Motocross racer makes Manitoba history with national series title
Manitoba officially has its first woman motocross racer to win a championship in the Canadian WMX series — the highest level of women's motocross in Canada — as Katrine Ferguson captured the Women's Pro West Coast Nationals title earlier this month.
For the 18-year-old, motorcycle racing across muddy terrains with jumps, steep hills, and tight turns in 20-minute motos is a unique pursuit, especially in Manitoba, where motocross racers are few and female riders even fewer.
But in the Ferguson family, motocross is anything but rare, and as Katrine swept all races in Calgary and Cold Lake, Alta., on her way to win the championship, she did it with her three sisters by her side who all compete or work in the sport with her.
Ciel Ferguson Photo
Katrine Ferguson won the Women's Pro West Coast Nationals title earlier this month in Alberta.
Ciel, Ani, Katrine and Téa, the Ferguson sisters, make up the family-run team who are based in Ile-des-Chênes, a small town southeast of Winnipeg.
Alongside their parents, Travis and Marie, the sisters travel together across North America to compete in WMX races.
'There's not a lot of really fast riders that are produced out of Manitoba,' said Katrine. 'So it felt really cool. It felt really cool to represent a province that isn't as much represented in the sport. It also felt really cool, like, I'm Métis, so it felt really awesome to represent my culture as well in that sense.'
On top of her racing success, which she says has progressed significantly over the past two years, Katrine balanced training while finishing her first year at the University of Manitoba this spring with an impressive 4.13 GPA.
'I was definitely nervous coming into it,' said Katrine on the recent WMX nationals. 'I feel like there was a lot of pressure on me. People were saying a lot that I was gonna do well or I was going to win, and I felt a lot of pressure, like, if I didn't do that. So kind of the way that I tried to rest my mind and stuff was just focus on the things that I could control.'
Ani and Téa were not far behind her, also putting up strong performances and both placing in the top seven.
But how did we get here? Ciel, the oldest of the sisters, remembers when their dad first brought home a Honda CRF50 dirt bike one weekend years ago while their mom was away, and they've been hooked ever since.
'Our first while of riding dirt bikes, we were actually not doing motocross,' said Ciel. 'We were doing hare scrambles, riding trails in the woods, and eventually that progressed into becoming motocross racers on track.'
Ciel says trail riding continues to give them an edge when it comes to developing the technical side of motocross.
The 22-year-old herself has moved on from racing pro after facing injuries, including breaking her collarbone last July and suffering a brain bleed, and is now also focused on starting her own career as a flight attendant for Perimeter Aviation.
Ciel Ferguson Photo
Katrine Ferguson is the first Manitoba woman to win a championship in the Canadian WMX series.
'Unfortunately, it's very, very difficult to make a career out of racing motocross, especially as a female in Canada,' she said.
But Ciel, who still rides and races when she can, flies out to watch her sisters compete and stays involved through behind-the-scenes work — managing the team, handling sponsorships and media, and doing all the photography and videography for the races.
'Motocross is my life, my passion, doing this with my family,' said Ciel. 'So I still want to be connected as much as possible.'
Ani, 20, is also heavily involved in the motocross world, working at the Capital Motorsports store when she's not racing.
In March, she recently had the opportunity to compete at two of the biggest amateur spring national events in Texas, earning 10th overall in the JS7 class at Freestone MX and 11th overall at Spring A Ding.
'She was able to carry a lot of momentum from racing those big events in the U.S.,' said Ciel. 'And then coming back to Canada to race the women's pro nationals, here she did really good.'
For the youngest Ferguson, 17-year-old Téa, her journey to racing wasn't as automatic as her other sisters, admitting she actually hated it whenever her dad tried to get her on a bike.
'I was like, 'I'm never doing this, not doing it,'' said Téa. 'And I stopped for two years. And then, obviously, when you're like watching everybody do something fun, you obviously want to try it again. So I did. Originally, I didn't want to, but now I could not imagine it any other way.'
From not being interested, Téa went on to become the first female Manitoban to win a supermini race at Zhoda International Raceway and competed in her first professional women's race in 2022.
Unfortunately for the young athlete, she's also been met with some injury trouble, including three serious fractures in her pelvis after a crash during a race in 2023, which required surgery.
SUPPLIED
From left: motocross sisters Ciel Ferguson, Katrine Ferguson, Téa Ferguson, Ani Ferguson
'My first question was, 'when can I ride again?'' said Téa. ''Like, when can I ride again?' I couldn't imagine anything else. So pretty much, I worked really hard, and like rehab, I just kept my eyes on the goal. I wanted to be back on the bike, so it really wasn't any problem. As soon as the opportunity came, I was riding again and training, and that's just, I don't know, it's where I belong.'
Téa, who also plays other sports like rugby and basketball, says this year has been the best she's ever felt racing.
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'It has been really good,' said Téa on the season so far. 'We all spend the entire summer in a camper together. So it really builds strong connections with your family.'
Ciel says the sport has been growing in Manitoba, and that there are a lot more girls in general, especially out west, who are racing, riding and taking the sport seriously.
'We recognize that the role models we are able to be to younger riders, and especially younger women that are starting to get into the sport, that is especially very special for us to be a part of,' said Ciel.
Next up for the Ferguson sisters is the WMX East Coast Nationals, kicking off June 29 in Sainte-Julie, Que. The series will then run through Courtland, Ont., Ottawa, Ont., Moncton, N.B., and Deschambault, Que., before wrapping up in Walton, Ont., on Aug. 10.
zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca
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