AMA SuperSport
RMR roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Lucas Oils-sponsored Elena Myers made history with a triumphant AMA Pro SuperSport effort on Saturday at Infineon Raceway.
Myers’ motorcycle racing victory was a landmark moment for the sport, as the 16-year-old racer from nearby Discovery Bay, CA became the first female sprint race winner in AMA Pro Road Racing history.
Elena rose to the occasion in a chaotic SuperSport contest that was twice red-flagged. Myers opened the race from the outside of the second row after qualifying eighth fastest aboard her GSX-R600 with a best time of 1:44.422 but quickly moved into fifth position before the race’s first red flag flew.
Myers and her crew took full advantage of the stoppage, improving the grip of her machine and allowing her to take the fight to the frontrunners in the race’s second half, immediately moving into contention for the win.
Myers led when the race was red-flagged the second time and declared the winner as the race results were adjusted and called complete after nine laps.
After the race, Myers was still somewhat stunned by the turn of events.
Elena Myers says: "It feels amazing right now. The whole race was pretty crazy with people falling and red flags and all that. I got a little lucky this weekend but I’m super stoked for it."
"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."
"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."
"We were sitting there for probably five minutes, getting prepared to go back out and then someone said, ‘They called the race and you won.’ I looked at my dad and he was crying."
Admitting that her accomplishment still hadn’t entirely sunk in, Myers was already looking ahead to Sunday’s race.
Myers continued: "It’s a little crazy. I’m so excited for it and I hope it’s only the start of even better things to come. It was a fun race today. Knowing those guys I was competing with had won most of the races definitely gives me a lot of confidence and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
"A special thank you goes out to Ken Hill for helping me this weekend and Lucas Oils."
Myers is currently second in the season’s AMA Pro SuperSport West championship standings with 76 points following her Saturday win.
On Sunday she’ll compete in the second half of the AMA Pro SuperSport doubleheader at Infineon Raceway.
