Kayla Yaakov Returns: From 15-Year-Old Phenom to the Front of MotoAmerica

Three years ago I had Kayla Yaakov on the show as a fifteen-year-old Junior Cup racer. She is a very different rider now.

This time Kayla came to the track to coach me, then sat down for a long talk about how she got here. We get into her riding, the number 19 Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight Panigale V2, the mental side of running at the front, and what she fixed in my own riding in a single day.

Her last three seasons tell the story. She moved up to MotoAmerica Supersport full time and finished sixth in the 2025 championship. Then 2026 turned into a breakout. She took third at the Daytona 200, the first woman in 84 runnings to stand on that podium, passing former MotoGP rider Darryn Binder on the banking to do it. She qualified on pole at Road Atlanta, the first woman ever to do that in a MotoAmerica Supersport race, set a lap record at Barber, and stacked up four podiums by Road America, running right at the sharp end of the title fight. 

We cover all of it. how she trains, what the pressure feels like at this level, and where she goes next.

Kayla rides for Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight in MotoAmerica Supersport, with support from Mission Foods, HJC, Alpinestars, Ashley's Dream Foundation, Reset Public Affairs, and Dunlop. Her Insta360 code is KAYLA19.

Watch the full track day and interview on YouTube at @kiwimoto72.

Subscribe to the KiwiMoto72 Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen. Real bikes, real miles, real opinions.

Transcript

Welcome, Trackside Audio, And Reviews

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Well, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Kiwi Modehost seventy two podcast. My name is Angus, and this technical podcast means a lot to me. If you want to watch the video of the writing on the track, you're writing the new panegali. You're also writing my panegality, you're giving me on my own writing. This is the audio only recording of the interview in the chat we had in the post after that. There's a little bit of noise in the background and quite exciting enough. It's a difficult kind of correct sound experience. So um hopefully that doesn't bother you too much. It was a really great discussion. And if you really like these podcasts, do me a favor and write a review on Spotify or I don't do this for a living and I don't do this for anything other than the enjoyment I have for the floor. And that's why there are lots of episodes. I really only post it when I have time to find out a chat with someone. It does help me though when you post the reviews because it helps me spread the word about what a wonderful tool we have. Aaron is uh very, very uh well known and another Kiwi Sportwriter who retired a few years ago. So I'm looking forward to having him on. This episode is all about Halley at all, so let's get into it.

Track Day With A MotoAmerica Pro

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Hey Kayla, like what are you doing in my motor van?

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Well this thing's uh pretty tricked out, so I mean, if I had one of these, I would be pretty sick.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Are you listening, Mercedes?

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Ford forward, Mercedes.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Seriously. You don't have a motor, you're a pro, you don't have a motor van?

SPEAKER_03 4:33

I don't have a trainer that I can take to the track. You know, we gotta haul the big trailer. What? A little candy bag. What? This will be nice.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Hey everyone, so we're here on a wet day, day two of track at the Ridge Motorsport Park in Washington State that happens to be a Motor America racetrack, and there happens to be a Moto America racer here that somehow I was able to get take me out of my track for the day yesterday, which was awesome. And her name is Kayla Yakon, and she's riding with me. Hello. Hey Kayla. So we had a good day on the track yesterday, and for those of you who don't know, um Kayla is also a coach when she's not racing. And I wasn't sure about having a racer coach me because A, I'm the slowest person in A group, and B, you know, I just sort of wondered about like the risks of doing too many track days and things when you're trying to stay in shape for racing. So, so Kayla, do a lot of you race? Uh do a lot of you coach, or are you kind of a unique?

SPEAKER_03 5:35

I think there's like a definitely a group of racers that uh have their own coaching. I mean, you know, when I'm done with PJ, PJ has his own coaching as well. We kind of actually do some stuff together with some schools and uh at this kind of a track in Florida called Jennings GP. So uh this offseason we're even doing like an advanced rider school so you can get your racing license as well. So um, yeah, there's a couple couple riders that also do some coaching, but um I think you know PJ and R are some of some of the people who kind of focus on it a lot, even outside of the racetrack, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

That's cool. And you can probably hear the bikes starting up, so we're in the garage right now. Kayla has been um it's interesting because I have, you know, I have the old V2 Panegali, which is not Street Vehicle, it's basically club racing spec. And obviously Kayla's riding a Moto America spec V2. Um but she was also out riding um the new street Panagali V2, and I say street because the current iteration of it is really a street bike, it's a lot of fun on the track, certainly for my level.

New Panigale V2 Track Impressions

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Um Kayla, tell me a little bit about the V2 you're riding today for Moto America, and just put your street head on for a minute. I know you don't ride on the street, um but like for a track rider like me that's slowest in the A-group, what were your impressions of the new V2? Are you allowed to talk about that?

