Elena Myers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elena Myers Court
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Myers after a win at Sonoma Raceway in 2010
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| Born |
Elena Myers
November 21, 1993 |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
Dean Court
(m. 2016) |
| Current team | Team21Motorsport |
| Bike number | 21 |
Elena Myers Court (born November 21, 1993) is an amazing American professional motorcycle racer. She made history in 2010 by becoming the first girl to win a major AMA Pro Racing motorcycle race. She was also the first woman to win a professional motorsports race at the famous Daytona International Speedway in 2012.
Elena might be the youngest girl ever to join the AMA racing world. In 2007, when she was just 13, she signed a contract with Kawasaki Team Green. This was three years before she could even get a drivers license! She has raced powerful bikes like the Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
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How Elena Started Racing
Elena began riding motorcycles when she was eight years old. Her parents were a big help and encouraged her every step of the way. She started with tiny pocketbikes, then moved up to mini bikes, and later to supermoto bikes.
When she was 11 (in 2006), Elena raced for John Ulrich's Team Roadracing World. She competed in the United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) National Series 125 cc class. She won her very first race on a 1997 Honda RS125 GP bike.
After that, she got help from Kawasaki and Road RacingWorld.com. She also had support from Umbrella Girls USA.
In 2008, Elena rode a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. She won a Western-Eastern Roadracers' Association (WERA) national race and finished on the podium many times. She had been racing as an amateur against adults since she was 11. But as a professional, she now competes in a league for teenagers.
John Ulrich promised to take Elena to Daytona International Speedway when she turned 16. This was the youngest age allowed to become a professional racer. Just as he promised, she made her professional debut at Daytona on March 11, 2010.
Elena's Professional Racing Career
Elena's first big win as a professional racer happened on May 15, 2010. It was during Race 1 of the 2010 season of the AMA Supersport Championship. This race was at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.
The race was stopped early because of crashes. Elena was in first place when it ended, giving her the win! The AMA Supersport West series is for riders aged 16–21. They ride bikes that are close to standard 600 cc displacement sport bikes.
Elena Myers got her second professional win at Daytona International Speedway on March 17, 2012. She won SuperSport Race 2 by a tiny amount, just 0.240 seconds! She was the fastest among four riders who were very close together on the final lap.
After the race, Elena said it was "phenomenal." She explained that she led for a bit, then stayed behind to see how close she could get. She said everyone's bikes were fast, but hers was too.
In 2014, Elena rode a Triumph Daytona 675R in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class.
Elena trains hard by weightlifting and doing cardio training at the gym. She travels all over the U.S. to compete in races.
Her father used to be her coach and mechanic when she was younger. Now, he has a smaller role. Elena gets advice from Motorcycle Hall of Fame racer Jimmy Filice. Racer Chris Ulrich is also a mentor. She has also been coached by former AMA racer Ken Hill. Team owners are Richie Morris and John Ulrich.
In 2010, Elena had many sponsors, including Pirelli. Her family realized that being a girl helped her get noticed. Some ads from Kawasaki and Pirelli highlighted her youth and gender to get attention. Suzuki even colored their home page pink to celebrate her victory on their GSX-R600 motorcycle.
Elena is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 116 pounds. Some people think women might not have enough upper body strength for 600-class motorcycles. These bikes weigh between 365 and 385 pounds. But Elena says it's "more of a mental game."
Elena has had some crashes during her career. Her grandmother, Virginia Meyers, was worried but felt better after seeing her ride. Elena once broke a finger. In a 2008 crash, she was stuck under her bike. She got burns, a concussion, and a cut on her spleen. Even after that crash, she wanted to get back to training quickly.
Elena has said that her long-term goal is to move up to the AMA Daytona Sportbike Championship class. This usually happens after winning the AMA Pro SuperSport Championship. Even further in the future, she hopes to race in MotoGP, which is the top motorcycle racing class.
Elena's Personal Life
Elena Myers graduated from high school on February 11, 2011. She was a straight-A student during high school. She did independent studies through California's Liberty High School District.
While still in school, Elena said that not going to a regular high school meant she missed out on things like dances. But she added, "who cares about that — I race motorcycles!"
Elena lives in Discovery Bay, California. She trains at the Stockton Motorplex, where she first started on pocket bikes. This place is managed by her father, Matt, who used to be an amateur motorcycle racer himself.
In November 2015, Elena announced she was engaged to British motorcycle racer Dean Court. They got married in January 2016, and she took the married name Elena Myers Court.
