THE HOOLIGAN
Leah Tokelove
Photos courtesy of Leah Tokelove archives
Leah (# 37 ) loves that she ’ s getting more recognition for putting up a fight against the boys . We do , too !
70 | MAY 2020 | THUNDERPRESS . NET
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I BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO WIN A SUPER HOOLIGANS HEAT ... IT WAS A SWEET MOMENT .
Leah Tokelove , a Brit who calls herself the Hooligan with pigtails , started riding when she was just a kid . She grew up in rural Lincolnshire , and at five years old her dad – who used to ride a bit of motocross and on the road – bought her a bike .
That Yamaha PW50 started her love for motorcycles – and speed . “ We used to ride around on the farm behind my house ,” Leah said . “ By the time I was 13 I ’ d been hooning around on a little Kawasaki KLX110 for a few years , getting faster and faster , until it got to the point that I was quicker than my Dad . So with that he bought me my first proper motocross bike – a Suzuki RM85 – a waspy little thing that took me forever to nail the clutch on . And well , the rest is history . “
Once she had a proper bike and plenty of speed , Leah started heading down to race her motorcycle on the beach . “ I was 13 years old and woke up every other Sunday morning at the crack of dawn through the winter to go race my motorcycle on the beach ,” she said . “ Come rain or shine I was there . I did six consecutive seasons racing on the beach , working my way out of the junior classes and through the adult ranks . Hell , I won races and was even the first woman to win a full championship on the beach .”
It wasn ’ t long until she got the flat track bug . “ Midway through my second season ,” she continued , “ we noticed that a load of the real fast lads were doing this thing called flat track , and the Dirt Track Riders Association ( DTRA ) was going to be running the UK Championship . I signed up not really knowing what I was getting into and just wanting to become a better beach racer . Little did I know I would become obsessed , and I ’ m about to embark on my eighth season . Now I ’ m a Pro and a Hooligan racer – crazy shit !”
Over the past few years Leah ’ s had some sweet moments as a flat tracker . She won the UK minibike championship in 2015 , got 3rd in the Restricted Class in 2016 and went pro in 2017 as she finally got some recognition for “ putting up a fight against the boys .”
In 2018 , she got the opportunity of a lifetime – riding for Indian Motorcycle in the new Hooligan series . “ I was skeptical about racing a quarter-ton V-Twin monster ,” she said . “ But I had my arm twisted into it . I finished fourth in my first Hooligan year . Then , an all-time high for 2018 was winning ‘ El Rollo ,’ the ever-popular flat track race held at Wheels & Waves . Man , that was something . In front of a mega-packed crowd of literally thousands in the countryside of San Sebastian , France . It was my first-ever major win , and a big turning point .”
2019 found her taking the show on the road , and with the support of Indian Motorcycle she