SPEAKER_03 7:00

Yeah. Yeah, no, I I really do like the new V2. I definitely would say less of a race chassis than the previous uh iteration of the Pinegala V2. Um, but it's very comfortable, very fun to ride. Uh it's more of, I would almost say like a mix between a twin bike and kind of like the twins cup like they have in Moto America and a super sport. It's kind of that in-between ground. You know, it's a little bit slower uh when it comes to the power, obviously going from uh the 955 CC to uh the 800, not I think it's 90, but you know, the 800cc. So definitely a smaller displacement, but it's still super fun. You still get the torque and the meat of the Ducati, um, but a little bit less top speed. The feeling of the bike, I mean, now you have a double-sided swing arm, so that it definitely improves the stability of the bike. Um bars are definitely a little bit higher, more in a street riding position, but still produces great lap times on the track. And I mean, I had a great time riding it yesterday, ripping around just a little bit, um, and yeah, just absolutely love the the new bike. I I hope you know in the next few years we can get a little bit of small small tweaks for the actual racing. Um, but from a track day side, I definitely enjoy it and I think it's uh a great bike for a lot of people to start riding on.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

And I I know that Kayla knows a lot more about the roadmap for the V2, and she's not allowed to talk about it. Um, but I'm hoping that maybe they come out with a homologated R version of the new V2 next year. One of the things we're gonna do is I'm gonna show you a little bit of footage of Kayla riding uh both bikes, but also her um following me around. Um, and um we're gonna do a little bit of a video review of some of my riding here. So one of the things Kayla does is she does video reviews for her students, and I've had a lot of coaching, um, I've been lucky enough to have a lot of coaching. There are a bunch of um nuggets, as I call them, that have come out for me uh with her um coaching me over the last uh day, which had been fantastic. But one of the things I noticed um on the new V2, and you noticed it, um at the bottom of um the the uh corkscrew here at the ridge, turn uh 14.

SPEAKER_04 9:19

Yeah, 14, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

At turn 14, um I was just not lining up the straight to the uh to uh the the the front straight well enough, and I was also, I just wasn't I wasn't nailing my apex and my lines at the bottom there. Kayla noticed straight away on the new V2 at the double light sided swing arm that I was I was it was just smoover. So it's generally we just had like more forgiving for someone that maybe doesn't have the fine inputs that maybe a pro has.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Yeah, I would definitely say the the new bike with the double-sided swing arm, uh definitely a more forgiving chassis. Um more flex, which is obviously really good, especially um for street bike riding and even you know at the world championship level. You know, you kind of look now with the the new Pentagoly V4 and the difference it's made from uh last year's World Superbike to this year. So I think a lot of the uh that difference comes from the double-sided swing arm, being able to really tighten those lines, and that's definitely what I saw. Yeah, that 14 to 15 section uh was able to kind of hold a tighter line. And that's uh that's a big attribute of this bike, and and I think um a big benefit. And like you said, yes, more stability, uh more feel, and a little bit more forgiving.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Um so we're doing a

Video Review And Better Line Choice

SPEAKER_01 10:34

video review here. Yeah. So, alright, so what are we what are we looking at here? So we're going into turn remote.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

So this is uh this is yeah, going into turn two here, but this will be um the first lap that I let you buy to see. And you can actually see in this video how close I'm able to get to you, and that was something I told you yesterday. That's uh probably the best part about coaching yesterday. You know, you're so smooth and consistent with the bike that I can get so close and find those those minor details.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

So I didn't tell you to say that, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Thank you. No, that's true. It's the truth. It's the truth. Super consistent, and I feel very comfortable riding with you. So it makes it really easy for me to see these uh points where you're letting off the brake and uh getting to the gap. No, no, no, no. Definitely not. It's not just that. It's not just that. I don't mean it like that, but you know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

I don't have any grammar stuff, yeah. So I um so Kayla, when I started my podcast like three years ago, it was kind of a joke, you know. I told you some people like said, hey, you have a face for audio, you don't have a face for video about me, right? So you should like start a podcast. Because uh, you know, the only interesting thing about you is your accent. Other than that, like you don't want your face on this stuff. Oh great, awesome. And you might remember you might remember it's terrible. I had I had an I had an even younger version of you, and at the time you had just entered Moto America, I think. And um what a difference three years makes. So last time I had Kayla on um a channel, it was a it was a total reach out because I just started a channel and and I met I I met Kayla here and I was already a fan and I got a photo with her and um I think I got a dad's phone number or something and um reached out on a whim, and Kayla was I think the third person I ever had on the podcast. So Kayla, what's happened in the last three years? Remind me what you were racing when we first talked.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Was it I can't I can't remember if it was Junior Cup or if I was in uh Twins Cup at the time, but either way, I mean that's that's uh feels like a long time ago when it really wasn't. You know, racing goes by so fast, three seasons feels like a lifetime sometimes and uh can can be like that. You know, you three seasons can really uh make or break you. And uh fortunately for me, I feel like we've had a pretty successful three years, um three or four years since then. So yeah, um moved up from the from the smaller bikes up into the super sport bikes, and um, you know, now racing for Ducati uh on the Pinegali V2. It's been pretty awesome. Racing for Rail, Ducati Moto, also. So, you know, if uh anyone's in the car racing, you know, you probably know the Ray Hall name. Indy Car. Yeah, yeah, Indy Car.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

