Elena Myers completed demonstration five laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit on the Suzuki GSV-R, becoming the first woman to ride an 800cc MotoGP race bike.
The 17-year-old AMA Supersport racer was clocked going as fast as 190 mph along the front straight as regular Grand Prix racers including Rizla Suzuki‘s Alvaro Bautista watched on.
“Wow! I can’t really say anything else; it was just such an incredible experience! I can’t thank the guys at Suzuki MotoGP enough – they have been awesome!” says Myers. “This makes me so hungry to come out here and try it someday for real on a race weekend: Well I guess this is a race weekend, but I mean for real next time. I can’t say enough about the bike either; it does everything 20 times better than I ever would have imagined – this has just been amazing and I think I’ll slowly realize what just happened over the next couple of days. The GSV-R just blew me away!”
Myers is the first woman to win an AMA Pro Racing road race and this year sits fifth in the AMA Supersport West Division with Team SuzukiScoopFans, despite missing two rounds due to injury.
Cynics might dismiss Myers’ laps on the GSV-R as a mere publicity stunt, and it’s likely true the demonstration laps may garner more global exposure than Myers’ own historic first AMA victory. But we here at Motorcycle.com don’t think there’s anything wrong with bringing exposure to the sport, a female racer, or even an American racer for that matter.
And on that note, let’s not forget another milestone at this weekend’s Indy event. Petaluma, Calif., resident Shelina Moreda will become the first woman to compete in a motorcycle race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when she lines up for the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 race on Aug. 27. Myers is still a young and developing racer, who appears to have a bright future ahead of her, whether or not she’ll get to have a “real next time” some day.
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[Source: Suzuki, video from RoadRacingWorld]
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