March 11, 2026

From Dirt To Daytona: Sonya Lloyd On Speed, Grit, And Breaking Barriers

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Sonya Lloyd is a 23-year-old professional motorcycle racer balancing a full-time engineering career at Siemens with competing in MotoAmerica. From hitting 161 mph at Daytona to racing in six countries in the Women’s World Championship, Sonya shares how confidence, resilience, and saying “yes” changed her life.

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00:02 - Welcome And Show Mission

01:01 - Meet Host And Guest

01:20 - Sonia’s Path Into Racing

03:28 - Starting At 17 And Family Hesitation

04:55 - Why Motorcycles: Tech And Feeling

06:11 - 161 MPH At Daytona

07:01 - Dad As Technician And Crew Dynamics

08:28 - Confidence Through Global Competition

10:37 - 2026 Plan: MotoAmerica Return

12:12 - Tracks On The Calendar

13:38 - Balancing Work, Training, And Study

15:25 - Role Models: Nicky Hayden And Kayla Yaakov

16:36 - Bike Talk: Twins Cup Setup

18:12 - Crashes, Doubt, And Mental Reset

20:04 - Race Number 28 And Family Link

20:56 - Proudest Podium: Build Train Race

22:48 - Why Women Belong On The Grid

24:38 - Community, Mentorship, And Growth

26:02 - Social Media, Sponsors, And Brand

28:14 - Five-Year Vision And Technical Future

31:44 - Say Yes: Internships And Opportunities

33:32 - Wrap-Up And Listener Thanks

WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, the show that puts the spotlight on the incredible women who fuel the world of motorsports.

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From drivers to crew members, engineers to fans, and everyone in between, we're here to celebrate the trailbridges, dreamers, and doers shaping the sport we love.

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Each episode, we share inspiring stories of females of all ages from every corner of the motorsports universe, past, present, and future.

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It's a journey through the seasons of life filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, and a whole lot of horsepower.

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So whether you're a lifelong fan, a racer yourself, or simply curious about the extraordinary women behind the wheel, settle in, relax, and enjoy a fun and uplifting ride with us.

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This is the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports one story at a time.

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Let's hit the track.

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Hello, everyone.

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This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast.

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And Sonia Lloyd is my guest today.

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And Sonia, I want to welcome you to the show.

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And first of all, I want you to share a little bit about yourself so my listeners can learn a little bit about you.

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Absolutely.

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I appreciate you having me on.

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I'm Sonia Lloyd.

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I am a professional racer, motorcycle racer here in the U.S.

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And I live in Alfredo, Georgia.

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I'm 23 years old.

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I work at Siemens Digital Industries.

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I do technical consulting during the day and train and race on weekends.

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And yeah, I have a dog.

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No husband, no boyfriend, just you know, have my own apartment, live in life.

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Okay.

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Your dog is your main main deal.

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And I have a dog, I have a husband, but I also have a dog.

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And sometimes I say to the dog, I love you more than Mark.

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And you know, and Mark will be sitting there and he'll just laugh because he knows he knows I just love my dog to pieces.

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So like your child, you know.

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I love it.

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Well, I had four children and I have 17 grandchildren.

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So I have enough of those, you know, but they're all grown, and and of course, everything, and so I don't have any kids living with me, and so the dog is our child for sure.

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Yeah, we love our dogs, don't we?

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Oh, yeah.

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He's like my child.

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Exactly, exactly.

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That's that's for sure.

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So, Sonia, if somebody googled you, would they learn something about you that most people don't know?

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Most of my coworkers don't know what I do, but if you Google me, you'll find a lot of motorcycle racing content.

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And okay.

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I'm very happy about that.

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Very proud of everything we've done.

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And yeah, I'm I'm hoping my career is just taking off.

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So, all right.

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Well, how did you get started in motorsports?

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So, my dad was a pro-flat track racer, so I grew up going to the racetrack.

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By the time I was born, he was running flat track teams, so super smart on the technical side, building bikes, and yeah, just grew up following him around and observing everything I could, but didn't start riding till I was 17.

