California superbike school and Kawasaki to support road racer MISTI HURST in the AMA supersport series

Canadian racer joins Kawasaki-supported Jessica Zalusky and Elena Myers as a standout female roadracing competitor.


IRVINE, Calif.-Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) has reached an agreement with Canadian roadracer Misti Hurst, who will campaign a California Superbike School-sponsored Kawasaki Ninja® ZX™-6R sportbike in several upcoming AMA Supersport races. She will make her debut later this month at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway.

Hurst, who joins Kawasaki-sponsored Jessica Zalusky on the AMA circuit, is a relative late-comer to roadracing. She didn’t learn to ride until she was 24-years-old, but since has not only become an accomplished sportswoman, but has also turned her avocation into a full-time position with Keith Code’s California Superbike School. Having completed all of the preparatory courses offered by Code, Hurst also enrolled in the professional coaching courses and will be actively involved at more than 70 California Superbike School dates in 2007.

“Misti Hurst is a very talented rider, a real competitor and competent in every area of her life that I know of. She has been coaching with the California Superbike School for the past three years where we have seen her riding improve tremendously. We are very excited and pleased to see her take her racing efforts to the AMA this season and are behind her 100%.” Keith Code, California Superbike School.

“I’m thrilled that Kawasaki and the California Superbike School have given me the opportunity to participate in some of the AMA races this season,” said Hurst. “I’m amazed that this dream is coming true,” she continued.

The dream for her began shortly after she took to the competitive scene in earnest in 2001. Her first victory came in a Westwood Motorcycle Road Racing Club 650 Supersport Twins event at British Columbia’s Mission Raceway Park. She followed that win later in the season with another victory and a second place finish, putting her atop the season’s final standings. She also closed out that season with a 10th place overall finish in the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association.

Hurst’s tenacity and interest in the sport drove her to compete against male racers in the Parts Canada AM 600 Nationals in 2006, and by anyone’s standards, it paid off. She placed ninth overall for the series, and gained attention as the top female racer on the circuit.

Zalusky, from Prior Lake, Minn., became the first Kawasaki-supported female road racer, and is currently campaigning a Ninja ZX-6R in AMA Supersport competition. She is a popular personality in the paddock and has proven to be an inspiration to female riders with both her on-track performances and her media appearances focusing on the growth of women in motorcycling.

Elena Myers, the 13-year-old phenom roadracer from Discovery Bay, Calif., is the youngest in Kawasaki’s trio of female road racers. However, that fact doesn’t stop her from being blazing-fast every time she’s on the track. This top-notch student and activist who supports the RoadracingWorld.com “Kids: Don’t Smoke!” program, will compete for Kawasaki Team Green™ in WERA West and selected AFM series events in 2007. Elena began racing pocket bikes and progressed to 125cc GP machines prior to earning official support from Kawasaki.