Interview: ZipTy Yamaha WMA Racer Sherri Cruse

Meet 17-year-old Sherri Cruse from Bakersfield, California. She's coming up fast as one of the top female motorossers in the U.S. Last year she took the Big 6 GP Series by storm, where she caught the eye of Ty Davis' ZipTy Yamaha team. Still in the early stages of her first full-factory season with ZipTy, Sherri currently holds the points lead in the WORC Series over defending champion Maria Forsberg, and looks forward to being a force in this year's WMA Series.

After getting a chance to race test her ride at the Adelanto WORCS race, and watching her whoop on the boys in the 250A class, we sat down with Cruse to hear about her start in racing, what her goals are for this year, and why she will always remember to check her voicemail.

How's your season been going so far this year?
It's been going pretty good. I'm still ahead in points [in WORCS]. Maria and I are going to keep battling back and forth. It should be a pretty interesting year.

How many wins do you each have?
I think I have one more win than her. She won at Taft. I came in for gas and missed my pit; that's why. The person telling me to pit, I didn't know him too well, so I was like, "Is he talking to me?" And everyone was like, "Sherri, what are you doing?!" So she [Maria] won there, and she won at Milford when I got hit. I crashed, and when I picked my bike back up, somebody ran right into me and I got hit in the back of the head. Knocked me completely on the ground.

Ouch! Did you still finish?
Yeah, I finished.

When did you first start riding?
I first started riding when I was nine, with my parents. And then I started racing when I was 10. My brother and my dad taught me. I first started on a KTM 60. I always wanted to be as fast as my brother, so I was always determined. And [I also wanted] to get everything he got. He got new tires every other race, I was like, "Why don't I get this stuff?" That's the thing that drove me, I think.

When I was 14, we went to Vegas for my brother to do the World Mini--I've never raced it; I won't race there. That's when he broke his hip and quit racing. And he was my hero. So I was like, "Well, I'm going to take his number (774) and I'm going to race for him."

After that you had somewhat of a second start in racing; how did that happen?
My parents split up when I was a sophomore [in high school]. That was hard; I almost quit. I had an '03 Honda 125 and I went out to the desert with my friend for New Year's. All of our parents and their friends were there and Randy [DiFrancesco] was one of the friends. I was keeping up with them and beating them and he was like, "Who's that little girl?"

Randy said he wanted to help me, and I was like, "You wanna help me? I don't even know you!" This was right before the [2005] Big 6 of Glen Helen and he said, "Give me two weeks and I'll get you a KTM 125 from our local shop." He did and I was like, "Woah, this is crazy." We started racing the Big 6 GP's together and he took me to those and he paid for me. He's still my mechanic; he should be around for a long time.

When did you finally decide to switch to the 250F?
Halfway through the WMA [2005 series], I was on a KTM 125, and I kept crashing and crashing. Every moto, like I'd be running third, and I would crash. Just stupid crashes, I over-cleared a double into a braker bump, and it just sent me right over the bars. Then I thought, "I gotta get off this." That's when I rode the Yamaha. I practiced on the 250F and they were like, "Sherri, you're running two-minute-faster lap times! You gotta ride this."

Did you feel faster on the 250F than the 125?
Not a first. Because it's so much [steady] gas, that you don't feel like you're going any faster.

How did you end up joining the ZipTy Yamaha team?
I don't know how they saw me, because I've never been to a WORCS race; this is my first year. But I guess through Big 6 Series. At one of the Big 6's the ZipTy team tried calling us and asked us to be on the team. And neither of us [Randy or I] had our phones and we never checked our messages. I lost my phone and Randy's a construction worker and never answers his cell phone. Two months later, he checked his voicemails and he was like, "Sherri, they called!" That was pretty cool.

So what are your plans for this year?
I'm going to go to every WMA this year. I'm doing the WORCS, Big 6 and WMA. I'm going to try to make it to all of them. I'm going to be traveling [a lot]!

What would you say is the biggest series for you this year?
WMA, for sure. There are really fast girls [in that series]. Here, there's a lot of fast girls, but you can't tell how fast you're really getting until you beat them all. So the WMA is the biggest one. It's a lot more competitive, for sure. A lot of girls have factory rides there. So their bikes are so fast and there's a lot of natural talent.

What are your goals for this season?
I really want to win WORCS and Big 6. I think I can do that, for sure. But I won't know for the WMA [until the first round]. I want to get on the podium every time.