They raced this last weekend, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:08

They did, the Indy 500 was this last weekend, so yeah. Graham was out there representing uh Graham Ray Hall is my team owner, and obviously his father is Bobby Ray Hall, so um

Kayla’s Fast Climb In MotoAmerica

SPEAKER_03 13:18

multiple multiple time indie car champion, and then also uh Indy 500 winner. So um, you know, that name is pretty holds holds pretty big power, but uh yeah, they basically uh pick came up with this team, Graham came up with this team and asked Ben Spees, who has always kind of helped me out in in the background, you know, behind the scenes, and uh that was in late 2023. They said, Okay, we're gonna have this team and we want you to be the rider. And you can't really say no to that, especially.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Remind me remind me, like for those who haven't been around as long as me, who Ben Spees is.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

So Yeah. Ben Spees, uh, if you do not know the name, maybe you've been living under a rock when it comes to motorcycles. But no, he um 2009 World Superbike Champion, first year ever on uh the world championship circuit, and first year with Yamaha, new tracks, everything all over the world, and went out and won the world championship the first year. So um obviously before that, you know, AMA champion three times uh here in the States, but then going from World Superbike, he also then went to Moto GP, uh Moto GP race winner as well, multiple podiums. So the guy was pretty successful in his day and uh the last American to actually win a world championship at that level. Yeah, yeah, last American to win would win the world championship and then uh also to get a Moto GP race win. So pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

So as we talk about your story transitioning more, how did so how did you meet Ben? So is there a story there?

SPEAKER_03 14:41

Yeah, I mean it's it's really kind of my dad's story, you know, because he uh can't remember if m my dad reached out. I think Ben reached out at one point because you know he's a he's a girl dad, so he also uh saw me and and saw that you know I was doing pretty well on the mini bikes and uh just starting out in Wira and CCS, the amateur uh club racing here in the US. So he reached out and um just got talking from there with my dad, and I I never really I heard that he would talk with my dad, but I never really talked to him on my own. And then uh probably in 2022 and and going forward from there, uh he would text me every once in a while, and I would get a text, oh hey, it's Ben Spees, I'm doing that. I'm like, whoa, okay. Because I remember watching him, you know, in 2011. I was uh four years old and he's still racing, racing in uh Moto GP, and I think even one or one uh at Aston that year, so definitely uh a guy that I always looked up to. Um but yeah, no, just from there, just kind of blossomed into a great relationship, and we met a few times. He would send me texts, especially when I moved up uh into super sport for the first time at the very end of 2023, uh the last two races of the year. He gave me a few pointers there on how to really attack going from the small bikes to the big bikes, and that blossomed into uh riding for Ray Hall and uh him being really kind of my mentor over the last few years, and yeah, I can't really think him enough for all the help that he's uh you know given me over the last few years.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

So you have you you ended your first season in um 2023 on the super sport class, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:16

Yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Right, and so catch us up on the last three years. Um I mean at a sort of high level, like uh what you've learned, uh what surprised you, um, and then like competitively this year in particular, you're like in the fight.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Yeah, yeah, it's it's pretty crazy. You know, I think um now, you know, you look at 2023, yeah, it was two races at the end of the year, so uh my first full season in Super Sport was 2024, and so this is like really my third full season that I've done, um, which you'd think I'm kind of more of like a veteran of the class, you'd almost say, but um, you know, I also moved up to a super sport bike pretty much as soon as I could. You know, the the minute I turned 16, you know, I was basically, okay, super sport is is now.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

So age limit?

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Yeah, so for for Moto America um to come into the race series in general, whether it's uh yeah, like Talent Cup, you have to be 14 years old.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

Uh then for Twins Cup, you have to be 15. Uh Super Sport is 16, and then uh Superbike is 18. So there's uh age limits to all the classes here. So I knew the day that I turned 16 in Super Sport time.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yeah, so yeah, so that that age limit, is that an American thing or is this is it the same in Europe?

SPEAKER_03 17:38

It's very similar in Europe. Um, you know, especially after the last few years, the age is uh kind of I guess got a little bit older before you could go into some of these classes. I mean, uh even for example, like World Supersport, I wouldn't even be able to race World Supersport until I turned 18. So that was another deciding factor for me, is uh I I could I was kind of limited, you know, and I came in at a time where it was a hard 18, like a very firm 18. So I couldn't keep racing uh like a junior cup bike for another four years. You know, I was 14 and winning races, uh, but I I knew I needed to progress quick, and especially if I wanted to go where I felt like I could achieve and you know be at, I had to get on the super sport bike as quick as possible, learn there, and of course, you know, the Jacati is an amazing bike, but it is a difficult bike to learn and coming from the smaller bikes, so it was a big learning curve, but I think if I hadn't gone the Jacati

