Hednesford racing twins in pole position

Petrolheads Kurt and Matthew Wigley, both 19, are looking at unique ways to take the Wigley Racing brand forward as well as giving back to the community.

They are currently in talks with a number of local universities to push their 'student project' idea.

The brothers, who race in the British Superbikes 600cc Superstock class, set up the project in early 2013.

It gives mechanically-savvy students an opportunity to come and be part of the team in a real-life track-day experience.

Kurt said: "We're hoping to get some universities to partner us and take their students into our race team.

"We want to help teach them everything, so that they can go on to bigger and better things.

"The idea first came about from Black Country University Technical College – it is an engineering and science college.

"We've got one lad, Josh Billingham, in his third year with us. He started in 2013 and now he has gone to Coventry University to study motorsport.

"We've also sent another young lad, Joe Marris, into a full-time apprenticeship with a suspension company.

"It is a great chance for us to get more partners and pays for us in the long-run because these young guys are able to go on and be real influences in our team.

"Josh is one that oversees a lot of the work on the bike, so that just proves it can happen."

On the track, it has been another year of progression for the twins, who both also work as full-time apprentices with construction companies.

They are both racing at the 600cc class for the third season, and regularly achieve top-20 finishes from grids of 40 and 50 in the Pirelli National 600cc Superstock Championship.

They are in action at Silverstone this weekend in the penultimate round of the event.

Under main sponsor sorrymate.com, they both hope to take the step into 600 Supersport or 1000 Superstock classes.

Kurt added: "A lot of it is sponsorship-dependant. That's definitely the aims for us. We want to keep going with our progression but sponsorship is difficult. It is definitely a predicament.

"We're extremely grateful of sorrymate.com's support over the last couple of years. Lots of local companies have also supported us – some since we were about 10 years old!

"The championship takes us all over the country during the 12 races. We go from Knockhill in Scotland all the way down to Brands Hatch in Kent."

The travelling is a tough side-note to the job for the youngsters, who have also competed in France and Holland, and it is closer to home that they are grateful for help.

Kurt added; "Our dad, Martin, is a huge influence on all we have done. He used to be a motorcross rider and has all of these trophies. Me and Matt decided we wanted some of our own.

"Dad didn't want us to get into motocross because of the affect injuries can have, so we got little mini-moto bikes when we were six and it has just been a progression ever since.

"He also brought a race truck to cart our bikes around. We wouldn't be able to do it without him.

"Dad managed us up until two years ago when, because of our progression, we were able to get Mike Dickinson on board through sorrymate.com.

"He comes over from Spain to coach us. Mike has helped us get quicker."

It is is not just on the track where the aspiring bikers put in hundreds of hours of hard graft. Kurt said: "People don't understand the physical impact.

"There is a lot of work in the gym, stamina stuff because you're on the bike for half an hour during races. The top speeds are around 165mph and it is exhilarating. It's an adrenaline rush."

And brotherly rivalry is something that has followed Kurt and Matt through their careers, having ridden competitively alongside each other for 13 years.

Kurt said: "It's very, very competitive and quite aggressive. The main person you want to beat is your team-mate – even without him being your brother!"

The lads have recently taken steps to use their passion for the sport to raise money for a cause very close to their hearts. They have set up a justgiving.com website collection in aid of Cancer Research.

The Wigley brothers lost their grandfather to cancer when they were young and also lost a close family friend a year ago.

Kurt said: "It was devastating to lose our grandad and we know cancer is something that has affected everybody, somehow. The idea to raise money is something we're very passionate about."

You can support the boys on their visiting www.justgiving.com/wigley-racing or by following them to Silverstone this weekend or the season finale at Brands Hatch on October 16, 17, 18.