Shana van der Vlist made nice work of racing European EMX Women Round One in Italy going 1-2 for 2nd Overall from 4X WMX Champion Steffi Laier and fellow WMX rider Lynn Valk in 3rd.
Pulling the hole-shot in Race 1, the petite #188 racing KTM 250F, led the whole moto, having banked best lap-times in Practice on the hard-pack turned rutty track at Gazzane di Preseglie, Italy.
#188: ‘I felt good after Saturday’s practices. I had the best lap-times and I was ready to race on Sunday. First moto I took the holeshot and led the whole moto. Second moto I was 2nd in the start. Steffi took the holeshot and I tried to follow her. I was riding a bit stiff in the beginning, so she could make a gap on me. After a few laps I started to feel more comfortable and finished second.
With home country in the Netherlands, Shana is more than comfortable racing sand, having finished 5th Overall at WMX Opening Round in Valkenswaard.
Focused on what the Women MX World Championship provides- racing competitively over varying track surfaces, Shana switched to training on hard-pack making most of opportunity to compete in EMX Women 5 Round Series- track race venues in Italy, France, Denmark, Germany and Final Round in Netherlands.
#188: ‘After some good practice sessions on hard-pack after Valkenswaard, I was happy that it worked out during the EMX race in Italy. My starts were pretty good, I was really happy about that. There is still more to improve on hard-pack, but I’ll work on that!’
Fresh, keen and enthusiastic to race new tracks, new back-to-back race schedules leading into WMX Round 2 May 19th, Shana greets each race experience as part of the journey to develop her MX career- and is willing to share it all to her fans. A most admirable attribute of her character.
#188: I think it is good for me to have some races before WMX Round 2. It is always better to do a race, than a normal practice during the week. Actually the EMX calendar is a bit strange, almost all rounds are in May and also one Round for the WMX, so it is a busy month for me. (The last round of the EMX is in June, in Arnhem, there are 5 rounds. )
With Shana racing 3 straight weekends in a row, prior to WMX Round 2, momentum sustained from bike-time could make the be-all-end-all of points difference for the WMX Championship.
Gaining valuable points each WMX Round, along with sustaining the all important rush of adrenalin to race up front through-out 7 then 10 then 3 then 3 week gaps between WMX Rounds- needs something else to stand top step.
Competing in EMX Women Rounds 1-3 for 3 consecutive weeks early in WMX Series could be the points decider.
EMX Women Round 2, Vesoul France May 5th.
Words: Sharon Cox
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