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Okay.

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All right.

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And was that just because you were in school and that, or you you just didn't have that much of an interest?

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Or because a lot of kids start when they're little.

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You started at 17.

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Why why at 17 did you get started?

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I would have loved to start earlier.

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It was kind of discouraged in my house.

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My mom wasn't really a fan of racing, and obviously being in the sport, my dad has seen a lot of the the tragedies that come with it as well.

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So it was never really encouraged.

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And I have an older brother, and he got to try it out a little bit, but I wasn't really allowed to.

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So when I was 17, I thought I was invincible, and I told him that I was going with or without him, and we had a dirt bike.

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So luckily he came and we had a great time.

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But yeah, it just took a while to to convince the parents to go.

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Yeah, and I can see that, you know, a lot of young, a lot of girls start when they're four, five, six years old, but they're in a cart or something where they have a little more protection on a motorcycle.

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There's not a lot to protect you.

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So I can understand where your parents were coming from at the time.

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So, you know, it's one thing if we want to get on the motorcycle ourselves, it's another thing if we let our child do it.

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So I can understand, I can understand their hesitation for sure.

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So, what is it that you love about motorcycle racing?

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Oh man, I love all of it.

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I think it's so calculated and technical, and I I feel like you don't really see that unless you're in it.

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So it's kind of, I don't know.

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I love that side of it, the mechanical side, the technical side, the software.

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I would say really drew me to the sport, but also just going fast.

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I mean, it's it's an experience like no other.

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So there is, it is, and even on a motorcycle, so my husband and I ride motorcycles, and I used to have my own, but I've had a lot of back issues, and so I can't, I really can't do it myself.

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So I just ride on the back some, not as much as I used to because of my back.

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But when you're on a motorcycle, whether it's racing or driving down the road or out in the country, you experience so much more of what's around you the smells, the sound, the wind, everything.

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And it's a lot different than in a race car or a regular car, isn't it?

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Yeah, you feel so free, you feel like you're flying.

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It's truly incredible.

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It really is.

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And about how what's the fastest you've gone?

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Do you know?

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I went 161 miles an hour at Daytona last year.

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Wow, that was my top speed.

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And how did that feel?

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Oh, incredible.

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Daytona's amazing.

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I mean, you know the banking, so especially on a motorcycle when you're tucked in, it just squeezes you down to the tank and yeah, you just feel like you're flying.

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Do you have that on video?

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I do, I do.

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I'd love to see it.

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You'll have to let me know where I can where I can watch that because is it on YouTube or somewhere where we could see it?

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Yeah, the full race is on YouTube.

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It was the Twins Cup Daytona race, but I can also send you, we'd get on track footage as well.

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Okay.

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I'd love to see that and then I could share it.

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That that would be great for sure.

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Yeah.

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Definitely.

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So who's so is your dad helping you still with your racing, or who who helps you when you go to the track?

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Yeah, my dad's been a huge help.

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Once he saw that I was pretty committed to it, he obviously got on board and doesn't love that I do it, but he, you know, wants to keep me safe.

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So he comes with me and makes sure we've got the best equipment, we're as prepared as we can be.

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So yeah, he's my number one technician.

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I have different crew chiefs, so he doesn't have to talk to me during the races as much because he gets really stressed during them as well.

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So we found a good dynamic there.

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But he's he's the one making sure all my bolts are tight and everything's set up right.

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And that probably gives you some confidence too, knowing that he's doing that for you.

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Absolutely.

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I tell him that every time.

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I'm like, please stay with me, keep doing this because it's yeah, makes you feel a lot more confident.

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And it's one of those things, if you can't beat him, join him.

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So he's not gonna talk you out of it, so he might as well be part of it.

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Yep.

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That's exactly where he's at.

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He always asks me if I'm done yet, if I'm ready to quit.

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But yeah, yeah.

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So, what are some things that you've learned by being involved in motorsports that maybe you wouldn't have learned at such an earlier age?

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Honestly, I would just say confidence.

