Glamour girl of the professional motorcycle circuit, Rhiannon Lucente, will be the star attraction at the Father's Day Festival of Speed at Southside Speedway on Sunday.

Lucente, from Wisconsin, US, is one of only three pro racers in the American Motoracing Association (AMA) and will be showcasing her talents at the St.David's track.

The 'pocket rocket' first caught the eye of Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Association (BMRA) spokesman Paul DeCouto after she blitzed both he and local racer Jevaughn (Squirrel) Simons at a meet in Alabama.

"She smoked us away and kicked both mine and Jevaughn's butt!," said DeCouto. "It really made me think about the level of competition out there – I was surprised how good she was I must admit."

The 30-year-old's path into motorcycle racing was certainly an unconventional one.

When Lucente was 18 her adventurous mother brought a motorcycle and started racing, urging her daughter to do the same.

"My mom took me to the track to see her racing and she actually crashed. When I saw her on the floor with broken bones she was giggling and told me I had to start racing. I thought she was crazy but I started it and found out that I loved it," she said.

Lucente believes there are no obstacles for female riders that cannot be overcome and is insistent they can compete on a level playing field in what is still a male dominated sport.

"The biggest problem for female riders is size," she said. "The 1000cc bikes are a little too big for me so I've found a happy medium with the 600cc. It's still pretty tough to muscle the bike around the track because I am pretty little.

"I've had to spend a lot of time building up my stamina and working out in the gym to make sure I'm strong enough to do that.

"As for any other obstacles? Well there just haven't been any. Doors have opened up for me, the opportunities have been there and everyone has been very supportive.

"I believe women can compete with men. There are three girls on the circuit and we all record pretty much the same lap times. We're all in our 30s and I believe if there was a girl who came up at about 16-years-old then I don't think there's anything holding her back – it can be a level playing field."

Lucente will be performing at Southside Speedway on Sunday from 2 p.m.