Twenty-nine-year-old Kate Norman will make her fourth race start in this weekend’s opening round of the 2016 Yamaha Victorian Off-Road Championship (VORC), when it fires into life this weekend at Rawson.
Norman, a former motocross racer, made the switch to enduro racing at the beginning of last year was set to spearhead an assault in the 2015 Victorian Off-Road Championship and the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC).
Last year, however, Norman was marred by injuries which saw her only being able to compete in three rounds of the AORC and VORC.
For 2016, Norman has quite simply been putting in the hard yards, both on and off the track, in terms of training and riding countless hours aboard her Bolton Motorcycles and Power Equipment supported KTM 250SX-F.
Not only has she been putting in hours getting herself prepared for what should be a long season and hard fight, but she has also put in the work to gain some great sponsorship over the summer break, which is all paying off for her now.
Norman says she is more than ready to go racing in season 2016 and can’t wait to get the ball rolling this weekend: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend, that’s for sure,” Norman told Motorcycling Victoria.
“Whilst I still enjoy all the training side of things, nothing beats the rush of racing,” she added.
With few months off from racing this likeable character is not pinning her hopes on any results just yet. She simply wants to see how she does this weekend and go from there.
“Of course, I’m hoping for a good result but I just want to see how I go first up,” Norman explained.
Norman’s best overall finish in the VORC to date was a third place finish at round six at the end of May at Three Bridges in a two-hour cross-country format.
“To have got one top three finish already does give me a bit confidence. In saying that, it is motorsport and all the stars have to align, so I’m definitely not getting ahead of myself just yet.
“All I do know is I feel ready, I feel fitter than ever. The Bolton Motorcycles KTM 250-SX-F feels better than ever with all the suspension work done by All-tech Suspension so it’s going along nicely at the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Track conditions at Rawson this weekend will be dry and hard packed, as well as rocky, which will suit Norman’s style of riding.
“I do prefer the dry and hard pack tracks, as the tracks where I do train on is that type of conditions so hopefully there are a few advantages there.”
To keep up to date with Norman’s racing throughout 2016 you can follow her by liking her Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/KateNormanRacing/
A reminder that online entries for Round 1 & 2 close MIDNIGHT tonight, March 2, at https://www.mvorconline.com/mvorc/
Story by Russell Colvin