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It's I've gone all over the world now with racing.

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Last year is in the Women's World Championship.

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So we raced in six new countries and just trusting yourself enough to plan six European trips and you know, learn new cultures and experience all of that.

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I think it's built up a lot of confidence in other parts of my life.

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So, I mean, the kind of experiences you can get in motorsports are like no other.

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You're pretty much running your own business, you're you know, traveling, working with new people for different backgrounds.

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So just the confidence to be able to do that has been huge.

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Just planning a trip across the pond or wherever you were going is probably a challenge, especially nowadays.

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And to plan six of them, you know, you gotta be pretty organized, you have to be not afraid of travel.

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You know, some people don't want to don't want to get on an airplane or go somewhere across across the ocean or whatever.

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And so, you know, there are challenges in that respect, and yet the experiences that you had to have had from going to all those places, the food, the culture, the how they dress, how they speak, all those things has to be just so fun to look back on.

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Yeah, very fun, a little bit stressful.

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Yeah, I still looking back at the photos, it stresses me out a little bit just because it was such an undertaking.

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But yeah, in a few years I'm gonna look back on it and it's gonna be incredible.

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And did anybody go with you?

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My dad came to all of them with me.

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He was, yeah, helped me with all the bikes and everything.

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Okay.

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You had each other to lean on for sure.

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Yes, yeah.

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We were on an Italian team, so we had support there, but oh, that's definitely nice to have someone that you can talk a little bit easier with with right, exactly.

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So uh what what's uh racing gonna look like this year?

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What are you gonna be doing in 2026?

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So I'll be back in the US circuit.

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I'll be on one of the biggest teams in Moto America, which I'm super excited about.

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The opportunity came up, so I'm gonna take a break from the women's world championship and do this race against the guys again and gain some more experience.

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And the announcement will come out in a few weeks.

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I'm not allowed to say yet, but okay.

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All right.

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So where where will where will you be racing?

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Where are some of the tracks that you'll be racing at?

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So we start in Daytona and then we'll go to Road Atlanta, then over to Barber Motorsports Park.

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I think after that is Road America.

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Love Road America, so fun.

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One of my favorites for sure.

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And then VIR and New Jersey and Mid-Ohio.

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Oh, Mid-Ohio is another one of my favorites.

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So years ago, and I'm dating myself now, Sony, but years ago when I first met my husband, my current husband, he's my second husband, but he was the motorcycle person that got me interested in motorcycles.

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And we would go to Mid-Ohio to the superbike races.

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And we went for many years in a row and absolutely just loved going to Mid-Ohio.

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So fun.

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And so Road America, Mid-Ohio have to be two of my favorites.

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You'll have to come out this year.

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I should.

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I should.

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I'm gonna look at the schedule.

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Absolutely.

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Are you up in Ohio?

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I'm in Michigan, so I'm not that far.

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Yeah.

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Excuse me.

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Yeah, yeah, that's that's um that's very tempting.

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I'm gonna have to check that out.

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Absolutely.

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So being a driver, you're gonna be on a big team that we are anxious to hear about who that's gonna be.

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How how demanding is that on you as far as like you work a job, you know, you still have laundry and groceries and all the things that everybody has to do, right?

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And then preparing for racing, you know, both mentally, physically, even emotionally, it's it's exciting in that.

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How do you handle all of that?

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What do you do to stay prepared?

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Well, I think it's kind of nice in our sport.

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It's you don't get to practice it as much as you would want to, just because going to a track day is only on weekends and it's not as accessible.

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So you get to do a lot of prep work at home or around wherever you're at or in the gym.

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And honestly, my work is a nice break from racing.

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So when I when I get overwhelmed with racing, at least I can take my mind off of it and do my work and vice versa.

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So it's actually been a really nice balance, especially in college.

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It was the same way.

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And you know, I just have a routine after work.

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I work out, I get my mind right, I watch races, I study the tracks, you know, all of that.

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So it's some it's very flexible, which I like.

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And that's kind of how I stay prepared and not overwhelmed.

