Nineteen-year-old South Australian James Booth-Elliott has to be one of the most dedicated privateers in Australian motocross.

During the 2013 MX Nationals, the teenager and his dad, Warren, would pile into the van straight after work on Fridays and drive through the night to the next round, arriving in time for the Saturday briefing.

Then, straight after the racing wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, they’d pack up and drive home through the night in time for work on Monday.

For the Queensland rounds in the second half of the year they gave themselves an extra couple days’ grace ease the pressure.

“It was definitely an intense time,” says Booth-Elliott. “I was working on a casual basis as a civil construction labourer and if I didn’t work I didn’t have any income. Every day I took off work set me back and meant I couldn’t spend money of fuel and oils.

James Booth-Elliott is one of the sport’s most recognised rising privateers. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

“We probably did the most kilometres out of every rider. Our ‘home’ round at Murray Bridge was still two hours away, and I know we did about 10,000km over the last three rounds at Swan Hill, Toowoomba and Coolum.”

Booth-Elliott stepped up to the senior class in 2011 and the experience quickly grounded him and shattered any illusions of how quick he was.

“I thought I was pretty quick, but I got my arse handed to me at the first race at Broadford,” he recalls. “It took a while to come to terms with the pace, but I’ve learnt a lot by watching the guys on the track and seeing their lines racing techniques.”

After two years in the Pro Lites Booth-Elliott came close to throwing in the towel this year, but was offered a MX1 ride with the local SG Racing team run by Greg Jaensch from Victor Harbour.

“It’s definitely been a financial struggle to get to the rounds and I’m grateful for the help SG Racing have given us,” he adds. ” hey provided us with a 2013 race bike, tyres and parts, but we only had a 2012 RM-Z450 at home and the two bikes are so different, especially with the suspension set-up.

“We’ve struggled with the suspension set-up all year. We’d get it right for one track, then we’d be right back at square one for the next round. Jay Foreman from Suzuki gave us some great information, which helped, but it was still a battle getting it all set up in the limited time we had on race day.”

As for his results on the track, James was built on the positives of being able to run with the top guys early in the motos, before his lack of training time (due to his 12-hour work days) became evident and he’d fade.

Booth-Elliott ended the MX Nationals in 19th for 2013. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Still, Booth-Elliott was consistent and stayed safe all season, as the injury tolls mounted, the South Aussie steadily progressed, finishing the season in 11th overall.

However, with a lack of daylight hours after work (until last weekend when Daylight Saving kicked in), and a drained bank account, Booth-Elliott has been forced to sit out the 2013 Terex Australian Supercross Championship this year and focus on preparing for next year’s MX Nationals.

“We really had to scrape our money together to make the supercross rounds happen last year, so this year we’ve decided to give it a miss,” he explains. “We’d need engine and suspension set-up sorted, re-prep and maintain the supercross track, then travel to each round and really, it’s more money that we had.

“I’m stoked at the support SG Racing, Victor Motorcycles, Victor Auto Electrics, McLeod Accessories, LKI and my dad give me, and I wish I could make the supercross, but it’s just not viable. Right now we’re trying to earn some money and get ready for next year.

“SG Racing is keen to help us out again next year and are trying to get us a couple of 2014 bikes, so I’m excited about that. I love racing and hopefully we can get something out of it if we keep working hard.”