast.”

During his time off though, wheels were already in motion to get him a ride at Raceline Suzuki alongside MX2 veteran Ryan Marmont.

“I’ve never been on a team before, so I’m so pumped on this opportunity the Tisdales have given me,” he beams. “I’ve never ridden anything other than a Honda in the big bikes, so it’s going to be a whole new experience.

“Having Ryan on the team is going to be great too, and hopefully he lets me feed off him and his knowledge. He’s raced in the US and is a multi-time Australian champion, so to be able to access that sort of thing is hopefully going to help me a lot.”

With the 2013 season only a couple months away, Stapleton is still keeping his goals realistic, despite signing to a new team.

“If I can get a top seven finish at each outdoors race, and top five at each supercross, I’ll be happy. If my results are better than that I’ll reset my goals, but for now I want to keep everything realistic.”