Ben Spies, Mentorship, And The US Path

SPEAKER_03 18:40

path, you know, maybe I would have been more successful right away on a different manufacturer. But where I'm at now, and obviously, you know, up at fr at the front now uh and you know fighting for the wins, yes, I think uh that that curve would be tough to go from now the super sport bike to the super bike in the next few years because uh this bike is is a monster, and I I've had to learn a lot of the super bike way of riding to be successful on this bike.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Superbike, so so so super sport way of riding. Um there's a couple of things that you said that were interesting to me. So your progression in the last three years to now fighting for a championship. Remind me, I think you podiumed three times this year already.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Uh yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Okay. And um you also you beat Baron Darren Bender at Daytona, Darren's Motor 2 rider last year, the last few years, so quality, you know. W when you say in the in the learnings, you said you're a veteran now of the class, which is amazing at 18. Like, how much of the learnings are if you if you had to assign a percentage from learning the bike to learning the mentality to learning the racecraft, like if you were to put a percentage against those, could you like tell me which was the most challenging? Or maybe you did the wrong things, maybe it's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_03 19:58

Yeah, no, I think probably the bike was definitely the hardest trying to find the maximum of the bike because you know, of course, I had two really talented teammates, especially with um, you know, at the time when I moved into the class, it was uh PJ Jacobson, who's still my teammate now, and then uh Corey Alexander. So my first two years of learning this bike, I had two guys coming from a superbike back down to a super sport, where you know that's that's a a learning curve even for them to go from the super bike back down to a super sport bike. But I do remember, you know, a couple things that both of them said is this bike has to be ridden almost a little bit like a super bike, more stop and go, and that's just the the like attributes I would say of the bike. Um, with the single-sided swing arm, you know, it's definitely really rigid and uh just a stiff chassis sometimes. Um and just the way you have to ride it in lines and certain minute things are more kind of like the super bike. So for me, coming off of a little bike to basically be thrown into a super bike way of riding was such a big learning curve. You know, I I just remember, you know, feeling like I was going so fast, and I'd come in and I I I mean I would be going fast, like into the corner, I would be like five miles an hour uh faster at the apex than PJ, but then on the exit I'm losing 10 miles an hour. So it's pretty crazy stuff like that that you have to kind of learn and adapt to.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

That's interesting. And so now you are riding like the R3 R3s in Europe, right? In the Blue Crew Cup Championship.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

Um and so when you say like coming from a small bike, are you talking about that small or are you talking about like the R6 kind of I'm really like the 300s, the 400s, and then uh the twins cup bike, you know, those are all still pretty small displacement bikes that you're you're riding in the way of riding them is very much uh corner speed oriented. You know, you have to make up for a lot of it on the corner speed side. And I mean, coming from when I started, I was even on RS 125s, NSF 250s, so that's really the the mecca of corner speed when it comes. To that stuff, a motor three bike basically. Yeah. So going from those bikes to them being thrown on kind of this monster was uh a big change for sure.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah. You and I talked a bit a little bit last night about this balance as a career that you make, and and I'm I know you're learning, but for those of you who don't know, um let's say you you wake up as a five-year-old and you want to be a motor GP writer. The natural path is okay, get to Europe, which is really expensive. Like these these these these races are a lot of people don't realize that families are like literally mortgaging their houses to send their kids to be the best in the world. They're like putting everything on the line. But the path is you go to Europe, you maybe get into GP Rookie's Cup if you're lucky, and there's about 50,000 applicants, and then there's about 10 riders that make it. Or maybe you get to ride in like the European Moto, you know, Moto Moto 4, Junior Moto GP.

SPEAKER_04 22:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Um and then you progress Moto 3, Moto 2, Moto GP for those who don't follow the sport. Now, if you're an American rider, like is there a clear path? Uh how do you think about the path?

SPEAKER_03 23:07

Like to GP is pretty tough.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

Um, you know, I think back when even PJ was racing, uh, and Bobier and JD Beach, the people who actually kind of made it a bit successfully in Europe, the early years. I mean, you look at Cameron Bobier, he was teammate with Mark Marquez uh in Moto 3 back in the day, obviously won I think he won the Rookies Cup championship as well, and so did JD Beach. Um but when you look then, you know, you had you had a class dedicated to these Moto 3 type bikes. Now we don't really have that. Um, you know, obviously Moto America is production bike based, um, and you know, they're trying with the talent uh in the US.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

The Junior Cup?

