Elena Myers got a bit closer today to her dream of racing a MotoGP motorcycle, as the young AMA Pro Supersport rider got a chance to ride one of the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R race bikes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway GP circuit. The outing started with a rocky start, as the Suzuki GSV-R cutout after Myers finished her out-lap, and was on her first proper lap of the session. Getting it started and riding back to the pits, Elena got back out on the track, after her tires were thrown back on the warmers for 20 minutes, and gave the Suzuki a proper go of things.
Taking a slew of laps around The Brickyard’s GP layout, Myers, to our knowledge, is the first rider on a GP bike to go around the newly paved infield section (Nicky Hayden lapped last week on a production Ducati Superbike 1198 SP). Eager not to crash one of Álvaro Bautista’s race bikes, the 17-year-old rode a smooth and consistent pace around IMS, but still managed to open up the Suzuki a bit with a top 306 km/h (190 mph) speed down the front straight. More of a chance for Myers to try out the MotoGP machinery than an actual test, her GSV-R was race-spec sans for some steel brake rotors (MotoGP bikes typically run carbon fiber brake discs).
“Wow! I can’t really say anything else; it was such an incredible experience ! I can’t thank the guys at Suzuki MotoGP enough — they have been awesome!” said an ecstatic 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!”
“It was great to see Elena out on a MotoGP bike and very cool that — as the Suzuki MotoGP team — we could help her fulfill one of her dreams,” said Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning. “At 17-years-old, and judging by her performances in the AMA Pro SuperSport Chamionship, she has a significant amount of ability that is only going to develop as she gains experience. She treated the run today with great intelligence and maturity, but nonetheless it was impressive to see that she wasn’t afraid of either the speed of the power!
“Thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for helping us to make this happen, and the boys for preparing the bike and to Álvaro for letting Elena use it!” add Denning.
Source: Rizla Suzuki; Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved
Dad, lock up your daughter…….
I hope they or someone brings her up into GP, awsome to see. Best of luck.
and without sounding politicaly incorrect, when she is over 18 and sitting on pole (no pun intended) she goin on my wall.
This is great to hear. And she still is only 17-18!!!! It would be so cool to have her race in MotoGP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlN3oEjMpUQ
Sorry I couldn’t resist :)
Ok…allow me…after reading the first 25 words it started to STINK AND WREACK, this was a total Publicity Stunt by, about, for and only Suzuki.
Well, at least the girl got something nice(her opinion? or just paying back to Suzuki) out of it all. Good for her. Did she get a kick off of it…? Fabulous then.
Ahhh…Suzuki…can u try harder and better ? (-_- )’
Mike of course this is about marketing for Suzuki, MotoGP is marketing for Suzuki! It’s also about a young talent in AMA getting one step closer to her goal of riding in MotoGP.
I’d Like to se her in Moto2 or Motot3 first… I bet she could show up quite a few of those guys…
Elena Myers Rides The Brickyard on the Suzuki GSV-R – http://aspha.lt/sa #motorcycle
She must be happy!!
I’m sure she could do better than Randy de Puniet if she had a little bit more practice on this bike.
But it mustn’t be hard, she would only have to pass the finish line…
Damn, I’m French and I don’t even support the only French rider in GP.
Perhaps that I’m tired of seeing him fall and exposing himself with his Paddock girlfriend!
Nice job Elena! RT @asphalt_rubber: Elena Myers Rides The Brickyard on the Suzuki GSV-R – http://aspha.lt/sa #motorcycle
Mike – Of course it’s a PR experiment for Suzuki. They need all the help they can get before they go the way of Kawasaki…
As for ‘paying back’ Suzuki I think anyone would be chuffed to have a ride on a MotoGP bike, on the newly-resurfaced Indy and would relish the experience.
I can’t possibly not comment about the lovely Miss Myers too. She’s a PR dream and will probably be appearing on thousands of teenage boy’s walls very soon. And on my garage wall too… *blush*
Jensen, theres a difference between marketing and a publicity stunt, and this does look like a publicity stunt.
