Nyla Goodchild is on a mission to tear down the gender barrier in the male-dominated sport of motocross.

With every passing race day, the Berkeley Institute student continues to blaze a trail at Southside Motorsports Park in St David’s, in the hope of inspiring more women to compete in the sport and ultimately bridge the gender gap.

Goodchild is driven by an enormous appetite and passion for racing and refuses to allow herself to be discouraged or intimidated by being among the minority in her chosen sport.

“Being a female in a male sport does not really affect me or what I believe I can do,” she told The Royal Gazette.

“I believe I can still be a trailblazer and create paths for people to follow because nothing is stopping me.”

The 15-year-old rider has already enjoyed success in her sport and offered a kindly reminder of the enormous potential she possess, after producing a clean sweep of victories in her class at 85cc Women’s class, in her previous outing at the racetrack.

“My season so far is going well,” Goodchild added.

“⁠Racing has been competitive in my class as there are two other girls that I compete against on race days.”

The promising rider has benefited tremendously from the overwhelming support she receives from family and friends, which has fuelled her ambitions.

“Motivation from friends, family and others has helped me through motocross and pushed me to do my best,” Goodchild added.

“My parents have also helped me through a lot and especially my dad. He has worked on my bike a lot and fixed it whenever it had a problem.”

Goodchild gets a real adrenalin rush from putting her skills to the test against her rivals on race day.

“I enjoy racing the most in motocross because I find it very fun and competitive and ⁠I am not involved in any other sports,” she said.

Track conditions can vary and become extremely challenging at times.

However, Goodchild is doing reasonably well making the necessary adjustments to maintain her competitive edge.

“The track at Southside is pretty good when groomed because there is more traction to ride on,” she explained. “When the track is dry it’s harder because it is slippery and dusty, something I don’t really like.”

• The Bermuda Motocross Association will be staging the traditional Boxing Day Trophy Race Series at Southside Motorsports Park in St David’s on Tuesday, starting from noon.