Meet Tim Norris

The Apprenticesearch.com car, ready to go. Click the image for bigger.

Tim Norris is moving at 100 miles per hour and he doesn't want to stop. The journeyman who sits in the driver's seat of the apprenticesearch.com racecar in the Ontario Pro Challenge Series, loves the thrill he gets out on the track.

"There's nothing like it," says Norris, a rookie to the Pro Challenge Series but a seasoned veteran to the sport of speed. Norris started racing motocross in 1990, and in 1991 he was the Ontario Provincial Championship for the 125cc and 150cc divisions. He took the opportunity to turn professional in 1993, and won the Rookie of the Year Award leading to a successful career as a KTM Factory rider for 3 years.

Driver Tim Norris engages in some quick maintenance between races. His background in the skilled trades has been invaluably helpful in the pit. Click for bigger.

Not content to stay off the track during the winter months, Norris took up snowcross racing with factory support from Ski-Doo in 1998.

After enjoying similar success on the snow tracks, he unfortunately suffered a serious leg injury in March of that year. Though he continued to compete for another season, Norris retired from the sport in 1999 due to the injury.

Norris refused to be sidelined altogether, however, and soon took up his long-time dream of racing stock cars. Entering into the Ontario Pro Challenge Series, the driver is, to date, the leader in the race for Rookie of the Year and has had several strong finishes.

"There's an adrenaline rush every time," says Norris, "you get out there and it's just unbelievable. I love it."

The stock cars for the Ontario Pro Challenge Series run on sealed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-1100 100cc engines, often doing 12,500 rotations per minute (rpm). "Just think," says Norris, "next time you're in your car - check out how many RPMs your car's doing, and compare."

Norris' career on the track mirrors his other career - the skilled trades. Since 1990, Norris has been active in the trades, starting out with an apprenticeship as a Marine Engine Mechanic and later doing another apprenticeship as a Brick & Stone Mason.

The driver's seat. Norris reaches incredible speeds and must make quick movements inside this confined space. Click for bigger.

"Racing is a lot like apprenticeship," says Norris, "you start small and work your way up and eventually it's maybe something you can do professionally."

Norris currently works at the Ontario Masonry Training Centre, in Mississauga, a group that has contributed to the building of Rose Cherry's Home, outside Milton, as well as many other projects in the area. His history with various types of racing is matched with his desire to experience different kinds of trades.

"That's the great thing about apprenticeship," he says, "you have so much opportunity. You're not tied down to any one thing."

Norris loves seeing young people get involved in the skilled trades, and points to OYAP and Coop programs as a great way to get there. "With these programs you can become a full journeyman by the time you're 21, making a great salary."

Norris lives in Dundas with his wife and two young children. He races Saturdays at racetracks throughout Ontario, for a full schedule see prochallengeracing.com