SPEAKER_03 23:48

With the yeah, Junior Cup Talent Cup now, which is uh that that Kramer uh chassis. And you know, it's a bit more of a of a race chassis, but even then it's not the full thing. You know, these kids who who will go there, which they do get the opportunity now to try out for the Red Bull or Rookies Cup, which is great, but you know, it's such a different chassis. And it even even with the Kramer, it's not a Moto 3 chassis. And uh so when they I think when they go over there, they get a bit shocked, and it's a bit of a culture shock, you know, if they haven't ridden those bikes before to um to adapt to. And and the kids in Europe, like you said, you know, they grow up on these things, they they learn them from a very young age, so it's very tough. Um, you've seen a couple of standout Americans over the last few years try to make that jump, um, and it's just very difficult, whether it's uh financially or um, you know, trying to learn these bikes at a at an older age, it's just kind of tough. So um, you know, even the guys at the still at the top of of that American, you know, I guess leading charge, like even Joe Roberts, you know, he he'll tell me that it it's still a tough transition, and um, you know, of course now he's more adapted to the Moto 2, but every year it's it's still a struggle to to fine-tune, especially with these kids who have been on these bikes since they were, you know, so they since they could really walk. So um it's tough. But I think it's getting better. I hope uh Moto America does keep you know trying to get into that direction of getting these kids over to Europe um and on the right bikes to succeed. Um but either way, I think they're making riders that can still go over to World Superbike. I mean, the level is pretty high here, so um, I mean, obviously this year, if you look at Darren Binder coming over, and you know, he's not winning every race. I'm I'm I'm battling with him, Harren's battling with him, even the other kids in the class are battling with him, so you know it's it's showing the level here in the US, and it's also not him just showing up to the tracks and and cleaning up and being up front. You know, he's he's going to the tracks before the races and practicing and and trying to prepare for the championship. So it's not to say, you know, even him being here is not just showing up and and cleaning up, you know, he's he's really thinking about it and trying to try to prepare for these races. So it's uh it's a good sign that the level here is very high. And of course, over the last year few years in Superbike, we've seen Danilo Petrucci, we've seen Loris Baz coming both of them coming over from uh Moto GP and uh obviously now in World Superbike for both of them. But um yeah, I mean the talent is here and it's good to see, and I think uh the riders will still keep getting faster, and hopefully that path still opens up to GP at some point.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Yeah, that's a nice transition because I I want to now get to where you're at in your career. Um and and just for those of you that are wondering about Americans and the and the sort of the the European championships that Kayla was talking about. We did have Christian Daniels on on the podcast a few months ago, and he's American, doing quite well in Red Bull Rookies Cup. Um uh Kenze Maserara um is in the US Moto Moto GP, sorry, Moto America Junior Cup. Uh but he's also been racing in Europe. So we do have some Americans coming up. Rocco Landers was in the Rookies Cup as well, and you know, he's Moto America. But like where you're at right now, um so it feels to me like I'm you know a big fan as you know, but it feels to me that you're you're really unlocking new, you're just unlocking a whole new level this year. Um is that fair to say? And like, is there a moment in your head is there a moment are there moments that um where you kind of know you're unlocking a new level? Because you're writing at the limit as a pro, so tell me about this year, like just tell me about it, like what is it that's

Discipline, Training, And Mental Breakthroughs

SPEAKER_01 27:34

changed?

SPEAKER_03 27:34

I mean, just the mentality, the discipline, honestly. I I feel like working one with Ben, and he's he's opened a lot of doors for me as well. Um not only am I training with PJ, but I'm also training with a uh a physical and nutritionist uh with him as well, who worked with Ben at one point when he was in uh World Superbike and Moto GPs. So uh working with him, getting all of that info, taking it all in, following those uh workouts as well as PJs and kind of working on that side, then on the mental side, I've I've put a lot into that as well. And um, you know, I I just I feel like this year I go out and I train, and where before I would get to this point where I'd say I can't go any farther. I just sit there and I I think of myself and I say, you know, how bad do I really want this? And I envision myself at the place where I've you know fortunately been able to get to this year, but I I say, you know, I know there's no other guy on the grid that's doing what I'm doing right now and pushing myself as hard as I am. And um it's just it's crazy. I I've worked so hard for it, and I think a lot of people see that this year. I I've you know, not that I I want to hear the compliments of people saying, Oh, I can see the work and it, you know, I can see a difference, a clear difference, but it's good to good to see it's all paying off, and you know, the investments I've made in myself are working, and I just gotta keep going in the same direction. The goal um, you know, never never really changes. It shifts every once in a while. You know, you get to a point and you're consistent and you just move that goalpost a little bit farther. Um, but for me, you know, even with the good results, the goal stays the same. So we gotta just go out and uh keep doing our best, try to get those uh bet better weekends, you know, under our belt and uh see where it goes from there. But I'm happy with it so far. The work is paying off for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Yeah, and when you say, you know, you you said just now that you weren't you maybe you'd reached your limit and you weren't sure if you're gonna make how much further you're gonna go, like you know I mean I I like the numbers. So to help me understand when you say you've reached your limit, is the limit a skill, is it a skill you said something about like this class is there's so few the the gap's so small. When you say limit, are you talking about the limit of your abilities or the limit like help me understand?

