As far as a solid work/life balance goes, Superbikes rider Paris Hardwick is very much pushing the limits. The 19-year-old thrill-seeker will be working as a carpenter one day, then racing motorbikes with the pros the next. The Tradie talks to him about both of his emerging careers.
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RIDE ALONG
Paris is based in Sydney and has been on a bike for longer than he can remember. This is thanks to his father Neil, who raced in the Australian Superbike Championships (ASBK). Paris was tearing up dirt tracks since he was three years old and moved quickly into road bikes once he hit 16.
He sped through 300cc and 600cc bikes and has made short work of 1000cc so far.
“As soon as I got to 1000, I wanted to start racing so I’ve been doing club rounds for about eight months,” Paris said. “I’ve podiumed in every one of those so far.” His success had him thrust into the ASBK limelight much like his old man.
Paris’ first outings in the top-tier Aussie motorbike competition came in the form of the bucket list-worthy Phillip Island, and the newer The Bend Motorpark in South Australia which closed out the 2022 season in November. “Phillip Island was really good, we didn’t come last and didn’t get (over) lapped, so I’m pretty happy with that,” Paris joked.
“My best was a 16th. I’ve ridden that track a few times, so I had a lot of confidence there.
“I struggled to keep up the pace at The Bend, I made a PB but [I] haven’t been good enough… yet.”
While other teams in the ASBK come with a sizeable pit crew and big-name sponsors, Paris’ team in 2022 consisted of his dad and family friend Graham. It’s a good thing the three get along, because they spent days on the road driving bike and equipment from Sydney to wherever the next race was.
“They’ve been pretty handy to have, I wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” Paris added.
His success in 2022 saw Paris land with a full team in 2023 in the form of the BC Performance Racing Team.
FRAMING HIS FUTURE
When he’s not speeding around Australia, Paris is working for his dad having recently completed his carpentry apprenticeship at TAFE. “Some days there’s heaps of labour, like carrying a bunch of stuff around. Other days it’s a lot of good carpentry work like skirting and doors,” he said.
Similar to his passion for biking, Paris has been around the tools since he was kid.
“If I wasn’t doing it, I don’t know what I’d be doing,” he said. “At the moment, I’ve gotta stay with the carpentry but hopefully I can progress in the motorbikes a bit more full time and eventually go somewhere with it. If that doesn’t go somewhere, I can always go back to carpentry.”
Paris will race a full season of ASBK this year with the BC Performance Racing team, and has already had a great outing in round one at Phillip Island.