Easy rider
Sport: See how Ormsary rider Elaine MacEachern fared in France for the Motocross World Championships
ARGYLL dirt biker Elaine MacEachern battled with the world’s top motocross riders after racing in France last week.
The 19-year-old accountant from Ormsary travelled to Ernee, France, to compete in the third round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship on May 28 to 29.
After recovering from an injury that left her out of the last round of racing, Elaine proved her mettle once again against the world’s top riders by finishing 22nd overall after two days of hard racing.
In race one, on the Saturday, Elaine got off to a good start but two crashes meant she finished in 27th position and was left disappointed with the day’s action.
Keen to make amends, Sunday was a more successful outing for Elaine as a good start off the line saw her push into third position. Although dropping back a few places on the first lap, she remained in the top 10 for the majority of the race. A mid-race crash cost her more spots but she hung on for an 18th place finish and three points.
The three points meant she finished in 22nd position for the round of racing and cemented her place as the highest-ranked British female.
Elaine said: ‘The weekend in France was up and down. On Saturday I qualified 27th, which is pretty disappointing. I was feeling a bit better on Sunday and I was sitting in the top 10 the majority of the race before dropping it in the corner.’
The strong performance in France has spurred Elaine on to improve her position in the next round of the championship in the Czech Republic in July.
Speaking about her hopes for the next round, Elaine commented: ‘At least I know I should be top 15, if not top 10. But I really need to get more time on the bike and more fitness training. It was pretty sweet considering my bike is pretty much standard and considering I was injured and missed round two in Italy.’
In the weeks running up to the race in France, Elaine was training with former British Pro Motocross rider Bryan Mackenzie.