SPEAKER_03 29:52

It's really your will, you know, of where you want to go. Like for me, from a riding standpoint, I feel like I struggled the last few years because I I would almost try to convince myself, you know, I'm I'm doing everything and I'm I'm also um riding at my max when I also knew that wasn't 110% true. You know, I of course I was working hard and I want it more than anybody else. Um but this year I've put so much into it and I know I've given it my 110%. So when I show up to the racetrack, I just gotta ride the bike and I know the speed is there. I mean, there's I don't need to prove myself there anymore. I've I've done my work and I think it's showing, but um yeah, it's just made it a lot easier for me and the will, you know, in in training I would say is the biggest biggest part. I go out and you know, I go for a run, and before I would just get so frustrated with myself because I just felt like I couldn't do it, and there's really no nothing in my mind that's like you can't not do it. You there's there's no uh there's no plan B. It's like kind of what you think. It's like this is this is all you have to do. And um you're pushed through it, just complete it, just get it done, and that that's more than than most people is being able to to get into that mode, into that mindset where you can just keep charging. I mean, you know how it is. You your brain, we talked about this the other day, your brain will only push you, you or you think it'll only go to a certain spot, but then you click that second gear and and you just keep going, and then you feel like on top of the world. So I feel like I've been able to tap into that a lot this year of just you know, it's not only self-confidence and self-belief, but it's uh it's just that that different mindset, that different mode, and it's made made a huge difference.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Yeah, no, I'm I mean, it's you're you're so right. You you're talking about it's like tenths of a second, like just these small things, but the what I'm hearing you say is that we were talking um we were talking about how the human brain, um depending on the studies you look at, we we're we're using between 15 and 20 percent of the capacity of our brain. And it's a lot of there's a lot of science now around neuro neuroscience around the brain, and the top um top performance athletes um um are able to get through that, get get beyond that. Um and we were talking a bit about that, Taylor and I.

The Biggest Track Day Mistakes

SPEAKER_01 32:13

And so let's transition to like mere mortals like me. So, you know, um what are the you know, we're probably gonna get into review some footage, but when you when you look at um a fast or maybe you know, an A-group rider, for example. Yeah, and then a club rider, and there were a bunch of club riders out here uh yesterday that I think when they knew she was on the track, all of a sudden we're trying to race her because she's uh coaching and she's wearing like a coaching vest, and so it doesn't have her name or anything on it. So all they see is like this ponytail like going by, and she's on a stock Ducati street bike basically. So what are the what are the um what are the well you're talking about unlocking skills? What are the things that you see, even experienced A-group riders, um, just not unlocking the you know, mostly? What are the things that you just see all the time that are constant or they're no constants?

SPEAKER_03 33:10

Yeah, I mean, you know, it kind of varies, but a lot of the like person to person, everyone will have their weak points and strong points. I mean, even as a racer, you know, you study the people around you and kind of figure out where they're strong and weak. Uh, and that's that's where you can really make the passes and and make a difference. Um But at a track day, a lot of what I see is you know uh a lack of consistency, uh a lack of smoothness. I mean, you do actually a really great job of uh of the smoothness part. That's uh something that I we talked about yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Slow.

SPEAKER_03 33:40

But well you're pretty good. I we're and we're still working, working on some of the small stuff, but um I think a big big part is the lack of the consistency and smoothness. Um you know, you also see a lot of uh track day riders and you know people who who are uh in amateur racing do a lot of coasting and uh especially on the bigger bikes. Um, you know, that's uh that's a big no-no in in in racing. So coasting is the the point of letting off the throttle, so rolling completely off the throttle and not being on the brakes. So it's basically you're in this mode where there's no input on the motorcycle, gas or brakes. It's just rolling into the corner and and kind of uh just hoping is kind of what we what we say. So what that does is there's no, like I said, there's no input on the bike. The bike doesn't know what it wants to do. So you're giving the bike no direction, and that uh actually creates a lot of risk. The the contact patch is a lot smaller, the uh load on the bike is a lot less, which you know, racing is load, that's why you can see all these uh professional riders get so low to the ground, that's all the load of the chassis, and they're doing the same thing, you know, either on the gas or on the brakes. There's there's really no time between letting off the brake and getting to the gas. So that's a big thing I see uh aside from the lack of consistency and um, you know, also uh the lack of professional coaching. I think that's a that's a big part as well. I think professional coaching is uh really the ticket for a lot of riders, whether you're a beginner rider or an advanced rider or someone who's even racing at a professional level. Um, coaching makes such a big difference. And being able to have a coach that's uh especially in professional racing, you know, I know we talked about it before. You can either get a really good professional coach or someone who doesn't really understand even how they themselves ride, they just go out and and hope. But um for me, I'm a very analytical rider. So uh for me to go out and coach, it's quite easy because you know I know exactly what I want from the bike and what it produces, and uh it gives me a good opportunity to tell you, okay, you know, this is what your input is producing from the bike, and how we can actually affect the bike in a more positive way. So coaching is such a big, big aspect, and there's so much information out there, whether you're on social media or you're at the racetrack and you your buddy says, Hey, I want you to do this, I think it can make you faster. Sometimes your buddy's uh information is not the not the best source. So I think uh professional coaching is always the way to go, and there are some good professional uh racers that do some coaching, and obviously some schools that do professional coaching, but um you know I think you know today uh yesterday you were able to kind of see the small things that I can pick out as opposed to maybe other uh coaches that you can get at a track day. I mean track time does a pretty good job with their coaching, but there's certain other track day organizations where the coaches uh don't necessarily need a big resume to be a coach. So always find the right coach for you and um get that coaching. It's so helpful.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

Yeah, that's a good one because I've often asked, you know, um, you know, if you can afford coaching, and even if maybe you can't afford real coaching, like the Yamha Champ School have the UM Champ U, and you know, we've had them on the podcast a few times now. Um you can pay like in the US it's like $90 a year. No, $9, sorry, for a lifetime. You get unlimited online, you can go like a bunch of videos, and they have um they have uh they have uh pro races uh as coaches as well, like the Wyman brothers, you know, Cody's one of them. And have you raced Cody?

