Article by Rodney Rutherford | Photos by Kelly Sik
The bitter wind blew through the wide infield of Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR), 2004 Day in the Dirt Grand Prix was in full swing with motorcycles jumping, digging, and throwing the LACR dirt into the faces of spectators.  I circled around viewing the racing action in a stationary position engaged in a conversation with a colleague, a quiet young girl waited politely.  Her charming personality and quiet demeanor cloaked the warrior within, meet the newest shining star of Southern California Women’s moto-cross, Katie McGuire.  This pretty and comical young lady when asked what motivates her, responded, “food”, then after further thought she responded,  “cream of wheat!”

Learning to ride on a lively Yamaha YZ85 at the age of thirteen in the high desert community of Palmdale, California, dodging creosote bushes and Joshua trees, she often ended up on the losing end.  Doing her share of palm hits to straighten the clutch and brake levers and not one to give up, she would restart and got back to having fun.  Getting more acquainted with clutching and shifting, the floating and the sliding of the bike through the sand was soon easily handled.  The LACR track was close by, so going there for regular practice sessions was easy and rhythms, whoop sections, and tables, soon become part of her daily vocabulary.

The bridge was built and it was Katie’s time to cross it with the well used YZ85, pre-race butterflies were omnipresent as the teenager prepared for her first race. Her wheels seemed to be sticking to the ground, she was very familiar with the track layout, all systems go, then the bike seized up in practice.  Not one to dwell on the negative, she was on a Suzuki RM125 next race, and laughingly told me she got second place in the Women’s class that gated two riders, have to start somewhere.  Katie and her father quickly realized that there was not enough regular competition in the Women’s class, she built up the nerve to ride in the 125 Beginner after her first efforts to race the 250 Beginner class were rebuffed by the race officials who would not allow a 125 in the 250’s.  

As the high desert weather changes from minute to minute, Katie quickly changed from a back of the pack finisher to finishing in the top five of the Beginner class.  One of her major accomplishments near the end of 2004 was her first place finish in the Women’s Novice class at the 2004 Day in the Dirt Grand Prix.  Her first major series was the 2005 Gold Cup.  This was an exciting event for the young lady, intimidated and overwhelmed at the attention she was getting, but once the gate dropped it was hammer time.  She exploded into the series winning every round except for one, and went on to win the 2005 Gold Cup title.

When the Women’s Motocross Association (WMA) came into town, Katie was ready once again knowing this was another level of competition, seeing Pro’s like Jessica Patterson she was starting to feel like she had arrived to the show.  Katie went on to win the first Amateur round at Glen Helen getting two first, but after round one she went through what many go through, the endless string of injuries that one thinks will never stop, getting injured the following weekend at Hangtown.  In between breaking her collar bone, then re-breaking it in a three month period she was able to put in an outstanding run at the Loretta Lynn’s Regional at Glen Helen, placing second, and was the top placing amateur out placed only by Kawasaki Team Green’s Elizabeth Bash.  Unfortunately one of her accidents kept her from going to Loretta’s.

Katie regrouped in early September, changing to a Kawasaki from Suzuki, and went to work on her private practice tracks.  Her gauntlet is a corner track where she has flat turns, berms, and bowl turns, and pounds them relentlessly for hours.  Going to the 2005 Z1R Helmets WMA Cup in Floresville Texas, Katie took a second in the WMA 105cc and Up Intermediate class, and followed that with another second in the College Girl class, turning Pro after the Amateur events she placed ninth overall in her Pro debut.  Winning the first three rounds of the 2006 Gold Cup she appeared to be going on to her second consecutive Gold Cup title.  Unfortunately she went over the bars in a Saturday practice at Glen Helen a day before round four, and despite her first place finish at round five she finished second in the series behind eventual Champion Tanya Elbers.

Becoming a popular girl since that windy day at LACR, she has made an appearance on Speed Channels Two Wheel Tuesday and is currently gearing up for the 2006 WMA Pro Series.  She would like to thank her sponsors Zeal Racing, AXO, GirlyZ Clothing Company, Hot Shot Films, McGuire Roofing, and Platinum One. 

We will close the article with these comments by veteran moto journalist Greg Robertson:  “Katie pretty much didn't race with the girls very often; she seemed to jump right in with the boys, probably because that's where the competition was.  She didn't stay long in the Beginner class with the guys, before long she was in the top three or winning the 125 or 250 Novice classes, and I think most of the time the guys didn't even know they were just beaten by a girl.”

Reprint from Sandiegooffroad.com