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And not overwhelmed, because it could it could be very overwhelming if you let it, but in order, yeah.

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But but to know that today I'm doing this, tomorrow I'm doing this, and kind of stay organized in that it it helps to keep you from being overwhelmed for sure.

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Yeah.

00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:25.279
So is there someone that you've always looked up to or that maybe is a favorite driver, something like that that you can talk about?

00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:30.720
Well, my idol was Nikki Hayden, who was world champion.

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Amazing.

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But in current days, honestly, Kayla Yakoff is probably someone that I really look up to.

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She's a couple years younger than me, but she is the fastest woman in the US right now, and she's absolutely incredible.

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And I just love the way that she's uh driven her career and and where she's at right now and how how she trains, how she functions.

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So she's definitely my idol at the moment.

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And I hope she knows that.

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I'm sure she does.

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But you know what?

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I interviewed her in 2018, and she was already making a name for herself, and so I've stayed in touch and followed her through her career, and and she is just an amazing driver, and what a great person for you to kind of follow and look up to because even though she's younger, she's just had so much experience.

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She started at such a young age and she's just been everywhere and and raced everywhere.

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And that's have you met her before?

00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.240
Yep, yep.

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Talked to her a few times.

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Okay, all right, good.

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Have you ever had to race against her?

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Not yet, but hopefully, hopefully soon would be awesome.

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Yeah, yeah.

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So tell me about your bike.

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What kind is it?

00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:02.720
How you know, tell me all the all the ins and outs of of your motorcycle.

00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.399
So being in Twins Cup, we have a twin cylinder.

00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.480
I'll be on a Suzuki this year.

00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.200
So it's a TSX8R.

00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.600
And the past couple years I've been on a Yamaha R7.

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Okay.

00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.120
And that's been pretty cool as well.

00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:25.120
But there's less work that needs to be done to a Suzuki to be built up for this class.

00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.639
So it'll be interesting trying to figure out a new type of bike.

00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:29.600
Yeah.

00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:33.440
So my husband rides a Yamaha F Z1.

00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:34.720
Okay.

00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:37.600
And he's had it for a long time.

00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:46.000
And you know, the nice thing about, and and I don't know that much about Suzuki's, but I can tell you about the Yamaha.

00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:50.639
The only thing he's ever really had to replace is the seat.

00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:56.639
We had to have the seat redone and the tires, you know, get new tires.

00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:02.000
That bike is just you can't you can't kill it, you know.

00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:13.920
And he's got probably 60 some thousand miles on it, which is a lot for a personal bike that he basically rode back and forth to work for a long time.

00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:22.480
And and that, and so I'm a fan of the Yamaha's, but I know that the Suzuki's are really a good bike for racing.

00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.400
And so are you looking forward to having a different kind of bike?

00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.480
Yeah, it should be fun.

00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:29.440
I'm excited.

00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:31.680
I love Yamaha too.

00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:41.039
I've worked with them the past couple years, and it's we did a lot of work to the Yamaha, the R7s, and did a lot of development on them.

00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:46.559
So being an engineer, that was really interesting for me, and I loved having so much flexibility with it.

00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.400
So yeah, it's definitely you can do a lot to Yamaha's.

00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:51.920
Yeah, for sure.

00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:59.759
So, was there ever a time that you got off the motorcycle at the track and said, I'm done, I'm not doing this anymore?

00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.480
I'd say I was about 50% there once.

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:11.680
I had a couple of tough crashes back in 2024, and they were kind of back to back.

00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:23.680
And I had a bit of imposter syndrome moment, I would say, where you know, I thought, oh, I was the problem, I was the danger, and maybe this isn't what I should be doing.

00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:30.559
But sometimes coincidences just happen, and we had two months off before the next race after that.

00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.559
And yeah, it's very mental.

00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:34.319
You definitely have to get your mind right.

00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:48.400
But so was having the time off what kept you going, or how how did you talk yourself or what what happened that you said, no, I really do want to do this?

