by: Rachel Gutish
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 | 3:40 PM
Ryder Sigety hails from New Jersey, and currently races in the 65cc (10-11) bike youth class. Ryder had a bit of a late start to the season, missing the first four rounds of racing. However, since he began racing at round 5 in South Carolina he has clinched each class win. Ryder currently sits eighth in his classes points standings, but he is aiming to continue his winning ways this fall.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Ryder Sigety. I’m from New Jersey, about 40 minutes from NYC, and I turned twelve this year. I have two groups of friends, my racing friends and my school friends because nobody else in my town rides, which is kind of sad. I get good grades and was on the honor roll all last year. We have two lazy golden retriever dogs. When I’m not riding my dirtbike, I love riding my mountain bike on the technical trails near out house – they’re pretty tough, a lot of people quit after a couple miles (laughs).
What bike do you ride?
I have a Yamaha YZ 65 and a YZ 85, and I love them both!
How did you get started riding and racing?
If you can’t tell from my name I was born to ride (laughs). I started racing an electric motorcycle when I was three. The first race didn’t go so well – on the line it occurred to all of us that this would be my first time riding without an adult right there. We also discovered that the battery couldn’t finish a whole lap, and it took my parents an hour to come find me. When I turned seven, we started doing two back-to-back races (the 60 min and the 90 min races) each day in our local series, the ECEA. By doing this, I was the first kid to win 3 ECEA championships in the same season, which is something I’m really proud of.
Why did you decide to start doing the GNCCs?
Because of the coronavirus, our local series shut down and my dad’s business closed, so we haf time to go and try the GNCC series. I really liked it! The atmosphere and all the pro setups are so cool, it’s like being on TV.
How has your season gone so far?
It’s been one wild experience! I missed the first four GNCCs, so my first one was Camp Coker. The first race was crazy – I’ve never seen so many kids on the track at one time, and since there’s so many people I always had a battle going with someone. I was really surprised that I won. But my dad said that if I kept winning we could do the rest of the series, and so far I haven’t lost one so we’re still here! Since I missed the first four races and don’t have any drops, I can’t have any bad races if I want to win the championship. Besides GNCCs, I’ve also raced the AMA East Hare Scrambles and am undefeated there and almost won the youth overall on my 65 at one of them! I also raced a local motocross this year. The track didn’t have many jumps, and it rained a lot, which I think helped me out. They say moto is good training for off-road but I think this time because of the rain off-road was good training for moto (laughs). By end of the first lap I couldn’t see anybody there and got worried that I missed the course or did something wrong. It was a fun race but it made for a really boring video because nobody was there.
Speaking of videos, I saw that you make and edit videos from all of your races – why did you decide to start doing that?
I’ve been recording all of my races since I started because my dad likes to watch them. I only started editing them since Camp Coker. My dad says until I’m old enough to help with the driving I can spend the drive home editing the videos. He says it will be good for our sponsors, but I really just think he likes watching himself (laughs). I do get a lot of people at the races telling me they watch my videos, so maybe he’s right, and it does feel good to know people like them.
What types of videos do you make?
For each race, I make a short highlights video that’s a couple minutes, then a longer video that shows the whole race. I started out using a really simple free program, but now I have an Adobe one that’s much better. Once they’re done I post all of my videos on my youTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWUHdlqiaJ-P4PF1O565R3g )
How did you learn to edit videos?
I watched youTube videos that taught me how, and then my school friend Alex is really good at this stuff so I ask him for advice too. Someday I’d like to get good enough that people will pay me to edit their videos!
Do you have fun making the videos, or is it more like work?
I have fun, but it can be really frustrating, especially since it can take like eight hours for each video.
Which GNCC round so far has been your favorite?
High Voltage has been my favorite so far because a lot of my friends were there and we all parked together!
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
I want to stay focused, strong and committed so that I have a fun and safe season. My goal is win the GNCC 65 (10-11) class championship, and the AMA East 65cc and 85cc championship, to keep my sponsors happy so they stay with me.
Which pro rider do you look up to the most?
I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but I don’t watch most of the pro races. I like watching my friends and cheering them on. I look up to anyone I see do something cool on a bike that impresses me. It could even be somebody younger if they’re really good.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that does not involve dirt bikes.
I’m really, really bad at ball sports. At the bus stop in the morning before school, there are two other boys and a girl. The boys have a football they throw around. Sometimes they’ll throw it to me, but usually not because I only catch it like ten percent of the time.
Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you would like to talk about?
Every day I do something to better my results on the motorcycle, that’s how my dad pays my allowance. I keep a google spreadsheet that I give my dad at the end at the end of the month listing what I did each day.
Who would you like to thank?
My parents! And all my sponsors who make winning possible – Kenda, KLIM Maxima, Hammer Nutrition, Rekluse, Factory Connection, SIDS, EBC, MotoSeat, Dirt Tricks, Scott Goggles, VP Fuels, Regina, IMS and Alco.