Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

A

day with Kate

Norman is well

spentifyouwantto

gettomeeta

super-intelligent,

attractive dirtbike

rider.Butaday

withheratthe

Upper Stroud Heights Championship

Off-Road training facility, left lots to

learn. Kate’s proof that it’s possible to

have both brainsandbeautywhile

fulfilling your racing dreams. So we

sat her down to ask how she does it.

How did you get involved in motorcycling?

I’d always had horses and competed

regularly in show jumping and

eventing. Unfortunately, both of my

horses injured themselves at the same

timeandneededanextendedbreak.

My partner was a motorbike mechanic

whoroderegularly,sohetaughtmeto

ridehisRM250andIstartedtoracea

fewmonthsafter.Thepoorhorsesare

still sitting in the paddock, but they’re

happy.I’vehadtimeoffthebikedueto

injuriesandworkcommitmentsbutI

have enjoyed racing the Australian

Off-Road Championship (AORC) for

the last two years.

What is it that you like about riding off-road?

It’sdefinitelyachallenge.Istarted

racing motocross and loved it but the

length of the off-road races and the

degree of difficulty appealed to me. It’s

verydifferenttothe3x8-minuteraces

we used to get in the women’s MX

classes.FinishingaracelikeHattahis

NORMAN

think you can multitask? Try being a vet

full time and racing as a professional

http://www.adbmag.com JANUARY 2018 | 185

WORDS // WARREN TURNER PHOTOS // IKAPTURE

Kate finished fifth in the 2017 AORC

Daniel Sanders got Kate into enduros

Tye Simmonds helped with her sand skills

On her way to her first AORC, Kate hit a Roo