Jamie Astudillo, a 16-year-old pro motocross racer, will be making her professional road racing debut in the KTM RC Cup during this coming weekend’s MotoAmerica event at Road Atlanta as part of a special project put together by current pro road racer Melissa Paris and her MP13 Racing team.
“I always see kids who started [riding and racing] really young, and I always think to myself, ‘Where would I be if I started when I was that young?’” said Paris, a regular competitor in the FIM Endurance World Championship. “The idea is to see [what happens] if you take a girl when she’s really young or someone who’s been riding for a long time but maybe not road racing exactly and give them all the opportunities, give them a boost, you know. And so that was kind of the idea.
“I dream of a world where a girl [racing] at the front isn’t a weird thing and we can stop having the conversation about it. So I think the best way for that to happen is to help a girl get there.”
Paris actively sought out young, female motocross racers to recruit for the project and found Astudillo based on her results at the 2016 AMA Amateur Motocross Nationals. Astudillo has finished on the podium at the AMA Amateur Motocross National Championships in different classes over the last three years and she currently sits second in points in the 2017 Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX), after three of eight rounds.
“Jamie’s been riding since she was three,” said Paris. “She rides motocross, but I think that transfers really easily. She’s really motivated and excited. I’ve been really impressed by everything I’ve seen with her on a motorcycle. So, so far, so good.”
To prepare Astudillo, Paris organized several opportunities for her to test on road-racing motorcycles during the winter, including some coaching from her husband, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes.
“We tested at a go-kart track on a [Yamaha YSR] 50 and a [KTM RC] 390, then on the 390 at a [full-size] racetrack and then I did a race weekend at Chuckwalla [Valley Raceway],” said Astudillo, who also races on a KTM in WMX. “Everything was completely different to motocross, the body positioning, how the bike feels, how fast you go. It was awesome! I loved it!
“This is an amazing opportunity. I have two of the best people in the sport [Paris and Hayes] helping me. I couldn’t ask for better people helping me out. I’m just trying to learn as much as possible.”