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INTERVIEW I 2025 AMA NGPC WOMEN'S PRO CHAMP/ WMX ATHLETE MIKAYLA NIELSEN
Aside from winning a WMX
title or more NGPC titles, what
are some other goals or things
you'd like to do on a motor
-
cycle?
Hmmm. I would love to pre-
run Baja. I mean, I'm not going
to put it out there that I want
to race it. I know it's a different
beast and all that, but my team
is really big into the Baja, so I'd
love to pre-run it with everyone.
I know how fun the pre-running
part of it is, and I know how
stressful the racing part is. I just
want to ride, and to pre-run Baja
would be fun if I ever get the op
-
portunity. But I enjoy doing both
[NGPC and WMX]; it keeps me
on my toes, keeps me racing. All
I wanna do is just race.
CN
What is your team situation
now?
I race for the SLR Honda
racing team—that's Mark
Samuels' team—and we're also
sponsored by Monster and Fly,
and now we're bringing in other
sponsors, like Southern Pow
-
ersports. Everyone under our
rig is putting in one hundred
percent, and it's cool to have a
team like that that really sup
-
ports what you want to pursue,
and they're also as excited to
pursue it. So we just have a
really good team right now. I
couldn't ask for a better team.
It sounds like you're going to
focus more now on motocross?
I'm kind of shifting my focus
a little bit more towards the mo
-
tocross side. I had never done
a full season of Women's MX
racing, and that was my first
time, so I just got to catch up in
the motocross game, I guess.
My roots are off-road; I mean,
I grew up in the desert and did
a lot of NGPC races. But if I'm
going to be honest, I really love
moto. I mean, I've always loved
off-road; it's more therapeutic
for me, just being able to ride
there. It's like free range, kind
of like a stress reliever, where
moto has that adrenaline spike
that I just love. I just love that
adrenaline.
Mikayla, who grew up riding
Honda XRs in the California
desert, plans to compete in both
NGPC and WMX Championships
next year, but she really wants
that WMX title.
PHOTO: KIT PALMER
