Basking in the thrill and excelling in a male-dominated sport is...

Jocelin's Joy

By Matt DiFilippo Staff writer

As a girl growing up in Wilton, Jocelin was attracted to danger.  One day, you might have seen her literally walking on thin ice.  The next day, she might have been shimmying up a fire escape and walking along the edge of a tall building.

  Fear is nothing new to Jocelin.  You could even say she embraces it.  Competing in a risky, male-dominated sport like motorcycle racing is nothing.

  Jocelin is now 28, and she barely weighs over 100 pounds, while her bike weighs over 200 and boasts 75 horse power.  Plus, she is competing in a sport where your knees almost scrape the pavement on a turn, a sport where one wrong move sends you careening into a wall or another rider at well over 100 mph.

  "You're staring death's door in the eyes, I guess," said Jocelin.  "I think that's why a lot of people do it-because it's dangerous.  That's what makes it a rush."

  Jocelin, a graduate of Mt. Blue High School who also owns Tri-Signs, a full service sign company on North Street in Waterville, began competitive racing on March 26 at Roebling Road Raceway in Faulkville, GA.

  She went in fearlessly, just as she did when she left home at age 16 and worked three jobs while going to school so she could afford her own apartment.  She went in recklessly, just as she did when she tried her hand at bungee jumping, polar bear swimming and skydiving and street biking.

  "At Roebling," recalled Jocelin, "I was like, 'Oh, I'm invincible.  I'm not going to die.  I can't crash."  

  Jocelin began to see the dangers of her new sport when she finished fourth in a race at Loudon, NH in her second race weekend, April 17-18.  "That first weekend at Loudon was a real wake-up call", said Jocelin.  "I was like: This is serious.  People die, and people get hurt.  On the right of me, Jimmy has three broken ribs.  On the left side of me, Mike dislocated his shoulder.  The guy out in front of me, Larry, got a concussion and broke his ankle.  It's like a walking medical room."

  After that weekend, Jocelin made a small concession to her mortality by getting medical insurance for the first time in her life.  She hasn't had a serious crash, and has been quite successful against racers vastly more experienced than she is.  In six race weekends, she has twice finished second in formula 2 races and had four top-four finishes in the Lightweight Grand Prix.

  "When you first start racing, you fall down a couple times," said Tim O'Connor, a fellow racer whom Jocelin describes as her mentor.  "It can really have an effect on you, slow you down.  I've never seen that with her."

  "You have to be physically fit," said Jocelin.  "It's a lot of work and energy pulling that bike around the track and downshifting and braking and maneuvering your body.  It's also a lot of eye and hand coordination, and you have to be real smooth.

  "But most of it is in your mind.  It's a very dangerous sport, and people get killed doing it.  So you need to be able to take control over your mind and say, 'All that matters is that I go out and finish in this position,' and then just do it."