Rosell battles the pain to take full advantage of first race weekend of the season
Elena Rosell had a tough first day of practice at the Grand Prix of Qatar. Whereas her new team-mate Anthony West and local hero Nasser Al Malki just struggled with the set-up of their bikes, the Spanish lady racer battled the pain of a pelvis fracture that was detected after her crash at the last pre-season test in Spain less than two weeks ago. Despite her difficulties with fast direction changes, the 25-year-old from Valencia is determined to push on for her team and to make the best out of the unique experience of her first ever night-race.
Encouragement came not only from the technicians in her team, but also from Mr. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah, president of QMMF and vice-president of the International Motorcycle Federation FIM.
Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah “We have Anthony West, one of the best international racers, we have Nasser Al Malki, our wild card entry and the hero of the fans here in Qatar, and we have Elena Rosell, the only lady racer in motorcycle Grand Prix racing. This is a marvellous moment in the history of our team and it will be a very exciting weekend for QMMF and for motorcycle racing in our country.
Our best wishes go to all our riders, but especially to Elena who is competing at our home Grand Prix despite a painful injury. Having a female rider in our world championship team has been our goal for a long time, because we want to show the world that we are serious about developing top woman riders in Grand Prix racing. We’ve worked successfully with female riders in the Qatar championship and in the Endurance world championship, and now we are the first team to offer a lady the opportunity to ride a full Moto2 world championship season. We want to encourage women to compete on world level and it is part of my responsibility as vice-president of FIM to open up such opportunities. At the same time, we show the world that we are a very open-minded country and that we believe in the right for women to live up to their true talents. Women are not only there to hold umbrellas – I believe that they can compete on eye level with their male rivals in motorcycle racing and that they have they same amount of talent to win!”
Elena Rosell – 33rd in 2.06,934:
“I was in pain after my crash in Jerez and I thought that I pulled a ligament or something, but when the problem continued, I had another medical check where a crack on the right side of the pelvis was detected. Riding with this injury hurts a lot and I wasn’t able to move on the bike the way I should. I hope things get better over the next days, because I really want to make the best out of this opportunity here at Qatar. It’s the first Grand Prix of the season and the home race of my team. It’s also the first ever night race for me and it’s a fantastic experience to go out on the track under flood lights. At the same time, there is no doubt that we have a lot of work ahead of us: I’ve only ever ridden here once on a street bike and we are still at the beginning as far as track knowledge and set-up of the bike goes.”
Source: QMMF Racing