Yesterday, AMA Supersport rider Elena Myers hopped on a MotoGP spec bike and took a few laps around the Indy circuit. Myers, who was the first woman to win an AMA Pro Road race, is now the first woman to ride a MotoGP motorcycle.
Myers did five laps on Alvaro Bautista's Suzuki GSV-R prototype machine.
"Wow! I can't really say anything else," Myers said. "It was just such an incredible experience! I can't thank the guys at Suzuki MotoGP enough - they have been awesome! This makes me so hungry to come out here and try it someday for real on a race weekend. 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 realise what just happened over the next couple of days. The GSV-R just blew me away!"
Myers took a podium and two more fifth place finishes during the 2011 AMA Supersport season, earning her fifth place in the AMA West division.
"It was great to see Elena out on a MotoGP bike and very cool that - as the Suzuki MotoGP team - we could help her fulfil one of her dreams," said Suzuki team manager, Paul Denning. "At 17-years-old, and judging by her performances in the AMA Pro SuperSport championship, 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 or the power!
"Thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for helping us to make this happen, the boys for preparing the bike and to Alvaro for letting Elena use it!"
