Birth Date: June 17th 1982
Birth Place: Durban, South Africa
Residence: Alternates between
Claremont, Florida
and Murrieta, California
Height: 5’9” (172.5 cm)
Weight: 175 lb. (79 kgs)
Turned pro: 1998
National # 8

Year-end ranking since turning pro:
2007 1st U.S. Open Champion / 1st American National 450cc Champion
2006 1st American 125cc West Coast Supercross Champion
2005 1st East Coast Supercross Champion / 4th 125cc National Motocross
2004 "King of Bercy" Champion
2003 125 AMA Motocross Champion
2003 Supermoto Unlimited Champion
2002 16th 125 Motocross / 9th East 125 Supercross (USA)
2001 Vice Champion 125 Motocross / 4th 125 West Supercross (USA)
2000 World 125 Motocross Champion
1999 10th 125 World Championship
1998 35th 125 World Championship

Achievements By Year

2007 - Grant won 1st in the U.S. Open Of Supercross in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He also won 1st in the American Outdoor National 450cc Championship

2006 - Grant achieved a 125 West Coast Supercross Championship aboard his Pro Circuit KX250F.

2005 - Grant received a 1st in the 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship.  He then received a 4th in the American 125cc Outdoor National Motocross Championship.

2004 - Grant achieved a 1st "King Of Bercy" Champion (Europes Biggest Supercross event.

2003 - Grant extended his contract with the KTM Red Bull Team USA for a further two years. After injuries held him back in the Supercross, it was decided by the team to rest Grant and have him ready for a full on assault at the outdoor Championship. Grant won the outdoor Championship through consistency, scoring points in every moto and finishing in the top five all but once.
The year was capped off by winning the Supermoto Unlimited Championship in Las Vegas, which was a winner take all event.

2002 - Grant raced for the 125cc Red Bull KTM Team in the USA. The year was plagued by injuries and operations, the highlight was winning the overall “King of Bercy” supercross title. Other podium finishes were:
2nd Minneapolis 125 SX
3rd Daytona 125 SX
2nd New Orleans 125 SX
2nd Glen Helen 125 MX
3rd Sacramento 125 MX
1st King of Bercy (Paris)
3rd World Supercross 250cc Switzerland
4th World Supercross 250cc Holland

2001 - After winning the World Championship Grant set his sights on the USA scene and Supercross. Riding for the Red Bull KTM Team he did the 125 West Coast Supercross. After a terrible start to the season Grant podiumed (3rd place) at Anaheim II which was only the 3rd round. For someone who had never ridden supercross this was and incredible learning curve. By round 4 he was 2nd and in round 6 he led the entire race only to crash 2 corners from the checkered flag. Fortunately he redeemed himself by winning the next round (7) in Dallas. This was both his KTM’s first Supercross win.
Moving outdoors to the national Grant was now favored to win. Things could not have started any better with four moto wins out of the first 4 starts at Glen Helen and Sacramento. A separated shoulder at Southwick (round 4) derailed his championship charge, but by round 6 at Red Bud 5-1 moto finishes gave him 3rd overall and a slim shot at the title. From Unidilla (round 8) Grant was on fire winning the overall there, then 2nd at Washougal, 1st at Millville, 1st at Binghamton meant he went to the last round in Steel City with the points lead. Grant came second in Moto 1 which was not a problem as he only had to finish 5th in the final moto to be Champion. Then disaster struck while lying 3rd in the final moto with only 2 laps to go, and the Championship looking secure, his back wheel completely collapsed to the point it would not even turn. This meant that Grant lost the title to Mike Brown.

2000 - KTM now realized they had a good bike and everyone was trying to become a KTM factory rider. They purchased a ??? semi for the 125 GP team and hired James Dobb and Patrick Capps as their official riders. It was felt that although Grant would win races in 2000, he did not have the maturity to be champion. So Grant stayed in the now called Puppy Team, but with full factory backing. 2000 was a phenomenal year. Out of 32 motos, Grant won 12, finished second 6 times and 3rd 7 times. This meant he was on the podium 23 out of 32 motos. He again won the Dutch 125 championships in dominant fashion and rounded the year off winning the 125 class at Mx des Nations.

