| Elena Myers | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | United States |
| Born | November 21, 1993 Mountain View, California |
| Current team | Elena Myers Racing |
| Bike number | 21 |
| Website | http://www.elenamyers.com |
Elena Myers (born November 21, 1993 in Mountain View, California[1]) is the first female motorcycle racer to win a race in the 76 year history of American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Pro Racing.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Myers won Race 1, Round 4 of the 2010 season of the AMA Supersport Championship at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on 15 May 2010. The AMA Supersport West series is limited to riders ages 16–21 riding close to stock 600 cc (37 cu in) displacement sport bikes.[2][9]
The race was supposed to be a duel between East Division points leader Cameron Beaubier and three time Western Division winner Joey Pascarella.[7] Myers, riding a Suzuki GSX-R600, began in 8th position on the starting grid, and advanced to 5th place shortly after the start of the race.[4] Myers' team took advantage of a red flag on lap seven, when Jake Gagne went off the track in turn 9,[6] to make adjustments to the bike to improve traction, as Myers explained, "I got a pretty good start but my tire started going off a little bit on the fifth lap and it was kind of hard to stay with the guys up front, but we had the first red flag. I came in and we made a couple changes."[4] On lap ten, of 18 scheduled laps, Myers was in second place when the race was red flagged for the second time.[3] She had been in first in lap 9, but was passed in lap 10. The red flag was caused by the new leader, Joey Pascarella of the LTD Racing Yamaha team, having a high side crash, at which time the race was called, securing first place for Myers,[2][3] because officials determined lap 9 would be the final one of the race.[6][7][8][10] The race was not allowed to run the full 18 laps because cleaning up the track and restarting would have put the day's program too far behind schedule.[6] Myers described interval between the first and second red flags by saying, "I got a good restart off the front row and made some moves. I felt like I was getting a little bit closer to the leader with about eight or nine laps to go. He ran a little wide and I took advantage of it to take the lead. I came around the next lap and the red flag was shown again."[4]
After winning Race 1, she placed 5th in Race 2 at Infineon Raceway.[11] With four rounds complete, six rounds remain in the 2010 season,[2] and Myers has total of 92 points for the season, putting her in second place for the championship.[12] Pascarella, with 137 points,[12] is still in a strong first place.[3]
Elena Myers might be the youngest female ever to enter the AMA circuit.[13] In 2007, at age 13, she was the youngest rider under contract with Kawasaki Team Green.[14][15] She had a manufacturer's contract three years before she was old enough for a drivers license.[14]
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Myers began riding at age 8, with the help and encouragement of her parents.[16] She began with pocketbike racing,[17] then progressed to mini bikes, then to supermoto.[18] In 2006, at age 11, Myers raced on John Ulrich's Team Roadracing World[13] in the United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) National Series 125 cc (7.6 cu in) class and won her first race,[16] riding a 1997 Honda RS125 GP.[18] She then gained sponsorship assistance from Kawasaki and Road RacingWorld.com's "Kids: Don't Smoke!" program.[16] She also had sponsorship from Umbrella Girls USA, a modeling agency for paddock girls.[18] In 2008, riding a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, she won a Western-Eastern Roadracers' Association (WERA) national race, and had several podium finishes.[16] She was racing as amateur against adults since age 11, but as professional competes in league for teenagers.[13] When she was 11, Ulrich had promised to take Myers to Daytona International Speedway when she was 16, the minimum age to turn pro.[13] As promised, she made her professional debut at Daytona on March 11, 2010.[19]
Myers lives in Discovery Bay, California,[5][6][14][20] and trains at the Stockton Motorplex,[5] where she first began on pocket bikes,[14] at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, which is managed by her father, Matt.[18][19] Matt Myers is a former amateur motorcycle racer[13] who ran the Stockton Mini Road Racing Club.[18]
Elena Myers does weightlifting and cardio training at the gym, and travels around the US to races.[13] She takes independent studies through California's Liberty High School District,[13] at Independence High School in Brentwood, California.[14] She is a straight A student,[14] and will graduate a year early, in June 2010.[13][21] Myers says that not going to a traditional high school means that, "I miss out on dances and stuff, but who cares about that — I race motorcycles!"[13]
Her father was her coach and mechanic in the early years, but now has a diminishing role.[13] "I look forward to showing up and just watching from the stands," he said.[13] Currently, Myers gets advice from AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Filice,[14] and racer Chris Ulrich of Team RoadRacing World is a mentor.[20] She is also receiving instruction from Jason Pridmore's STAR Motorcycle School.[16] Team owners are Richie Morris and John Ulrich.[21]
In 2010 she has several more sponsors, including Pirelli.[16] Myers' family had realized being female helped her get noticed.[14] Some of the advertisements created by her sponsors Kawasaki and Pirelli emphasize her youth and gender to draw attention.[13] Suzuki colored their home page pink in honor of her victory riding their GSX-R600 motorcycle.[22]
Myers, at 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) tall and weighing 116 lb (53 kg), is aware of the perception that women lack the upper body strength for 600-class motorcycles with minimum weights of 365–385 lb (166–175 kg), says that, "it's more of a mental game."[13] Virginia Meyers, Elena's grandmother, was worried about the risks but was reassured after seeing her ride.[13] She had crashed several times as of 2007, the worst injury up to then being a broken finger.[14] In a 2008 crash she was pinned under her bike, and suffered burns, a concussion, and a lacerated spleen.[13] Of that crash, she said, "I wanted to go out and train so much. They told me to wait six weeks, and I waited three."[13] On the morning of her victory at Infineon Raceway, she had taken shots of cortisone and Lidocaine for foot pain.[6] Her parents, aware of the risks, won't allow her to go too far, while still pursuing her goals, explains her mother, Anita Myers, "she's very well balanced and just trying to take advantage of the opportunities that she has."[14]
Myers goals are to graduate to the AMA Daytona Sportbike Championship class for the 2011 season, which would normally be the result of winning the 2010 AMA Pro SuperSport Championship.[21] In the longer term she has her sights on the premier motorcycling class, MotoGP.[14][21] Kawasaki's senior media relations coordinator Jeff Herzog said in 2007, "I think she's the fastest female road racer in (the United States), and she hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings yet."[14]