SPEAKER_03 37:23

I have, yeah. I raced him in junior cup actually when I was it. Uh we beat each other a couple of times. I think uh I can't remember who won more races, but he he ended up winning the championship. I unfortunately got taken out a couple times that year, so that was a bit number one. That was a bit tough, but no, he he rode great that year. We actually worked together uh quite a bit in qualifying.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

Oh yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

For small bikes, you know, the draft is such a big big thing.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

But yeah, those those guys have got an interesting family of races. So um okay, so you had talked about um you had talked about loading the front, and an example here, and I'll I'll sh I'll show you the suspension footage when we do the editing, is um you know, I'm um weighing in at about 182, but with my suit, um you know more than that.

Loading The Bike, Suspension, And Fitness

SPEAKER_01 38:19

And the suspension on my bike is set up for me um pretty well. Um Kayla goes out on my bike and she's obviously a lot lighter than me, but she was almost bottoming out the suspension where I'm nowhere near it. And Kayla, is that an example of uh just really that that the contact that front end, you know, like just deliberate trail breaking, and just help me understand, help us understand that.

SPEAKER_03 38:49

Yeah, I mean uh you would probably be pretty surprised with the a lot of people would be pretty surprised with the the uh suspension and the rate of our springs and our suspension uh in professional racing. You know, maybe we're on the same bike here with the V2, and obviously with the race team, we run Olin suspension. And you know, for someone uh of you know your weight and size, uh we would probably bing be on a similar spring rate, or I would be even heavier on the spring rates just because of the load. Velocity? Yep, the load and the the force that I produce through the bike. Um, you know, that's obviously from aggression but smooth aggression. Um and just yeah, the load that I put through the chassis. Uh the hard braking zones are obviously the most uh that you'll get here at the ridge. You know, uh you have a lot of zones where you're braking very, very deep and hard, and also a lot of load uh in the undulation of the track. So um this track actually produces quite high spring rates. Uh same with certain tracks like Barber Motorsports Park, where you've got a lot of undulation there, uh Laguna Seca in certain areas as well. So it is dependent on the track. There's certain tracks where it's a little bit less, but uh yeah, yeah, you produce a lot of lot of load through the chassis, and um sometimes you'd be pretty surprised with someone as small as me running very similar uh springs as to someone a little bit heavier than me as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

We'll take a break in a minute. Just so so so okay, so you and I also talked about um maybe uh you're uh like I see a lot of I see a lot of guys come to the track who are like like much much younger than me, seem fitter than me. But after the second or third session, they're like, oh I'm gonna I'm gonna skip the next session because I'm too tired. But me as an old guy that's had a lot of coaching, um I I don't get tired. Um I used to get tired because I I felt like I was just muscling the bike around the track. Um so for you, um you know, we talked about like when you're working out, actual what are what are the muscle groups that are the most important as a pro rider that I mean I'm sure they're all important to some level, but um like a lot of the riders, the pro level, they're like jockeys, like you, they're small. So help me understand you know, what are the what are the most important muscle groups?

SPEAKER_03 41:12

Yeah, for for motorcycle racing, you know, it's it's a very physical sport at the end of the day. So you you know, uh you always look at the Moto GP riders, well, superbike riders here even in Moto America. I mean, everyone is very fit to do what we do. It's not just sitting on a motorcycle and riding around, as people who have done track days probably know, it's a bit difficult sometimes. But uh for us, you know, our biggest thing is we work on our cardio and endurance. Um, you know, here in America it's sprint racing, but still our tracks are quite uh tight and small. Um, you know, even here for an example, yeah. This this track is uh not really a break here. You're you're on the straightaway for probably three to five seconds, and that's that's about the time that you get to breathe. Everything else is uh pretty flowing and hard, fast-paced. So you do need that endurance, that muscular endurance uh for the entire 30 to 45 minutes that you're racing. Um outside of your endurance, uh it's a lot of probably I would say um lower body leg strength, uh being able to use your quads to really move the bike around. You know, a lot of people that's another misconception when you're throwing the bike side to side, of course you're using some of your shoulders, your back, um, but it's really throughout the legs and and pushing through the legs uh in those transitions. Then uh your core. The core is such a big part of motorcycle racing, and that again is part of your transition period, holding yourself up throughout the corner. You know, you're never holding yourself up, but being able to be comfortable on the side of the bike and hanging off with the bike. That's a lot of that is core strength and manipulating yourself. You know, motorcycle uh racing is cool because it's not like car racing. You're your steering is not here, it's it's your entire body is how you turn. So it's a it's a very high full-body sport, so you gotta be good all around. But even for me in uh particular, of course, you know, you can't uh get past the fact that yes, I am a female, so my upper body strength is naturally uh not as I guess innately strong as some of the guys that I'm racing with. So I do focus on that quite a bit to try to uh maximize my upper body strength in the areas that I need it the most. And um I think what you see and why I'm successful is because I I think what you need for the sport is not all out muscle. I don't need to go out and bench, you know, 275 pounds and be like super physically strong, have huge muscles. You know, it's like I said, muscular endurance and being able to do that lap after lap um with your bike weight. And that's that's really all you need for the sport. It's cool to be big, but you know, you don't really need it for what we do.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

