Kayla Yaakov, a sixteen-year-old Gettysburg native, recently made her debut in elite pro-American motorcycle racing, writes A.J. Baime for The Wall Street Journal.

The teen, who races at 175 MPH, competed in the Daytona 200 on a Ducati Panigale V2 on March 9 against world-level riders. She finished in eleventh place out of 35 riders, some of whom were from places such as Brazil, Germany, and Australia.

This is Yaakov’s first first season in MotoAmerica’s Supersport class. She is currently the only girl and the youngest rider.

“My competitors are pretty cool with it,” she said.

Yaakov started racing in go-karts when she was 3. Her dad decided to introduce her to his racing hobby, and she immediately fell in love. She had made the switch to bigger bikes by age 10 and within two years was winning amateur national championships.

But while she already has a professional racing license, Yaakov is still waiting to get her actual driver’s license.

“I have my permit so I can drive with my dad, but I can’t drive alone,” she said. “It’s all pretty crazy when you look at it that way.”

Read more about Kayla Yaakov in The Wall Street Journal.

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