Elena Myers Makes Motogp Debut At Indianapolis

Elena Myers makes MotoGP debut at Indianapolis

Matthew Miles

ROUNDUP

ELENA MYERS BECAME THE FIRST woman to ride a MotoGP bike when she lapped the 2.62-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway roadcourse on Alvaro Bautista’s Suzuki GSV-R. Asked to describe her August experience, which included hitting 190 mph on Indy’s front straight, the 17-year-old Californian simply said, “Wow.”

Racing a Team SuzukiScoopFans GSX-R600 this past season, Myers placed fifth overall in AMA Pro SuperSport West. She is the first woman to win an AMA Pro roadrace, having topped the SuperSport event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, in 2010. “There aren’t many girls in the world who can ride a roadrace bike like Elena does,” said Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team manager Paul Denning. “In four-wheel racing, you’ve got Danica Patrick, who’s at a high-enough level of performance to be at the very top of her sport. Who knows if Elena can get there, but giving her the opportunity to ride a prototype MotoGP bike and exposing her abilities to a wider audience is fun for every body involved.” According to Denning, the only changes made to Bautista’s bike for Myers were fitment of steel front brake discs and the softest-available Bridgestone slicks. After her brief ride, Myers was all smiles. “The brakes were just as good as the acceleration—phenomenal!” Myers knows her gender opens doors. “Obviously, another kid in my class wouldn’t get a MotoGP ride at Indy, so being a girl helps with the PR stuff. But I’ve got to back it up.”

In 2012, Myers intends to move up to the Daytona SportBike class.