Elena Rosell and her clearest interview

Racing rider Elena Rosell is making headlines, since her signing with the QMMF in the Moto2 World Championship was announced a few days ago, which means she would be teammate to Ricky Cardús, so she is in all the news.

But yesterday we were sent this very interesting interview with the rider from Manises, in which she clarifies many aspects that have arisen around her participation in the Moto2 category for the 2012 season.

For now, the rider is still recovering from the fracture of her right shoulder blade sustained at the penultimate round of the CEV 2011, working day by day with Dr. Ángel Villamor to be as recovered as possible for next season.

I recommend you don’t miss it, since she has not yet confirmed her signing with the QMMF, although she says there are many possibilities and everything is heading in the right direction, so in principle she will be in Moto2 although she cannot yet confirm it, surely she is waiting for the official announcement from the Qatari team.

Are you going to do the full World Championship next year?

Well, it is absolutely true that there are good possibilities, but nothing is certain. We are talking with the Qatar Federation, which is supporting women’s motorcycling a great deal, but we are still negotiating.

They have shown great interest and we think it would be a fantastic option, a dream, but it is still too early to take anything for granted. I like to be cautious… at least off the track! No, seriously, I don’t like to celebrate before things are certain and, to be honest, there is still a long road ahead before my move to the World Championship becomes a reality. Nothing is certain.

There are no women in the World Championship; you would be the only one, and backed by the Qatar Federation…

Some people may be surprised, but I’m not. The QMMF is supporting women’s motorcycling enormously, as demonstrated at the recent 8 Hours of Doha in the World Endurance Championship, where it sponsored a team with Nina Prinz, Paola Cazzola and Nikolett Kovacs.

The result was excellent, because all three are great riders. I had them as rivals at the European Championship in Albacete and they are strong; they made us pay dearly for the European title we won. The QMMF has a sensitivity toward women’s motorcycling that I wish others had.

They also know how difficult it is to be in the World Championship and they valued highly the 25th place we achieved at Cheste. The relationship with their riders and the team is very good.

If you took that step to the World Championship, would the relationship with the Mapfre Aspar Team end?

No. Jorge (Aspar) always has the first word. He already has the Moto2 World Championship team set up… and with two world champions like Nico and Toni!

Being there was not possible, but Jorge is very attentive and we are in very close contact. I owe him a great deal; last year he took a risk with me and, even though it didn’t go well at Assen, he didn’t lose heart and gave me another chance.

I think that at Alcañiz, and especially at Cheste, we were able to give him a result that showed he was right. I am very grateful to Jorge and, as long as he wants, I feel like a Mapfre Aspar Team rider. Even if we took the step to the World Championship with the QMMF, it would be with his help, his advice and under his guidance.

I repeat: Jorge has the first word; without him I would not be in this situation.

Do you think you are ready to make the leap to the World Championship?

I think I need many more kilometers. I have always had to arrive at championships with less experience, fewer resources, fewer kilometers and less of everything than the others.

The potential is there, and I think that every time I have had continuity, the progress has been visible. In one year, in Stock Extreme in the CEV, we went from finishing thirtieth to finishing fifth. In the World Championship we started at Assen with all the known problems… and ended at Cheste by passing in the race two world championship runners-up and qualifying in 25th place…

Could that be your level in the World Championship?

No. What happened at Cheste, I think, showed the potential, but it doesn’t reflect where we are right now. It was my home circuit and the track was wet, which favored me. You can’t extrapolate from that that we would be among the top 25, just as it is clear that Assen wasn’t real either.

If we go to the World Championship next year in Moto2, which is the most competitive category, with only 32 riders next year, we are going to have a hard time. I don’t know the circuits, I have very little experience, and not a season in Moto2… It will be very difficult, but it’s a challenge and I think I have shown that I learn quickly. We would have to think long term. In one year of World Championship I would learn more than in the few years I have been racing.

If the World Championship project doesn’t happen… the CEV?

Yes. For me it would not be any disappointment, because the CEV has an enormous level and would be very good for me to learn. I would be happy racing in the CEV.

In fact, thinking rationally, perhaps the most sensible thing would be to stay in the CEV at least one more year to gain experience… But trains don’t wait, and if I have to make the leap to the World Championship so as not to miss the train, I am willing to work and suffer whatever it takes.

Would this opportunity come to you because you are a woman?

Look, being a woman and wanting to dedicate myself to motorcycles has been harder for me from the beginning. I have never had the resources others had because I didn’t have money.

I didn’t have a team to race with until last year. Now it may help me, yes, although I have never made a banner of it. I have always said I don’t want to be the first woman, but the first rider. I have won a race in the CEV, finished fifth in a Stock Extreme race, been European champion, finished 25th in my second World Championship race, passing on track, among others, two world championship runners-up… Do I have to apologize for being a woman?

Again, I feel like a rider on the track and I compete against other riders, whoever they are; their sex doesn’t matter to me. If nobody asks others who finish behind me for explanations, why do they ask me? If this were a marketing operation, there would be a girl every year, right? Marketing doesn’t lower lap times!

Clearly you have things figured out, Elena Rosell, what did you think?

Source | Elena Rosell