Emilio Pereira has already won three national motorcycle racing titles at the age of 11. The Middlesbrough rider took the British Mini Bikes (BMB) Mini Moto championship in 2024, then added two more honours in 2026: the BMB Mini GP 160/50 title and the FAB Racing MK-MiniGP50 class. Bradley Ray and Rory Skinner are among the previous winners of FAB Racing’s MK50 category.

There was no established racing background at home when Emilio started. His father, Angelo Pereira, first encountered the Grand Prix world during a family visit to the British Grand Prix. When the children wanted a racing bike, the answer was an inexpensive Chinese pocket bike. Emilio soon moved on to nightly cone exercises in the car park of his father’s driveway installation and supply business. During his first year of riding, the family had only around five weekends away from racing.

His preparation has extended well beyond circuit sessions. Emilio also rides motocross and mountain bikes, while his family spent three consecutive winters using Spain as a training base. A camper van was left there from October until March, and every two or three weeks the family travelled from Teesside for two days of riding before flying home. The routine demanded substantial time and travel, but it provided regular winter practice.

A breakthrough arrived during a training day with former Grand Prix rider Danny Webb. Emilio crashed in the race, stayed with the motorcycle, remounted and still went on to win. That performance led to a place as a rider supported by Webb. Emilio has named Marc Márquez as his racing hero for a similar reason: he admires the Spaniard’s determination to continue after difficult setbacks.

The family effort behind the results

Angelo describes his son as notably modest. School certificates can sit unnoticed in Emilio’s bag, even when he has earned them, and his father says the youngster does little to draw attention to his achievements. The results matter, but the family’s support is not framed around making racing an obligation.

Angelo wants Emilio to make the decision about what comes next. If his son chooses to pursue a route towards MotoGP, the family will support that ambition as far as it can; if he wants to step away for a while, that choice will also be respected. Emilio’s own target is clear: he wants to climb as high as possible in motorcycle racing and “catch a bigger fish” than his father. His older brother Gino is part of the effort too, giving up many weekends at circuits while Emilio develops his career.