Dave Heal may be pushing 40 but he still has the hunger of a teenager.

He has swapped Superbikes for Supermoto in recent years but his desire to be the best is still obvious.

Last year Heal won eight national titles and, now 39, he has his sights set on a few more in the fastest growing form of motorsport.

As leader of the Southern Supermoto Championship and second overall in the ProSupermoto Series, he has already picked up 30 trophies this season, much to the anguish of wife Christine.

Heal said: "I think I must have something like 700 trophies in all from down the years. I could start up the best trophy shop in the country!

"I'm not allowed to take them home anymore, there's just no more room in the house. I either have to take them down my bike shop or put them in the loft."

Heal, from Heathfield, is now running Dave Heal Racing Motorcycles Centre in Polegate. He needed to do something after packing up as a professional and this new venture allows him to maintain his involvement in the sport.

The highlight of his track career was being crowned British Superbikes privateer champion but he has carried his form into Supermoto, which combines track and off-road racing.

He said: "This isn't the same as being a Superbikes professional. The commitment is different. I am not having to train five times a week and not having to hunt round for sponsors.

"Supermoto is not greatly expensive and it has rekindled my interest.

"The red mist still comes down when I get on the bike and I want to be doing the best I can.

"It has taken a while to transfer from Superbikes. Supermoto is a different style of racing and it has taken me two years to get the hang of it.

"The track side of it was never going to be a problem but I am learning the motocross side of it all the time and I have got better on the dirt."

Heal perhaps plays down the way he has made the transition. Last year he won eight national titles in the Southern Supermoto, ProSupermoto, southern national championship, northern national and the overall British championship in the 450 and open classes.

He missed the start of this year's British championship due to political reasons but will be in action at the next round on July 8.

However, in the world of Supermoto, the regional championships and the ProSupermoto are bigger than the national series and they remain Heal's No. 1 goals for this year.

The Dave Heal Motorsport team will be out in force at Lydd this weekend with a record entry of nine riders - all from Sussex.

Heal will be joined by regular team-mates Nick Hobden, Paul Angier (both Herstmonceux), Tim Guest (Eastbourne) and Simon Powell (Hailsham) plus four new team members.

Graham Rodemark (Herstmonceux), who used to ride for the team but now does stock car racing, is back along with Tony Errey (Eastbourne), Carl Hagues (Herstmonceux) and Nicky Hablett, a former top motocross rider.

Heal said: "Supermoto is the only sector of motorcycling that saw growth last year.

"It really has captured people's imaginations.

"I am going out to Belgium this summer to take part in an annual event at Mette, which I did two years ago. It is a huge event with 100,000 spectators and they basically shut the town down for it.

"Last year couldn't have gone better for me and this year is going really well again."