LOCKPORT —
Move over motoboys, there’s plenty of room for the motogirls at the 31st annual Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships later this month at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
Lockport’s Sydney Allan, the daughter of David and Lisa Allan, a seventh grader at DeSales Catholic Middle School, is one of just 1,386 riders nationwide who have qualified for the prestigious race — and one of only a small percentage of girls competing. In fact, Sydney may be Western New York’s first-ever national motocross qualifier.
The Allans, mom, dad, Sydney and older brother Bradley, are planning on making the trip together to the amateur nationals, July 29 to Aug. 4
Only 11, Sydney’s already been racing motocross for more than half her life. She began at four, riding bikes in the back yard.
“I started practicing in my back yard, then my dad took me to races in Batavia,” she said. “I was slow at first, then I progressed slowly and kept getting better. There’s really no secret. You just have to practice a lot.”
Allan rides a Yamaha YZ 85cc bike, sponsored by Don George’s Sports Center, Mantelli Trailer Sales and of course, her parents.
“The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in,” said race director Tim Cotter. “A win at the amateur nationals gives a rider instant national notoriety and can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motorcross career.”
Sydney qualified for nationals the old fashioned way, winning races throughout the year and earning enough qualifying points to qualify for regionals. Over the past five years, she has competed and won races at several area tracks, including Pavilion MX, Cohocton MX, Palmyra’s Hogback Hill and the Frozen Ocean Motorsports Complex in Auburn.
Sydney competes on dirt and there’s plenty of turns, bumps and jumps en route, but don’t blink because you might miss part of the fast-paced action. This past season, Sydney has competed in both the Mini Combined Class (boys and girls) and the Girls 9-15 Class.
“First, they drop the gate, then I’m racing against about four or five girls in that class and there’s all these obstacles you have to go through,” Sydney said. “It’s fun, but the jumps aren’t always easy. It takes a lot of power to clear a whole jump.”
Most races take less than 10 minutes with drivers averaging about two-and-a-half minutes per lap on the motocross courses.
When asked how long she plans to continue racing motorcycles, Sydney replied, “until I’m told I have to stop.”
For more information, visit www.mxsports.com.
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Related Photos
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Lockport’s Sydney Allan, 11, competes in a motocross race earlier this year. The DeSales Catholic School seventh grader is headed to the AMA Nationals later this month in Tennessee. Contributed Photo
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Sydney Allan
Ladies first in motocross
Lockport's Sydney Allan, 11, has been racing more than half her life.
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