Talk about the perfect rookie year. Winning your first three professional races on motocross and winning the year's nationals, defeating the five-time reigning champion in the process.
That is the life Ashley Fiolek, of St. Augustine, Florida. The deaf motocross rider has had such a whirlwind first year on the professional circuit that it's sometimes difficult to remember she's seventeen.
"Forget that she is still a teenager, too, because that's not holding her back," reminds one of her sponsors, Vans Shoes, on their Fiolek-inspired website , and they serve up even more praise: "While you're at it, try to forget, for a second, that Ashley looks like a model, because no one gets grubbier or no one goes for more glory on a dirt track." When Fiolek rides on her #67 Honda with her blond hair flowing from under her helmet, it's usually because there are riders behind her, not in front of her.
Fiolek was recently featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" feature in the December 1 issue of Sports Illustrated. For someone who has been riding against boys since she was seven, this year's leap to the top of the Women's Motocross Association (WMA) rankings was merely a blink of an eye for Fiolek.
Fiolek got her start in the motocross world from her father, a former rider himself. To accommodate her racing schedule, even though she lives in St. Augustine, home of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Fiolek is a homeschooled junior.
Standing only five feet and two inches tall and weighing in at 107 pounds, she packs quite a punch on the track. Fiolek won her first race of the 2008 year, the WMA Pro National at Thunder Valley, and then won her next two races at Freestone and Hangtown.
Fiolek makes sure that people know her "disability" isn't an issue. She hates to be identified as disabled or hearing impaired, saying: "there's nothing 'impaired' about me." In fact, Fiolek sees her deafness as an advantage on the track. She can't hear around her so she won't get spooked, but sometimes she does worry that she will hit another rider.
Fiolek admits in an interview, posted at her Vans website, that she needs to adjust to a full season of riding. Her amateur season last year was a "one shot thing," and after seeing how well she rode against other competitors, she elevated to the women's professional ranks this season.
Along with her profile in Sports Illustrated, Fiolek was chosen as the first female cover of Transworld Motocross.
"The distinction of first female cover was given to Ashley with good reason. The 17-year old rode her way to the top of the only professional women's motorsport series in the U.S. this season and defeated five-time champion Jessica Patterson in the process," states Transworld Motocross on the cover selection. She also pens her own monthly column, "Silence," in the same magazine.
Fiolek's aspirations are to eventually compete in the men's circuit and qualify for men's nationals. She knows she has a long hill to ride up to accomplish all of this, but when it comes to Fiolek, all it takes is guts, determination, and a lot of dirt.
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