Kameron Robinson, who started racing motorcycles at age four and a half, had the unwavering support of all his family until accidents deterred his quest.
By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times
Kameron Lee Robinson of Las Flores Canyon is trying to get his national motocross ranking back. Why should a few bike accidents, a broken femur and a repeatedly broken arm that kept him off the tracks for a year or two have anything to do with it? After all, he was ranked once and has been competing for nearly 12 years.
Problem is, he’s still only 16 years old and his parents are more than a bit worried about all those injuries.
Robinson started competing in motocross when he was just four and a half. He first raced his 50cc bike in the peewee class at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale. Moving up to the 85cc class, he won his national ranking by the time he was 13.
By 2001, he was racing in the novice class on his 250cc Kawasaki four-stroke bike. Then came the accident that resulted in a broken thighbone and a 14-month layoff from the sport. This was followed in 2003 by a broken arm, and again in 2004, the same arm.
He was healed and healthy last year, but had no races to qualify for his ranking. He resumed competition early this year, won a couple of races, then had a minor accident at the start of summer. That kept him off the tracks again until a few weekends ago when he entered the California Motocross Club race series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino.
Robinson’s results in this event rather tell the story of motocross racing, which is done on dirt tracks with built-in obstacles, many jumps, “rhythm sections” and turns.
“Unfortunately, I got involved in a pileup in the first race in the novice class,” he said. “In the first lap one kid crashed on the hill, the others couldn’t stop and everyone tipped over, so literally the whole race crashed except the front two riders. In the next race, I got blasted with mud so I had to take off my goggles and ride really slow. I couldn’t get behind anyone or I’d get rocks in my face, so that wasn’t very good.
“In the open class, though, I got a third place and a sixth, ending up with a fifth place overall. This is how it goes in these races; you can’t plan it out.”
Robinson’s long-range goal is to move from novice to intermediate class, and then into the professional ranks next year. Now entering his junior year at Malibu High School, he attended summer session to help his grade point average and takes his classes in the independent study program under teacher Don Stearns, which allows Robinson time to pursue his goals on the motocross circuit.
Robinson enjoyed the support of both his parents, Brian and Kelly, from the very beginning of his motorcycle ambitions. Today, however, there is a tangible divide in their enthusiasm. Asked if the incidence of his son’s accidents bothered him, his father, who held a professional road-racing license in the 1990s, admitted they do, but he still encouraged him to go after pro status if that was what he wanted.
“If a child has a drive to do something, you should not stifle that,” Brian Robinson said. “And the independent study program provided at Malibu High is helping a lot since motocross is not interfering with his schooling.
“His injuries have been bad, yes; he’s had numerous surgeries,” he added. “But if you’re going to do these kinds of extreme things, accidents are going to happen. It doesn’t come without a price. I’ve had motorcycle injuries, too. If you stay in the game for any length of time, it’s a normal thing. It’s par for the course, as my wife says.”
Kelly Robinson said she supports her son but was torn. “In the beginning I was fine with it. My husband used to race, used to ride a motorcycle to work every day. Then he was in a couple of very bad accidents, had some really severe injuries, and it scared me very badly. And when Kameron got older and started having accidents, serious ones, my feelings started to change.
“So at this point I’m for it as far as trying to support him in something he really has a passion for,” she said. “But as a mom and a wife I just hate to see those I love so dearly risk their lives like that.”
Kelly said she was at the point that she couldn’t go and watch her son compete as often as she used to because she was so afraid. Then when she wasn’t at the race she was afraid about what might be happening when she wasn’t there.
“The good thing is,” she said, “when you do go out to the racetrack, it’s a very good atmosphere. There are a lot families and everyone is really nice. It helps keep the kids away from drugs and alcohol. My son wants to stay healthy and clear-minded for his racing, so there are some positives. But, of course, the accidents come with it.”
“We do get together as a family and talk about my concerns,” she said. “It’s hard for them to understand how I feel; they do and they don’t. But after I myself have been on three helicopter lifesaving trips between the two of them, I’m just scared. Of course, they came out fine, but you wonder, ‘Are we going to be lucky next time?'”
Now there is another element to their family discussions on the subject. The Robinson’s 14-year-old daughter, Jazmine, has expressed an interest in motorcycles and racing, encouraged by her dad and brother.
“That’s where I really put my foot down,” her mother said. “They still try to convince me but that’s where I draw the line. She’s a beautiful girl. She sings, takes voice lessons and is going to start doing some modeling, and I can’t think of her hurting herself. I just couldn’t handle it.”
And then, displaying the ambivalence that complicates their whole situation, she couldn’t help but praise her son’s special aptitude for his chosen sport.
“People have told us he’s really good,” she said. “They say he can do anything he wants on a bike, easily become a pro. I just hope he stays in one piece for awhile.”