Speedy Silje on the fast track to success

Super-fast Silje Otte is currently lying fifth in the national Bridgestone BSMA Clubman Series, despite being the only girl in her category.

And she will be aiming to lift a major national junior title when she races in the Girls National at Maismore in Gloucestershire on September 12 and 13.

Otte, who was born in Denmark, developed an affection for the high-octane world of motocross as an 11 year-old, having arrived in the UK seven years earlier.

She said: "I probably rode my first motocross bike as an 11 year-old. I don't know how I got into it really.

"I remember seeing my step-brother riding one and I really fancied a go.

"I didn't want to sit back and watch. I wanted to get involved and things have progressed from there.

"It's fair to say that it isn't a pastime usually associated with a 16 year-old girl, but I love the sport and the thrill of doing well."

Five years on she is making waves within her chosen sport, and has been regularly beating several of her male counterparts in a superb first season on the Clubman Series circuit

The Clubman Series is seen as a proving ground for young motocross hopefuls and Otte, who competes in the senior section, has been battling it out against a field of almost 40 boys aged 15-18 in a talent-packed division.

She said: "Beating the boys is always nice. You get a special sense of recognition, a look of acknowledgement, when you do well against them.

"There are a lot of very good riders in the series. It has some of the best young riders in the country so I wasn't really sure what to expect when I entered.

"I was hoping for a top-10 finish but I have been pretty consistent and I have surprised myself a bit with how I have done."

Otte will be hoping to secure fifth spot overall when she takes part in the final round of the competition just five miles down the round in Condover.

The last round of the series will take place on September 5 and 6 and Otte, who attends Shrewsbury Sixth Form, will be keen to finish with a flourish on relative home soil.

She will be setting her sights even higher at the Girls National though, where she is determined to pick up the biggest prize available.

Otte, who will again be competing in the senior category, said: "I haven't competed in the Girls National for a few years but I would really like to reach top spot.

"I am in good form so I think I have got a pretty good chance and I am going in with confidence." She will also be heading there with the backing of one of the biggest tyre manufacturers in the world.

A string of impressive performances in the Clubman's Series, a competition which Bridgestone sponsor, have brought her to the attention of the company.

Otte, who was already a keen user of the company's tyres, has been kitted out with a set of their Battlecross x30s for the Girls National.

And she said: "I am really proud of that. They work with some really good riders and for them to want to help me is amazing."

In the long term Otte is eyeing success on an even bigger scale, and has ambitions to one day become a professional rider competing for world championships.

Otte, who rides a 125cc Husqvarna bike, said: "The big aim for me is to become a professional and ride all over the world at the top level.

"I am just going to work harder and harder and keep moving on upwards as much as I can."

She is certainly already putting in plenty of graft in her quest for global success and she is training up to six times a week both one and off the bike.

She rides up to three days a week while also training three times a week at Vanity Fitness in Shrewsbury.

Her regime takes in two gruelling boot camps, which work predominantly on improving fitness, as well as a weekly one-on-one weights session with a personal trainer to improve her strength and endurance.