00:18:50.240 --> 00:19:02.160
I stepped away for about a week and just put it out of my mind and let myself settle down, I would say, and then just got back to training and got back into the routine.

00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.400
And it's it's kind of like anything, you forget the pain a little bit after time.

00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.319
Time heals things, and you just kind of look forward to the future.

00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:20.160
So I know that we we had one raise left in the year at that time, and we were going up to go test at the track, and we had lots of prep work, and yeah.

00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:29.519
I again the whole overwhelmed thing, I feel like if you have something else to occupy your mind, it really helps, and you can just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:29.920
Yeah.

00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:32.079
Yeah.

00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.880
And and time does heal, you know.

00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:35.440
Yeah.

00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:40.960
In the moment we're emotional, maybe we're hurt or whatever it might be.

00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:50.960
But as time goes by, those things kind of are a little bit easier to forget, and the love that you have for the racing comes back to the forefront.

00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:52.720
Absolutely.

00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:53.359
Yeah.

00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:53.839
Yeah.

00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.880
As soon as you get back on the bike, you're like, ah, nope, this is where I'm meant to be.

00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.400
Yeah, it's just like they say, you got to get back on the horse, right?

00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:05.039
For sure.

00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:12.400
So it's when in the series that you race, do you choose your number or do they assign you a number?

00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:14.319
Uh, you get to choose your number.

00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:14.880
Okay.

00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.759
And what number are you and why did you choose that?

00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:23.200
So I'm number 28, and my dad was 28.

00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:32.640
It's not necessarily why I chose the number, but we had twos and eights in our sticker bin when I first started racing.

00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.920
So it was either that or 82.

00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.960
And I just like 28 better.

00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.839
So we've taken it, we've run with it.

00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:43.039
Absolutely.

00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:43.759
Absolutely.

00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:46.640
And I bet your dad was happy you chose that number too.

00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.039
So even if he didn't say he was.

00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:52.000
It's nice to keep it in the family.

00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:52.960
Exactly.

00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:59.599
So, what's been your proudest moment or your your favorite memory from the time that you've been racing?

00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:01.680
Oh boy.

00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:09.119
Well, my first season racing, I did a class called Build Train Race.

00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:14.640
And it's it's an invitational class that Royal Enfield puts on in the pro series.

00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:26.480
So they choose 12 women from all over the country and invite them to build a race bike and race at four of the pro rounds, and they get a couple laps for the race.

00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.880
So it's it was an effort to bring more women into pro road racing.

00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:35.680
So I got chosen for that, and that's actually how I transitioned into road racing.

00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:39.200
And I had no idea how I was gonna stack up.

00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:42.000
I'd never really ever road raced before.

00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.039
I had about two months on a road race bike before our first pro race.

00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:50.160
And I ended up getting second in the race.

00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.160
Well, I was I take that back.

00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:59.200
I was second, I ended up third at the line, but podiumed, and it was just super exciting.

00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.759
Everybody.

00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:07.680
was was so excited and I don't know just blew my expectations out of the water and it was so fun.

00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:11.839
So that's kind of that was probably my proudest moment so far.

00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:23.440
I would think so because like you said you went in with probably no expectations just I'm here to do however well I can do and to podium that's pretty exciting.

00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:32.079
Yeah just take that leap of faith and and try your best out on camera with the whole country watching.

00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.359
But it was yeah no it was incredible.

00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:37.279
That was a good memory.

00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:48.400
You probably can kind of put some of that out of your mind that there's people watching because you're in the moment of racing instead but when it's over and you kind of it's it's just like doing the podcast.

00:22:48.559 --> 00:23:40.880
We're having a conversation and then when you see how many people listen you're like oh wow but at the time you know you're concentrating on something else so that's good for sure yeah what do you think is the best you know like a lot of people think women shouldn't be involved in racing even today even though we've we've gotten so far and so many more women are involved but why do you think racing motorcycle racing any kind of racing really is good for a good sport for a woman well I know for cars more so I mean it's not really there's not a big difference between men and women driving a car you know I think women can definitely get up to the physical standard that it takes very easily to do that as well.

