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 American professional motorcycle racer. She made history in 2010 as the first female to win an AMA Pro Racing sprint road race. She is also the first woman to win a professional motorsports race of any kind at Daytona International Speedway. This happened on March 17, 2012.
Elena Myers is one of the youngest females to ever join the AMA racing circuit. In 2007, when she was just 13, she signed a contract with Kawasaki Team Green. This was three years before she was old enough to get a drivers license. She raced a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Starting to Race
Elena Myers began riding motorcycles when she was eight years old. Her parents helped and encouraged her. She started with pocketbike racing, which uses very small motorcycles. Then she moved on to mini bikes and later to supermoto bikes.
When she was 11 (in 2006), Myers raced for John Ulrich's Team Roadracing World. She competed in the United States Grand Prix Racers Union (USGPRU) National Series. She rode a 125 cc Honda RS125 GP and won her first race. She then got help from Kawasaki and Road RacingWorld.com.
In 2008, Myers rode a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. She won a Western-Eastern Roadracers' Association (WERA) national race. She also finished in the top three several times. John Ulrich promised to take Myers to Daytona International Speedway when she turned 16. This was the youngest age to become a professional racer. As promised, she made her professional debut at Daytona on March 11, 2010.
Professional Racing Career
Elena Myers' 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, but Elena was in first place. This secured her victory.
She achieved her second professional win at Daytona International Speedway on March 17, 2012. She won SuperSport Race 2 by a very small amount, just 0.240 seconds. She was among four riders who were very close on the final lap. After the race, Myers said it was "a phenomenal race."
For the 2014 season, Myers raced a Triumph Daytona 675R. She competed in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class.
Elena Myers trains hard for her races. She does weightlifting and cardio training at the gym. She travels all over the U.S. to compete.
Her father was her coach and mechanic when she was younger. Now, he has a smaller role. Myers gets advice from Motorcycle Hall of Fame member 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, she had many sponsors, including Pirelli. Myers' family realized that being a female racer helped her get noticed. Her sponsors, like Kawasaki and Pirelli, often highlighted her youth and gender in their ads. Suzuki even colored their home page pink to celebrate her victory on their GSX-R600 motorcycle.
Myers is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 116 pounds. Some people think women might not have the upper body strength for 600-class motorcycles. These bikes can weigh between 365 and 385 pounds. But Myers says, "it's more of a mental game." She has crashed several times, and her worst injury was a broken finger. She is very determined. Her parents support her goals but also make sure she stays safe.
Myers has said that her long-term goals include moving up to the AMA Daytona Sportbike Championship class. Eventually, she hopes to race in the top motorcycling class, MotoGP. Jeff Herzog, from Kawasaki, said in 2007 that he thought she was "the fastest female road racer in (the United States)."
Personal Life
Elena Myers graduated from high school on February 11, 2011. She was a straight-A student. She took independent studies through California's Liberty High School District. This allowed her to balance school with her racing career. Myers once said that even though she missed out on some typical high school events, she didn't mind because she got to race motorcycles!
Myers lives in Discovery Bay, California. She trains at the Stockton Motorplex, where she first started on pocket bikes. Her father, Matt, used to be an amateur motorcycle racer. He now manages the Stockton Mini Road Racing Club.
In November 2015, Myers announced she was engaged to British motorcycle racer Dean Court. They got married in January 2016. After marrying, she took the name Elena Myers Court.
