Casey Stoner: Young Australian 2008 Article from Adelaide Today
By Kate Corbett

IT was just three months ago that Casey Stoner zoomed down the straight of Phillip Island on the back of a shiny red Ducati motorbike and became the MotoGP Champion of the World.

Now he has taken out a much more sobering award - Young Australian of the Year.

The 22-year-old has been working towards his motorcycling victory since he could walk.

He first rode a motorbike at the age of three and started racing when he was just four years old.

By the time the young revhead was 14 he had won 41 dirt and long track titles and 70 state titles.

But Casey had then outgrown motorbike racing in Australia as he was too young for road racing.

But not in Europe.

The Tamworth family packed up and took a huge gamble on Casey's formidable skills, heading to Europe where they all helped kick-start his international racing career from a caravan.

Now less than 10 years later, the young boy from country NSW is married, at the top of one of the most glamorous sports and riding on the back of a machine that makes millions envious all around the world.