00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:51.440
And then for motorcycle racing it's it is very physical but I mean we've seen women that have been able to compete neck and neck with men in the sport.

00:23:51.599 --> 00:24:01.599
So it's I think once the visor goes down it's actually a really good sport to put men versus women if that makes sense.

00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:06.240
And I do think in the past couple years we've taken huge strides with it.

00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:10.480
And I've been so grateful to be a part of the sport during this time.

00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:25.039
I mean how I got involved was an initiative to get more women into the sport and there were so many people supporting it and and then they started this women's world championship for road racing and I was in the second year that they had it.

00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:29.279
And that was just a launching pad into a world championship.

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:37.119
So I mean so many so many stories of the top girls in that championship was I won this championship.

00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:48.799
I was beating all these guys when I was younger but I got passed over for these opportunities because they thought a man's career would be longer than a woman's because of families and children.

00:24:49.039 --> 00:25:15.039
So you know if they're gonna invest Moto GP is going to invest in a young rider it's gonna be one that has potentially a 20 year career versus you know maybe 10 years, maybe 15, which not every woman plans to have kids or a family so it's very yeah it's it's definitely a hard situation but in the past couple years it's it's taken huge steps forward.

00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:32.160
And I definitely feel that in the paddock I get very and and to be accepted and and to look back to see maybe where it's come from to where it is now it still has a long way to go but it's just it is getting so much better.

00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:45.920
And that we're so grateful for that young women like you can be a part of it and and be involved in motorsports and and show other women or younger girls that this is something you can do.

00:25:47.039 --> 00:26:00.160
Yeah oh it's so fun to see all the little girls at the track and they come up and ask you questions and talk to you and no it's definitely part of the reason why I do it is to show what's possible.

00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:14.240
Yeah and prove to myself what's possible too so exactly and then also the friendships that you make you know it's it's a life they're lifelong friendships regardless of how long you're gonna be racing motorcycles.

00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:24.640
Absolutely I have friends all over the world now because of this and we all have similar passions and we're all connected and it's yeah no it's truly incredible.

00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:29.359
And there's so many more women out there than you would think which has been really cool to discover.

00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:30.319
Yeah.

00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:53.039
Until you start getting involved in the sport itself you really don't have any idea how many women there are involved in motorsports all across not just drivers but all across you know motorsports so it's pretty cool to see when you start getting involved and you're like wow I had no idea and then and it it's a lot it's a lot of fun.

00:26:53.200 --> 00:27:02.000
It's a lot of fun for sure so how about social media how do you use that where could people follow you on social media?

00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:06.079
So I have an Instagram Facebook and YouTube.

00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:34.799
My Instagram is sonia.be and my YouTube is Sonia Lloyd Racing and I also have a website that I keep up to date sonialoydracing.com okay I I can't say I'm the best with social media I have been trying more and more and it's obviously super nice the series gives you so much footage and photos to use and to keep everybody updated but it's definitely a skill that I'm working on.

00:27:34.960 --> 00:28:04.079
I think it's so huge in our sport right now and especially for sponsorships I mean it's all based around social media now so it's um yeah it's time consuming you know it Eric it can be time consuming you kind of have to get into a rhythm and and you also you know sometimes have to choose what platform am I going to really focus on because if you try to do too many it's too much.

00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:41.200
And so if you can focus on on one where you seem to have a lot of followers like your age person Instagram is huge but but it is it is such a big part of building your brand and getting sponsors and promoting your sponsors so yeah it's just something that we all have to keep working at for sure talking about sponsors do you have any that you want to share or since you're moving to a different team you can't really share yet can't really share yet but in a few weeks it will come out right before Daytona and super grateful for everybody that's come on board.

00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:47.599
It's it's what makes it all possible you know oh it does we know we know it's an expensive sport.

