Motorsport: Kiwi girl to take on the big boys

Avalon Biddle has a wildcard entry to the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend. Photo / Andy McGechan

Auckland's Avalon Biddle is wild about racing motorcycles.

And now she's got the label to suit ... she's been announced as a wildcard rider for the 125cc class at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend (October 14-18).

A talented young racer with plenty of international experience already, the 18-year-old from Orewa will line up against the cream of the world's 125cc racers at the Phillip Island circuit.

The Auckland Massey University student, and New Zealand No2 last season on a Honda in the highly-competitive 125GP class, was thrilled to be invited to compete.

And she can't wait to see how all the hard work she had put into 125s during the past few years compared with the standard of the GP boys.

"They show the 125 class on television right before MotoGP race in more than 200 countries around the world. It's the real deal," she said.

"Just how excited I am to have this opportunity probably hasn't really shown through over the last couple of weeks because there has been so much to do in a short space of time.

"I applied for the wildcard earlier in the year but heard that all the Australian spots were already full, so we applied to [the governing body] the FIM.

"After not hearing back from them all winter, my hopes weren't too high. In fact we had started selling my 125 gear because here I was thinking I would never be racing one again, let alone in a world GP. Then, just a few weeks ago, we had the entry confirmed.

"I will be riding essentially the same bike I have raced here for the past three years - a Honda RS125. It will be a 'special edition', however, as I am fortunate enough to have the loan of an engine from the Hoogenboezem family (in Christchurch), ignition from Chris Osborne, forks from Jason Easton and a rear shock from Steve Ward.

"So many people have chipped in to put the best bike possible together. I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity.

"Although we will still be about 20km/hr down on the top speed of the world championship regulars, the machine is definitely better than anything I've ridden before and I feel it will be capable of getting what I need to qualify for the race.

"This will be the last MotoGP 125 two-stroke race to be staged at the island, so here's to giving it my best shot."