Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton said "Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That's what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice." That statement is showcased every month by the women who race in the Loudon Road Race Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Round five of the 2019 LRRS season hit the 1.6-mile road course this past weekend, and nearly half of the 26 total races throughout the weekend featured at least one female on the starting grid.

Novice rider Erika Tomlinson is a clinical psychologist who is finishing up a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at Harvard. She started racing motorcycles this year, but began riding in her thirties when she was in graduate school.

"I actually think of it as therapy," said California native and current Warwick, R.I. resident Tomlinson. "It's a lot more than the adrenaline. It's definitely an escape. I feel like I'm really not awesome at it, but I don't care, because just having the ability to do it is freeing, it increases my self-confidence and it makes me feel happy to be alive and grateful for the moments."

While some riders discover their passion for motorcycle racing later in life, a lot of riders start out very young, often fueled by a parent who races. This is the case for 13-year-old Rindge, N.H. native and amateur rider Brianna McHugh, whose dad sparked her interest when most kids are focused on potty training.

"When I was three years old, I was on a four-wheeler," said McHugh, who claimed a top five finish in Sunday's Combined 300 Superbike, finishing first for the amateurs in the race. "I ended up going too fast on it and it was too big for me, so my dad threw me on a motorcycle. When I turned four, he got me a PW-50, took me over to a local flat track race and it all started there."

Sunderland, Mass. native and amateur rider Kerry Smith may also be new to LRRS with this weekend marking only her second round competing in the series, but she is no stranger to motorcycle racing or NHMS. Smith has been racing for 13 years on a vintage motorcycle, and she has been coming to the speedway since 1981 when it was Bryar Motorsports Park with her dad, who raced motorcycles up until 2005. She spoke about how it can be difficult for a woman to break in to a male-dominated sport, but her experience has been positive.

"You're always going to come across some men that are not ok with it," said Smith. "When I started vintage racing, they gave me more space than they needed to on the track, but I think with 13 years of racing experience, I proved myself pretty quickly."

Smith also reflected on the deeper meaning of being one of the few females in the sport.

"Being a female in this industry and in this sport is fun," said Smith, who took second in Sunday's Lightweight Supersport after two third place finishes. "I've had women come up to me and talk about how I'm a role model. It's about encouraging and empowering women to be able to do this or ride in general and not have it be so male-dominated. I'm proud to be a female racer. I'm also proud to be a motorcycle racer. You have to have a balance of both."

Round six of the Loudon Road Race Series returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway September 14-15.

Check out the full results from all races: https://trackintel.com/ti/lrrs/ajax2014/results/index.html

Stay up-to-date with the Loudon Road Race Series:

For ticket information for all events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the September 20-21, 2019 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, the June 13-21, 2020 Motorcycle Week at NHMS and the July 17-19, 2020 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.

Round Five Results (Top Three):

