Super Silje wins national motocross crown

Seventeen year-old Silje Otte has put her name on the motorsport map following her success in the Girls National competition at Maismore in Gloucestershire. In five races around the track, Silje won four races convincingly, one of which by nearly 30 seconds.

Bridgestone, the world’s largest tyre manufacturer, decided to support Silje’s efforts with a supply of its Battlecross X30 tyres, with sales and training development manager Mark Fereday being the first to praise the youngster for her achievement.

He said: “We knew what an amazing talent Silje is, but to win the Girls National by such a huge margin even surprised us at one point. She just kept extending and extending her lead in the races and once she hit the front in race two, there was no looking back for her. Considering the pressure she puts herself under and the fact that this was the pinnacle of girls’ motocross in the UK, Silje’s performance was incredible.”

Her achievement was all the more impressive after the Heath Farm teenager broke both of her wrists in a motocross accident a few years ago.

Her mum Lone said: “Yes it is scary, especially at the start. My heart is pounding like crazy when I am watching her, but she keeps on getting better and better.

She did have an accident and took a year off the bike, but you could tell how much she was missing it, and the smile you see on her face when she is riding now is such an uplifting sight.

“She absolutely loves it and I couldn’t be happier for her. I am unbelievably proud.”

Silje also finished fifth in the Bridgestone BSMA Clubman’s Series, where amongst a field of boys. She said: “Riding with the guys in the Clubman’s Series definitely brought me on as a rider and I think this showed in the Girls National at the end. I was so nervous as I had built the event up in my mind for a really long time. It was the one I wanted to win more than anything else, so to do it was a special feeling.”