1999 - After Grant's result in France the phone never stopped ringing. The most interesting call was from ex GP racer Kees V. Der Ven who was going to run a new factory team for KTM in those days no one took KTM seriously and they could not get any top guys to ride the bike, so they decided to hire young riders who would develop as their factory program did. Initially, these factory bikes had huge but unridable horsepower and Grant was finishing consistently in the top 15. Gradually the spread of power was improved and with 3 grand prix to go Grant won both motos of the German GP and finished 10th in the world standings.

1998 - Was an exceptionally hard year for Grant and myself. I sold up my house, business, vehicles everything to give Grant a shot at making it in Grand Prix racing and his goal of being world champion. Harry Evert's team was new and totally under funded, and I had to not only supply bikes for Grant, but also modify them and maintain them. We lived in a one bedroom apartment in a foreign country with no friends, transport and a language barrier. Grant qualified for his first G.P. in Brazil and at that time was the youngest to qualify at 15. For the next few months Grant slipped in and out of GP qualifying. Things improved halfway thru '98 when we got Pete Letho from Finland to mechanic for us full time (Pete is now Smets mgr). Also a small tuning shop called pro-mx did an engine for us and suddenly grant came 9th in a moto in the French GP and finished the year 35th in the world.

1997 - At the beginning of the 1997 season Grant was given a special dispensation by Motorsport South Africa to race in the 125cc Senior Class, although he was only 14 years old at the time. In the history of South African motocross, only Greg Albertyn and Rob Herring were granted similar dispensations, but only late in their 15^th year in these instances. This meant that Grant progressed directly to the 125cc Senior Motocross Class, skipping 1 year in the 80cc Pro Minicross class and 2 years in the 125cc High School Motocross class.

As a result of the tremendous achievements that he had attained and the publicity that he had generated, Grant was awarded what is believed to be the biggest motocross sponsorship for a single rider in South Africa, riding under the banner of the prestigious Dynacoms Honda team.

1997 - Grant made South African by being the youngest rider at 14 years of age to win a 125cc Senior National Championship race, beating the previous record by a year.

In July 1997 Grant participated in the final round of the European Championship Series at in Italy. Despite being unfamiliar with the conditions, and being the youngest competitor at only 15 years of age, Grant took his privateer Honda to a in his group against some of the most experienced European campaigners on works machinery.

Merely securing a position on the line for the race was a major achievement, as only 40 out of more than 100 riders that enter for the event qualify to race. Despite all the odds weighing against him, Grant achieved commendable 16^th and 15^th place finishes in the two heats of the event respectively, earning him a European Championship point.

Grant finished the South African season in dominant fashion, winning the last 4 heats in the 125cc Senior National Championship series. In so doing, he beat two of the riders who have represented South Africa at the 1997 Motocross Des Nations by large margins in these heats. Grant finished 3^rd overall in the South African Senior Championships for the season, despite being deprived of a certain win and another podium finish by a mechanical DNF and a crash caused by another rider respectively.

During the first week of October 1997, Grant again traveled to Europe to represent South Africa in the Coupe De L'Avenir which is held annually at Jamioulx in Belgium. Grant qualified 8^th fastest, for the Coupe De L’Avenir, with a qualifying time that slotted him amongst a number of prominent Grand Prix riders, with a qualifying time just 0.14 seconds off the pace of Carl Nunn, a prominent competitor in 125cc world championship motocross racing. In the event, Grant achieved a 6^th place in the first heat, and a 13^th place in the second heat after a poor start.

Grant was also invited to participate in a number of tests with a number of established GP teams, with a view on gaining a place in a team participating in the 1998 125cc motocross world championship series. Grant’s performance at these tests exceeded all expectations, and he comfortably outperformed a number of regular motocross GP racers.

As a result of his fine performances at the tests, Grant received a number of offers to participate in Grand Prix racing during the 1998 season. After carefully considering the options available to him, Grant accepted an offer to join a team that will be based in Belgium and fall under the patronage of no less than Harry Everts. Harry is an institution in motocross racing, being a four-time former world champion, and also being the father of Stefan Everts, the current 250cc motocross world champion, and also the holder of four world titles.

