Stephanie Rowe
We are pleased to announce our sponsorship of, one of our own, Stephanie Rowe.
Steph is competing in the British Sprint Enduro Championship (BSEC) on an AJP PR3 200 Special and is currently placed 3rd overall.
The BSEC is a national UK event but has a selection of some of the world’s top riders competing for honours. www.enduro-sprint.com
The BSEC gets very good coverage in all the national off road magazines and newspapers and with only 8 women competing in the women’s category there is far more coverage given to theses riders than in the various men’s categories.
Here are a few words from the lady herself on her recent rounds-
Round 1 & 2, Aldershot Feb 11-12th
The Saturday started at -10 degrees. So we knew we were in for a hard day. We were feeling nervous and didn't know what to expect. Having never raced before we were jumping in the deep end with a British Championship. We were not prepared as it all had happened last minute and therefore the bike did not arrive in time. AJP organised a demo bike for me to use as a bid to get me to the first rounds, so I had not even ridden the bike I was racing! The race was put off until 10am due to the freezing conditions in the hope that the snow would melt. I set out on the first lap, conditions still freezing and hit the first obstacle. It was a log and I promptly flew over the handlebars...5 minutes into the race. Unfortunately behind me another rider had already commited to going over the log and used my leg as traction. The pain was initally unbearable but I managed to keep going. The riding was tough and I was learning as I went. Some riders including the professionals pulled out of the race due to the harsh freezing conditions. I continued on, coming off many times and even crashing into a tree, at times I felt like giving up, I was in way over my head but I pushed on and managed to finish the weekend.
Round 3 & 4, Monmouth March 10-11th
The day started well with the sun shining...in Wales?!?!? We couldn't believe our luck. The bike had been built and taken to the race for me and I was looking forward to finally being on the bike I would be using for the rest of the season. I was feeling nervous as watching the previous years race videos, there was alot of motocross track with some tricky rock gullys. The bike felt fantastic on the motocross sections, and although daunting rock drops I managed to do well. Unfortunately on one of the laps I got the swingarm wedged between two rocks, I tried my hardest to free the bike to no avail. Spectators noticed I was stuck and gradually worked thier way down the steep gully to help free me. Mostly the weekend went very well. One of the riders didn't finsih due to crashing and breaking her wrist. I was pleased to finish and to keep getting essential points for the championship.
Round 5 & 6, Saints Well April 7-8th
We turned up to the race track in the middle of a welsh valley. I was finally feeling confident as I had been practising on the bike and we were finally prepared for the first time in the championship. I set out on the sighting lap and riders were warned of slippery conditions. The special test consisted of 5 large logs to cross one after another and rocks and tyres to cross. Racing intially started well until the heavens decided to open up on us. The slippery conditions turned from bad to worse and parts of the track were a mud slick. I struggled to get traction and one lap cost me a huge amount of time and energy. Luckily one of the marshalls pointed out that my tyres were no good and was surprised I had managed to get round the track on them at all. Paul Edmondson racing saved the day Sunday as they supplied us with some more aggressvie motocross tyres. The bike was transformed, I had much more grip and my confidence started to rebuild. I finished the weekend 4th...looking forward to the next rounds.
You can follow Stephanie on Facebook and Twitter –
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posted by Anonymous
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