A TEENAGE motocross rider defeated more than a dozen rivals to be crowned national champion.

Cristina Palmer took the chequered flag at Alvington, near Bristol.

Five races were held over two days, with the 14-year-old doing enough to be named British Female Champion in the UK Motocross National Championships – 85 Wheel Class.

She said: “It was a really good feeling to win it. I knew I was going there with tough competition and that I would have to push myself. There was some really good racing and battles.

“I knew there was going to be tough competition there but also knew I was capable of being able to win it. I had to work hard for it.”

The off-road action saw three races take place on the Saturday, with two more on the Sunday.

Points are awarded for places, with the rider with the highest points total crowned the winner at the end of the weekend.

Each race is contested over a set time, with the winner being who is in the lead at the end of that time limit.

Cristina, who lives just outside Dunbar, told Courier Sport she was leading the first race before colliding with another rider, which saw her drop back to second.

However, she would take glory in the second race before finishing second in the final race of the Saturday.

Those results meant she had to finish on top of the podium in the Sunday first race to have any chance of taking overall glory.

Victory meant she “raced with her head” in the second race and finished second to take overall glory.

That all came despite suffering with problems with blisters on her hand.

It is not the first time that the S3 pupil at Dunbar Grammar School, who thanked her sponsors for their continued support, has enjoyed victory on the track, though.

Two years ago, she won the British Girls’ National Motocross Championships – just 12 months after she broke both of her wrists.

The latest triumph came on the back of a season decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Scheduled meetings up and down the country have been cancelled.

Cristina said she had missed out with races being cancelled but was looking forward to the new campaign – global pandemic permitting – beginning next spring.

She said: “I just love racing. The adrenaline is going through you and then you are racing and being able to race is really good fun.”