As cute and impressive Elena has been FOR A GIRL in AMA, her results are only impressive because SHES A GIRL. She had one win last year, and thats it. She’s not won a championship. She’s done nothing, relatively, in the sport. So why does she get to ride a GP bike when, if Suzuki are serious about honing the next generation of talent, there are many other deserving riders ahead of her.
No, this was a stunt and a favour for John Ulrich. Good for them all. It adds flavour to GP weekend, it gives the kid a taste of the big leagues, and gives us guys another opportunity to gaze into those beautiful eyes. But lets not pretend it was anything more than it actually was.
Not sure why people always hate on females in racing. You can’t say she wont be able to control the bike…I mean look at Pedrosa. He is smaller than she is.
Don’t get me wrong she is no Marc Marquez (for an age group comparison) , but she is only 17 and has a bright future ahead of her. Stop hating.
When did publicity stunts stop being considered marketing events? Or are we debating on how to pronounce “potato”?
I think it was a good idea for Suzuki and MotoGP as well. I took my family (wife and boys age 7 and 9) to Birmingham, AL this summer to watch AMA racing. Walking around the grounds you would hear “Myers” just as often as Hayes, Eslick, Haydern, and the others. I’ll say that Elena was VERY popular with the younger crowd especially. When they hear that there’s a young rider out there AND a girl, they’re all interested. Remember that to a 9 or 10 year old, some guy in his 20′s is still old, but a 17 year old is still an older kids in the younger one’s eyes and they feel they can relate. At the Suzuki tent when they were autographing photos, the line of kids waiting to see Elena was impressive. So if some “stunt” gets the kids interested, then it’s freaking awesome.
We also got to see Elena during the fan-walk on pit lane and she was awesome with the kids. She asked each kid a question, even if it was only “are you enjoying the races” and asked for the kid’s names to put on the autographed picture. And today it’s hanging up in my boys’ room along with the others. Ask my 9 year old what his favorite thing about summer vacation was, and he says “going to the AMA races” (and we did a LOT of other fun stuff this summer)
Jensen: No one is debating how to spell anything. I’ve been in marketing 25 years and won several awards for my efforts. And I’ve never had to resort to ‘stunts’ to do so.
“Stunt: something unusual done to attract attention : feat, exploit, trick.”
But whatever, it gets page views for ya so it really doesnt matter what you call it.
Sloan: Thats a great story. Nice to here she is such an ambassador for the sport. We need al the help we can get at breeding new fan and its acts like this that will win the next generation over.
Damo: Who’s hating on women. I didnt read one comment that suggested that. I’d love to see more females racing, or at least one good one that could you know, actually win something. For now female racers are just a novelty. There is that asterisk next to their entry almost. You know, they’re pretty good, *for a girl. Look at Melissa Paris. Great ambassador, great role model, someone to inspire the next generation of girls. But she cant even finish a race higher than her race number. Take away her gender, and she’s really not that good. I can’t wait for a girl to get in there and really get results and mix it up. Maybe in a few years it will be Elena Myers. Maybe this ‘publicity stunt’ will get her noticed by a Moto2 or a Moto3 team and she go to Spain to really hone her craft. She sure aint going to do that in DMG.
Your point about Pedrosa is well taken. It clearly isnt about strength, as I’m sure Meli Paris could bench more than Dani. If not about strength what is it about? Opportunity? Desire? Guts?
And “Marketing: Something done to attract attention”; other side of the same coin. Notice that you know it was Suzuki? This marketing/publicity stunt is good for them, good for her, good for Indy and good for racing in the US.
Only a small percentage of riders win races and an even smaller number become champion. Two facts; she HAS won a race. And she’s faster than you.
motorcycles are exciting, and racing more so. there is a dearth of females involved in the culture as a whole, so it’s always great to see things like this, and hopefully by extension the future will be less of a sausage fest.
@ adam
The woman hating comments was a product of me stopping by the crash.net comments section. We are quite classy at asphaltandrubber by comparison :)
@ adam
Going by the current standings, there really aren’t many riders better than her. She’s fifth currently in SuperSport West, if she were on the other side, she’d be in third. Last season, she ended up in a very respectable second place.
You go girl!!! How many guys on here would even have the testicular fortitude to open a bike up to 190? I say, Good for her!!!