Photos courtesy of Rahal Ducati Moto
Kayla Yaakov is a professional racer with MotoAmerica race wins and more than a dozen podium finishes, and she became the first female to win a MotoAmerica race. At this stage in her career, she’s been fighting at the sharp end of Supersport on a Ducati V2.
What stands out most about Kayla isn’t just the results. It’s the way she talks about the moments that don’t show up on a stat sheet – the ones that shape you.
One of those moments lives at Road Atlanta in 2022. She crossed the line first, felt that shock of “this is real,” and then watched the result disappear after a controversial yellow-flag call. It didn’t stand in the record books, but it stayed in her head. Not as bitterness – as a mental switch.
“Some wins don’t stand in the record books – but they still change you.”
Another moment she can’t shake is the last lap of race two at Circuit of the Americas. After a messy start to the weekend, she reset and rode herself back into the fight. On the final lap she was right there in the podium battle, defending into the last corner, and she made one of those split-second decisions that racers replay for months. She saved it, but ran off. The podium went elsewhere. What stuck wasn’t the loss – it was how close she already was.
That’s the thread through Kayla’s story. The routine that keeps her calm before the visor drops. The work she does when nobody’s watching. The patience she had to learn the hard way. The way she talks about front-end feel and rider responsibility without turning it into a lecture. She’s not trying to sound like anything. She’s just honest about what it takes.
If you want the full version – the details, the laps, the mindset, and the parts that make her more than a headline – read the full story in TrackDNA Issue 01.
Issue 01 is
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TrackDNA Issue 01 is a 124-page premium, community-driven magazine for motorcycle track riders & enthusiasts.
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