00:28:47.759 --> 00:30:14.319
I mean really anything you do like this is expensive it's not just racing but racing is an expensive sport so we depend on those sponsors to help and honestly what better place for a sponsor to to be than in motorsports that's a it's a great it's a it's a great uh sport to promote their brands for sure yes huge fan base that's extremely loyal to any any businesses that support us I know we've had mission foods come in recently and I mean yeah it's been incredible you just see mission tortillas everywhere even if they're not sponsored by them so it's you do and I think when they did NHRA they were a big sponsor there and that was kind of the first time I'd really heard of them and then I started looking in the grocery store and it's like oh this is the kind that I've been buying I just didn't put the two together you know so you had yeah it really does you know I think back to when GoDaddy when Danica Patrick nobody knew who GoDaddy was never heard of it and then you know she really made it a household name and so the the brands that jump on board especially with you women really get some good good promotion and and so that's why we need to encourage more of them to to be part of it.

00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:52.000
So what's your future look like what what would be your dream for the next five years for the next five years I'd love to win a championship I'd love to win a twins cup championship move on to our super sport class and fight for a championship there I'm I'm hoping to at least have you know five ten more years of my racing career and then I'd love to move over to the technical side and still be a part of racing and either be a data technician or a crew chief in Moto America would be my my end goal.

00:30:52.559 --> 00:31:24.559
Oh wouldn't that be fun to be the crew chief yeah that would that would be awesome I I'm gonna I'm gonna cross my fingers for you for that because I think that that would be awesome for you to do so is there anything we haven't talked about that I've missed that that you want to share about yourself or your racing anything at all nothing super specific I I just think this podcast is great for getting these stories out here.

00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:43.759
I mean there's so many different ways to get into motorsports and there's so many organizations out there and even being a part of motorsports I'm still discovering it every day different avenues to get into the sports so I don't know I had a bit of a unique entrance to road racing.

00:31:44.000 --> 00:32:12.880
I actually went overseas for a school internship and got a two-up ride on a MotoGP bike randomly and just that's how I got interested in road racing versus dirt bikes and and I I was okay at racing dirt bikes but I'm definitely a bit more talented when it comes to the road racing side so just saying yes to experiences I think is is huge for this industry and asking for help and asking questions.

00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:55.599
So for any women out there that are looking to get into it you know ask for an internship ask for a two-up ride ask for a chance and someone will give it to you for sure because you never know what your what your talents might be first of all in that area and and don't be afraid you have you have to reach out and and like take a step of faith to see hey I might really like this and try it and and then look where you could end up like you are yeah and we always need more you know the sport needs to grow and there's so much room for it.

00:32:55.839 --> 00:33:12.799
So yeah and if anybody has any questions I love when people reach out to me on Instagram as well and okay if I can direct them the right place and answer any questions it's always makes me really happy as well and it grows our whole network so it really does.

00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:26.799
We have to help each other yeah for sure well Sonia I've I'm uh I have a lot of questions I could ask but I do try to keep it about 30 minutes unless there's something else that you really would like to share.

00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:28.480
No this was great.

00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:32.960
I really appreciate you having me on and I hope to see you out at a Moto America race.

00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:36.799
Let me know I'll get you a pass come on out and okay.

00:33:37.759 --> 00:34:02.480
I'm gonna get I'm gonna look at the calendar and and see what we can do and you know my husband loves to go to the motorcycle races maybe I can talk him into that yeah absolutely your dog says it's time for you to stop I need to go outside how cute is that oh well I appreciate your help if you just hold on for a second we'll be right back.

00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:30.159
Awesome that's it for this episode of the Women's Motorsports Network podcast we hope you've been inspired by the stories I shared today and feel more connected to the amazing community of women in motorsport remember whether you're behind the wheel in the pits or cheering from the stands your story matters and together we're driving change and celebrating every milestone.

00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:48.159
If you enjoyed today's episode be sure to subscribe leave us a review and share it with someone who loves motorsports as much as you do and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates behind the scenes content and more incredible stories.

00:34:48.320 --> 00:35:00.480
So until next time stay inspired stay connected and keep racing through life this is the Women's Motorsports network podcast where every woman's story is worth celebrating