Most motocross racers could only dream about being offered a berth in a professional world championship motocross team, much less a team falling under the wing of a luminary such as Harry Everts. The fact that Grant has attained this remarkable achievement at only 15 years of age, promises much for the future of this modest and likeable sportsman

Grant's ambition has always been to be not only a World Champion, but a multiple World Champion. He realize the sacrifices needed to achieve his ambitions and the long hard road that it would be. He is fully committed to wade through the blood, sweat and tears necessary in order to achieve his goals.

South Africa has produced many world class motocross racers such as triple World Champion Greg Albertyn, G.P. star and multiple British Champion Rob Herring, Collin Dugmore, Paul Cooper and the like. Grant follows in the footsteps of these great names, and his achievements have already been compared to those of the best of them.

In the words of Greg Jardine, who has sponsored and worked closely with most of South Africa's greats:

"Herring was the fastest rider this country ever saw, but never put it together, on the other hand Albertyn had an incredible tenacity and a will to win. But this is the first kid with Herring's speed and Albertyn's tenacity and, short of injuries, I believe he will one day be World Champ."

1996 - In 1996 Grant again won almost every championship and race that he had entered for on his Kawasaki, his only defeat being in the final of the World Mini GP in Las Vegas, USA. This event attracts nearly 2 000 riders from across the world, and Grant earned a lot of acknowledgment and credibility by winning all his heat races, and fighting gamely for the lead in the final.

Grant’s most prominent achievements for 1996 are as follows:

1995 In 1995 Honda did not officially support a motocross team in South Africa, but the Kawasaki importers snapped Grant up. Being back to full fitness by now, he won every meeting and championship that he had entered for during the year, which included the following achievements:

1994 Was Grant’s comeback year, and he started competing with his one leg 2cm shorter than the other. He slowly climbed back to the top of the motocross world. By midseason he was not only winning at national level again, but started to dominate his class, winning five of the last eight National Championship heats, to finish second in the South African Championship. He also won the Natal (regional) Supercross championship and was second in the Natal Motocross Championship. Grant was awarded full Natal colours for his achievements during the season

1993 - Grant was selected to ride for the elite Castrol Honda Motocross team, and whilst leading the Natal Motocross and – Supercross Championship, and one point off the National Motocross Championship lead, Grant badly broke his femur, hospitalizing him for three months and putting him out of racing for the rest of the year.

1992 - At the age of 9, Grant was given a special dispensation by the controlling body of South African motorsport to race at senior motocross level. At the age of 10 he won a heat of the National Supercross Championship as Kings Park, and was second overall for the event. Most of the front runners he was racing against at this stage, were up to 5 years older than Grant, and it was here that Grant’s enduring reputation as a gathered real momentum.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• WINNINGEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL KIDDIECROSS RIDER EVER IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY
• YOUNGEST RIDER AT 10 YEARS OF AGE TO WIN A NATIONAL 80CC RACE.
• YOUNGEST RIDER TO WIN A PROVINCIAL 80CC CHAMPIONSHIP.
• YOUNGEST RIDER TO WIN A NATIONAL 80CC CHAMPIONSHIP.
• YOUNGEST PARTICIPANT TO HAVE BEEN AWARDED NATIONAL COLOURS FOR MOTORSPORT.
• ONLY SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOCROSS RIDER TO HAVE WON EVERY NATIONAL HEAT FOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
• MOST SUCCESSFUL SOUTH AFRICAN 80CC RIDER IN OVERSEAS COMPETITION.
• YOUNGEST RIDER AT 14 YEARS OF AGE TO HAVE WON A SOUTH AFRICAN SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT.
• YOUNGEST RIDER AT 15 YEARS TO ACHIEVE AN OVERALL WIN AT A SOUTH AFRICAN SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT.
• YOUNGEST RIDER AT THE 1997 COUPE DE L’AVENIR, AND ACHIEVED A TOP 10 FINISH AT THE EVENT.
• SELECTED TO JOIN A PROMINENT 125CC MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM AT ONLY 15 YEARS OF AGE.