GIRL RACER ON ROAD TO FILM FAME
Biker Jodie’s against-the-odds path to success inspires new documentary
A TALENTED Scots biker is starring in a film about her highoctane life.
Jodie Chalk is widely regarded as the fastest woman in the UK on two wheels and has been described as the Rocky of the racing world.
The 24-year-old, from Glenrothes, regularly beats her male counterparts and has notched up some hugely impressive wins in the last two years.
She holds lap records at both Knockhill and East Fortune racing circuits, as well as winning the Donington 500 Grand Prix.
She is also the first woman to win the Straiton Trophy, previously held by Hawick-born racer and 11-time Isle of Man TT legend Steve Hislop.
Jodie first rode a bike when she was four and has been racing since the age of 10 with the support from her retired firefighter dad, Garfield, an ex-Scottish Classic racing champ.
Film-maker Alex Harron, from Kirkcaldy, was so impressed by her skill and bravery he immortalised her in movie The Racer.
The 13-minute film premieres at the Edinburgh Filmhouse this summer and Alex is hoping to secure more cash to convert it into a fulllength documentary.
He said he was inspired by the strong relationship between father and daughter and compared her story to Rocky’s against-all-odds success. Alex said: “There’s an element of Rocky about it. They come from a working class background and are underdogs because other people have bigger budgets, and she’s a woman in a male-dominated world. “It’s a universal story of someone having a passion for something but having all of these obstacles in the way.” Jodie has shunned the “blonde hair and lipstick thing” that other girl racers do to gain sponsorship. She says she’s a “tomboy”, adding: “Once you’re on a bike, you’re a racer and it doesn’t matter what colour you are, what gender you are.”