THIS pint-sized speedster could be Australia's next prodigy in either one of two sports, possibly both.
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Oliver Paterno is no average six-year-old.
The youngster is as equally at home on a high powered motorbike as most kids are on their push bikes.
The adrenaline junkie is one of only a handful of riders in Australia under the age of nine to compete in road racing.
The laws were changed this year and a new division started to allow youngsters the chance to compete.
Paterno races in the Short Course Australian Road Racing demonstration class.
He has recently made the step up from his automatic KTM 50 to the manual KTM 65.
His father, Robert said he showed all the signs of a natural.
"I thought it would take him a bit of time going from an auto to a manual bike," he said.
"But he picked it up real quick and now he hoons around on it."
Paterno senior said it became evident early on Oliver was different.
"We're all social riders, he's definitely the racer in the family," he said.
"When he was 18 months he got a balance bike and he'd take it everywhere with him, pushing it around.
"It took him a couple of weeks to actually ride it.
"Then at three he changed to a push bike and started on a motorbike at three and a half years."
Safety is always paramount, even during practice, which he does four to five times a week on his home track.
The St Columba student dons full protective body armour.
Paterno even has his own presence on social media with an Intsagram account showcasing many photos of his racing, both road and motocross.
The youngster races as far away as Grafton and Lismore but this weekend he will race motocross a little closer to home at the Hastings Valley Motorcycle Track.
Robert said the family owed many thanks to the youngster's coach Dave Byron.