Expert

Class

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Formula 40 Lights

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Rick Doucette

Gerald Randall

Formula 40 Unlimited

Eric Wood

David Dayon

Eric Shaw

Formula 50 Lights

Rick Doucette

Brett Guyer

John Grush

GTL

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Harlan Hildebrand

Rick Doucette

GTO

Cory Hildebrand

Tyler Wasserbauer

Robert S. Briody

GTU

Scott Greenwood

Alex Guilbeault

Paul Duval

Heavyweight Superbike

Scott Greenwood

Samuel Greenwood

Alex Guilbeault

Heavyweight Supersport

Scott Greenwood

Samuel Greenwood

Marcelo Lautert

Lightweight Grand Prix

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Rick Doucette

Harlan Hildebrand

Lightweight Sportsman

Brett Guyer

Elijah Block

Kevin Allen

Lightweight Superbike

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Harlan Hildebrand

Peter Gaboriault

Lightweight Supersport

Scott Mullin

Bill Coolahan

Steven Heider

Motard

Elijah Block

Gunnar Ouellette

Kevin Allen

Moto 3

Shawn Spear

Christopher Woodman

N/A

Middleweight Formula 40

Scott Greenwood

Paul Duval

Adam Andrusia

Middleweight Grand Prix *Dash for Cash*

Scott Greenwood

Alex Guilbeault

Rick Doucette

Middleweight Superbike

Scott Greenwood

Alex Guilbeault

Rick Doucette

Middleweight Supersport

Scott Greenwood

Samuel Greenwood

Kristopher Hopkins

Super Singles

Adam Clark

Gunnar Ouellette

Kevin Allen

Thunderbike

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Harlan Hildebrand

Tim Hogan

Ultralight GP

Brett Guyer

Shawn Spear

Wesley Lakis

Ultralight Superbike

Peter Gaboriault

Steven Heider

Bill Coolahan

Unlimited Grand Prix

Eric Wood

Cory Hildebrand

Tyler Wasserbauer

Unlimited Superbike

Eric Wood

Tyler Wasserbauer

Scott Mullin

Unlimited Supersport

Eric Wood

Cory Hildebrand

Tyler Wasserbauer

Amateur

Class

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Formula 40 Lights

Rick Kaeser

Stephen Biehl

Bruce Marshall

Formula 40 Unlimited

Vicente Frontinan

Michael Newton

Lloyd Palmer

Formula 50 Lights

Rick Kaeser

Michael Dimond

Stephen Biehl

GTL

Charles Blumberg

Nick Leighton

Jason Sauvageau

GTO

Kamran Pelkey

Robert Lewis Jr.

Thomas Hynes IV

GTU

Anthony DiCecca

Vicente Frontinan

Matthew Farrell

Heavyweight Superbike

David Caldwell

Vicente Frontinan

Anthony DiCecca

Heavyweight Supersport

Brian Fernald

Daniel Zimmer

Michael Guarino

Lightweight Grand Prix

Charles Blumberg

Nick Leighton

Jason Sauvageau

Lightweight Sportsman

Brooks Saunders

Daniel Zimmer

Miles Allen

Lightweight Superbike

Charles Blumberg

Nick Leighton

Kerry Smith

Lightweight Supersport

Charles Blumberg

Kerry Smith

Stephen Biehl

Motard

Brooks Saunders

Daniel Zimmer

Miles Allen

Moto 3

Jeff Vader

N/A

N/A

Middleweight Formula 40

Vicente Frontinan

Cadman Fenton

Lloyd Palmer

Middleweight Grand Prix *Dash for Cash*

David Caldwell

Vicente Frontinan

Michael Guarino

Middleweight Superbike

Brian Fernald

Paul Hosue

David Caldwell

Middleweight Supersport

Vicente Frontinan

Daniel Zimmer

Michael Guarino

Super Singles

Brooks Saunders

Daniel Zimmer

Christopher Girard

Thunderbike

Kevin Fogg

Rick Kaeser

N/A

Ultralight GP

Michael Zoner

John Lear

Robert Vaughan

Ultralight Superbike

Michael Dimond

Jason Sauvageau

Kerry Smith

Unlimited Grand Prix

David Caldwell

LeRoy Cort

Brian Fernald

Unlimited Superbike

David Caldwell

Nick Leighton

LeRoy Cort

Unlimited Supersport

Brian Fernald

David Caldwell

Matthew Farrell

Combined (Expert & Amateur)

Class

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

300 Superbike

Rick Doucette

Shawn Barron

Daniel Rosato

300 Supersport

Shawn Barron

Jason Downs

Rick Doucette

500 Superbike

Benjamin Gloddy

Daniel Rosato

Rick Doucette

500 Supersport

Benjamin Gloddy

Daniel Rosato

Michael Zoner

SuperTwins

Charles "Jesse" Sandoz

Tim Hogan

Adam Kells

Novice

Class

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Formula 1

Drew Bailey

Dennis Metzler

Tsuyoshi Honjo

Formula 2

Dennis Metzler

Pierce Ballantyne

Mark Bierschied

Formula 3

Brett Anderson

John Corey

Rick Ma

Formula 4

Paul Sadatis III

Jake Weems

Renee Franco

Rookie 1

Tsuyoshi Honjo

Dennis Metzler

Daniel Foley

Rookie 2

John Corey

N/A

N/A

Rookie 3

Rick Ma

Joseph Walker

Pierce Ballantyne

Rookie 4

Renee Franco

N/A

N/A

Starter 1

Dennis Metzler

Tsuyoshi Honjo

Daniel Foley

Starter 2

William Whitman

N/A

N/A

Starter 3

Joseph Walker

Mark Bierschied

N/A

Starter 4

Paul Sadatis III

Renee Franco

N/A

Rookie

Class

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Heavyweight 1 & 2

Drew Bailey

David Mink

N/A

Lightweight 3 & 4

Renee Franco

Jake Weems

Brett Anderson

Wave 1

Dennis Metzler

Tsuyoshi Honjo

Josh Ziemski