Webmaster posted on September 01, 2010 12:02
Queensland’s number one female motocross racer, Courtney Knight, has shifted to top gear in preparations for her first Australian Women’s MX Championship.
Knight, 16, from Currumbin (Gold Coast) has wrapped up her senior state title and now hopes to add a national number one plate to her trophy cabinet her first year in the over-16's ranks.
The Queensland Yamaha Girls MX Team member said she had begun a rigorous training and riding regime, which would hopefully give her the edge needed to win the event, being held at the Albury Motocross Track October 24th.
“I’m riding several times a week and training every day, as well as getting coaching from the best coaches in Yamaha’s Y-AIM program,” Knight said.
“I’d actually planned a trip to Albury for this weekend to train with Shane Metcalf, but unfortunately it’s now been postponed due to rain.
“I’ve made other plans for training, though, and will be enlisting the help of some top riders and fitness trainers to get myself as ready as possible for this race.
“Winning this championship is very important to me.
“It's the next stepping stone to realising my ultimate dream, to go overseas to race and make my sport my profession.
"I’d like to see how I compare to the best in the world and try to get a factory ride."
Knight said although she hadn’t raced the reigning champion (Tori Dare) and runner-up (Kristy Gillespi) recently, she expected to be fast enough to give them a run for their money.
“Tori and Kristy both live down there [at Albury] so I’m definitely gonna get down there before the race so I can ride the track - they get to ride it all the time,” Knight said.
“I’ve only raced Tori three years ago when she was a junior, so I’m not totally sure how my speed will be against them.
“But, considering all the riding and training I’ve been doing, I reckon I’ll be in the top three fairly easily, hopefully number one.”
Knight said winning the championship would “open a lot of doors sponsorship wise” as well as take her one step closer to achieving her ultimate goal of making her sport her profession.
The dedicated St Andrews Lutheran College Year 12 student said fitting her hectic training and racing schedule in with school was “challenging”.
“It is hard, especially considering I also work at Team Moto Yamaha Gold Coast,” she said.
“But I’m doing a few subjects through home school now and my school is understanding, so I manage to fit everything in.”
Courtney’s next race will be the Kilcoy Ironman on September 4th and 5th.
Courtney Knight is Queensland’s fastest female motocross rider.
Courtney has won four Queensland titles and is the second female rider in the state to be moved into the Intermediate men’s class for mx racing.
She hopes to become a professional racer and compete on the world stage.
Courtney would like to thank her sponsors:
Yamaha QLD, Yamaha Queensland Girls MX Team, Team Moto Moorooka Yamaha, FOX, Alpinestars, QYGT, Motul, High Flo Filtro, Pirelli Tyres, JT Sprockets, RK Chains, Kustom MX, Quality Excavations, Ice-o-tonic Slush and Moto Development.