That's really well said.

Women Racing And Handling The Noise

SPEAKER_01 43:57

I was kind of hoping you wouldn't bring up that you're a girl because I don't really See that at all. But you know, it's we were we're not gonna talk about it again. Uh it's uh I mean I have my ass kicked all day long by girls on my track. I love it. I love watching girls, and um I you know it's a very philosophical thing, but yeah, my sense is that um if let's just say for example, um uh 50 years ago the stereotype wasn't what it was, right? And I actually think that there would be more women racing because they would have been encouraged to race from a younger age. And I will be honest, I get really, really pissed off in some of the um communities that I I watch, you know, Reddit and things talking about female riders, you just say female riders, and they clearly have never been on my track because they would know that like actually like there it's it's it there's so much more to riding than and if you're actually muscling a bike around the track and you're relying on this, you're actually gonna be too tired. And so that's cool. Thanks for bringing that out. You didn't need to do that because you're competing and it we don't even need to talk about it, but yeah, you know, yeah, it's the the last bit of it is you compete at a high level and uh the results speak for themselves.

SPEAKER_03 45:08

I mean, if you want to say, oh, you know, you haven't won a race, yeah, you haven't done this, I mean, okay, sure. But uh, you know, I'm competing at the same level as everyone else. I'm competing with Moto 2 riders who have also raced in Moto GP. I'm competing with uh guys who won Superbike Championships, beating them. So it's uh it is what it is, and that's that's how how it's gonna be. And I just have to focus on myself. You know, I focus on my own riding, I'm happy with the progress, um, and I'm I'm glad that I'm a role model for some of the younger girls and the younger kids, even the older older girls and older kids, you know, that are out there riding as well. So um, you know, haters gotta hate, right? That's how it is, and you just gotta do your own thing, and uh I have a great time doing it. You know, uh at the end of the day, I'm racing for uh myself, my family, and and to do exactly what I want to do in this sport, and you know, people can say whatever they want. I'm here to uh to do it for myself and and to get get these things done where I think I can get them done.

Championship Update, Merch, And Closing

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Well, we're gonna finish the segment, but before we finish, so where are you in Motor America this year? Where are you ranked right now?

SPEAKER_03 46:17

Um I'm P4 in the championship, but everything's pretty close at the front. So it's you know, we get a a couple more podiums, maybe some wins under my belt, you know, championship is definitely not out of the picture at this point. I think uh top three in the championship is is the first goalpost.

SPEAKER_01 46:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

Um, but obviously being first in a championship is uh is a pretty good goal to have in terms of of the next few years. So uh I definitely see that being a good possibility.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Representative.

SPEAKER_03 46:47

We tried.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Team Kayla.

SPEAKER_03 46:51

I like this hat.

SPEAKER_01 46:53

We can do a bunch of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 46:54

So we got some new stuff coming soon on my own official store. Um the one that you have on is actually on Defile Odds, so that's uh Corey Alexander, my old teammate's uh co-brand there. So um we did a collection with him. That's a cool corduroy hat that you got going on.

SPEAKER_04 47:09

I like it.

SPEAKER_03 47:10

Um but we did a little collection with him, but also, you know, I'm gonna have my own stuff coming soon, the next few races, uh, with some graphic tees and stuff that you can. You could get on the early list, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Yeah, see graphic tea. What do you have a website yet?

SPEAKER_03 47:24

We do have a website, but the uh official store that I'll have will be probably in the next month or so.

SPEAKER_01 47:28

Oh well, this will go up probably after that, so we'll put a link. Cool, yeah. Yep, of course. Yeah, it's like the other thing is I think a lot of people think these races all have all this all this sponsorship and all this money. Like these guys are like I mean, depending on where you're at, they're they're all grafting every day to try and just get to the track and and and compete. So uh we'll close by saying support your local racer and uh yeah, get one of these hats. Hey Kayla, it's been awesome having you on. Thank you for telling me a few things, and um yeah, it's just been an absolute privilege to uh get the opportunity to ride with you. So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

No problem at all. We'll see you soon. All right,