On a motorbike this 18-year-old is …

By Gavin Staindl
CLICKING into top gear and fuelling thoughts of an international career is Yannathan resident Daniel Milner who is fast becoming a well-known name on the off-road motorbike circuit.
The 18-year-old last week took out round three of the Yamaha Victorian off-road series in Erica, days after finishing fourth in the national four-day competition.
Milner this month finished first in rounds one and two in the junior section of the Yamaha state off-road series.
After taking out all three opening rounds of the 14-round competition, Milner is showing he is the one to beat in both the cross-country rounds and the sprints.
But it was his performance at the nationals in Portland, NSW, two weeks earlier that has motorbike followers stunned.
Over the eight test, four-day event the youngster finished fourth overall in an open field of 255 riders from all corners of Australia.
After months’ of training, Milner, who suffers from type one diabetes and has overcome two broken collarbones in as many years, never expected to make the top five.
“There was no chance (I was going to make it). I was hoping top 10 but would have been happy with top 20,” he said.
To complement his performance Milner was awarded the Stefan Merriman perpetual trophy for the best under-19 rider.
Milner admitted that he was an unknown in the racing circles heading into the meet but by the end of the weekend he had made a name for himself.
“People were coming up to me introducing themselves,” he said.
“They (opponents) didn’t know much about me at first but they just kept telling me to ‘slow down’.”
But nothing is slowing down Milner, who is pinning his hopes on being a part of the select few to be picked to represent Australia in the main international off-road enduro event for the year in Mexico.
“Between eight and 10 get picked for the six-day event and I will just keep training by myself so that I can get picked,” he says.