She's 18, she's very fast, and she's taking on the world's elite motorcycle racers.
Auckland's Avalon Biddle is one of New Zealand's fastest motorcycle road-racers and now she's keen to test herself against some of the best young men and women from other parts of the world, racing at theFIM Asia Cup of Road-racing at Sugo, in Japan, this weekend.
"It has all been a last-minute thing really," says Biddle. "It's only come together in the past couple of weeks. I'm very excited about it.
"All the bikes are supplied by the race organisers ... they are all 150cc four-stroke Yamaha YZF R15 model bikes, each one identical to the next and the riders get their bikes allocated to them through a ballot system."
That should make the racing very close, something that Biddle is well prepared for after being involved in handlebar-to-handlebar racing at home during her New Zealand summers. She is a rising star in the sport in New Zealand and regularly beats the men.
Biddle raced a Honda RS125 to runner-up spot in the 125GP class in the New Zealand Superbike Championships earlier this year, finishing close behind Rangiora's Jake Lewis (Honda).
The Asian Cup organisers were keen to have a New Zealand rider to line up against top talent from Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, and so the offer was made.
"It is the off-season for me at the moment, so this will be a great learning experience," says Biddle, a first-year Massey University student in Auckland. She is doing a double degree in sports business management and sports science.
Biddle is no stranger to top international competition, having travelled to Italy in 2009 to race in the Red Bull Rookies selection series. She also raced in Australia in 2007, on a similar 150cc four-stroke bike.
"The four-stroke bikes are not as fast as the two-stroke 125s, so I imagine the racing at the Asia Cup will be similar to what I experienced in Australia in 2007."
Her father, Keith, will be travelling with her. "It will be a fantastic experience. I'm really looking forward to it," she says.
