Youth Club: Super Silje’s crowning glory
By Team TMX on 30th Sep 15
A super-fast Shrewsbury starlet has crowned an unforgettable year in motocross with a resounding triumph in a prestigious national event, to the delight of tyre sponsors Bridgestone.
Silje Otte, 17, has put her name firmly on the MX map with her success in the Girls' National at Maismore, Gloucestershire.
In five races around the challenging track, Silje (right) was rarely troubled by a field of the best young females in the UK, winning four races convincingly, one by nearly 30 seconds.
Bridgestone, one of the world's largest tyre manufacturers, decided to support Silje's efforts, with a supply of Battlecross X30 tyres.
And sales and training development manager Mark Fereday was the first to praise the youngster's 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. Once she hit the front in race two, there was no looking back.
"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 her wrists in a motocross accident a few years ago.
Her mum, Lone, said: " 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, 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.
