Kayla Yaakov's Parents Cultivated Her Love of Racing — All the Way to the Daytona 200

Professional motorcycle racer Kayla Yaakov made history when she became the first female athlete to stand on the podium for the Daytona 200 motorbike race in March 2026.

She is just 18 years old, and she's been riding motorbikes since she was 4. She was winning medals by the age of 10. Kayla thanks her parents and upbringing for inspiring her to start racing, and for cultivating her love and mastery of the sport.

Kayla told La Revista Mujer that she was born in Virginia and grew up with her parents in Pennsylvania. Her mom is from the U.S., and her dad was born in Israel.

Kayla's father, Dave Yaakov, is a former motorcycle road racer. He raced for 15 years.

When Kayla found photos and videos of Dave racing, she insisted on getting involved in the sport. Kayla recalled, "My dad raced for 15 years, and I found out that he raced one day, and I was like, 'Dad! I really want to do this! This looks amazing!'” per the Daily Mail.

Kayla's dad, Dave, said that Kayla wasn't great at the sport at first, but he enjoyed just "watching her have fun."

But things quickly changed, and Kayla began mastering the sport. He recalled, "It didn't take long — it was within say two months she started being really competitive, winning here and there. Everything changed from there."

Kayla's dad travels with her to races, helps her train, and helps her develop her bike. Kayla explained, "My dad is really important in my riding. He coaches me. He's my mechanic. He is just the best because he helps me so much in this."

In 2021, when Kayla was 15 and became the first female athlete to win a MotoAmerica race, her dad told the Today Show that Kayla is dedicated, focused, and more mature than other kids her age.

Kayla thanked her dad in a celebratory Facebook post she wrote after making history in the Daytona 200.

She first thanked her team, who completed "three solid pit stops" and said, "I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this feat without my incredible Rahal Ducati Moto team, Graham Rahal, Ben, Tom, Godin, Will, Steve, Himmelsbach, and my Dad."

On Facebook, she wrote, "I could legitimately write a book about how wild this weekend was, where I honestly felt like everything that could go wrong was actively going wrong. From a motor swap right before race day, to our quick fuel can breaking during the red flag and spilling gas all over the bike, to mechanicals in the warm-up right before the race…"

She said that despite the obstacles, she and her team pulled it together to deliver an amazing race.

Kayla told Ducati about her race experience. "It's insane! I've said it all weekend, I really didn't think this result was going to be possible. I felt confident in myself that I could be up there, but we were struggling so much with the bike setup all weekend," she recalled.

Kayla said that she and her team stayed calm to make it through. Kayla added, "I'm just so happy to be here on the podium and keep showing women they can do it. I shied away from that a bit in the past, but I really think it's a special thing I am able to do, and I'm so honored to be in that position now."