In the first part of the interview, Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) spoke about technical aspects of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship: her adaptation to the Yamaha R7 and the first rounds of the season. In the second part, she talks about her personal side and explains her experiences of motorcycling, as well as what WorldWCR represents for motorcycling in general. Make sure you read Part 1 here.
HER EXPERIENCE WITH A TEAMMATE: “We don’t do teamwork because there’s very little time”
Sanchez is used to having a teammate in the pits, although she explained that they don’t usually work together now: “I’ve always had a teammate. In the first year in the European championship, I didn’t have one; I raced in an Italian team where I had a teammate, but they were in another category. Then I changed to my current team, and I had Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno). The following year, I did the Italian championship with the same team, and I had Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) as a teammate in the European championship. This year, I have Ran and the truth is that we understand each other very well. At the moment, we don’t do teamwork because there’s very little time. If we had 40 minutes of practice, you could play with this. But we have so little time that, if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t depend on you, it depends on whether the strategy with your teammate works out well. In the end, you can ruin the practice for your teammate or for yourself. That’s why we’re going it alone, to be honest.”
She then went into detail about her current teammate, Ran Yochay (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), and highlighted her ability to learn and discover circuits she doesn’t know: “I was very surprised, because at Donington she was fifth and sixth and I thought she would be a little further back. I think she has a great ability to learn the circuit in the first practice session. She arrives and goes faster than me, but then I pick up the pace and perhaps I leave her behind, but she has a great ability to learn the track quickly.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A WorldWCR RIDER? “The nice thing is everyone follows you… it’s a really nice feeling”
Sanchez is a very experienced rider, but this is her first time in a World Championship. The Catalan rider explained how she feels now that she’s a WorldWCR rider: “It’s cool. Not for me anymore, because I could race in any other championship. But seeing your people, who watch you on TV, who follow you and ask you questions every day… the nice thing is that everyone follows you. You think, ‘I’m going to do well’. Which you normally do, but now people are watching you. It’s a really nice feeling, that everyone is watching and supporting you. That there is this visibility seems amazing to me.”
The #64 is used to travelling to circuits alone and, once there, meeting up with her team, but since the season started, that has changed a little with regards to friends and family: “They’ve never been to almost any race. I have been competing in Italy for four years and I travel everywhere alone. My father, nor my sister, nor anyone else comes! Also, I have already got into the habit of travelling alone. In fact, it doesn’t matter to me. They always asked me, ‘Why do you always come alone?’ and it suits me well. It’s not something I missed, being accompanied all the time. As I have always been with the team and we have been very close, I went everywhere alone. Family or friends maybe came once a year, at the last race… but this year, eight or ten people came to each race! I think it will be like that this year. At Portimao, we will surely be a small group too. They like to see me and be part of this.”
She also revealed that she has noticed the visibility and following that WorldWCR has: “It had never happened to me before. Now I get asked for photos, interviews here and there, it’s non-stop all the time! And not only at the circuit, when I get home, I only have emails to do things and events. This is thanks to visibility. My work at Catalunya Radio [as a commentator for MotoGP™ races] is also thanks to this, being on DAZN during the Czech Round too. All this is thanks to the visibility that the Championship gives.”
HER VISION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP: “I think WorldWCR can be whatever you want it to be!”
Sanchez has plenty of experience from multiple championships she has competed in and this is how she explained her vision of WorldWCR and motorcycling in general: “I couldn’t say, I’m going on the fly. I know that my motorcycling will end sooner rather than later. With this Championship, my career will surely be extended, because if not I might not be here. WorldWCR has given me the opportunity to be back in the elite and perhaps stay for two or three years. As long as I can continue riding and enjoy it, I will continue racing. If WorldWCR still exists, I will be here. If I am given the opportunity to be a wildcard in other categories, I won’t say no either, because I have always been in favour of racing with men, just as we do with women. It’s not about racing with men or women but racing with fast people. You learn a lot by racing with men, especially if they are more skilled than you, simply. Just like now I am learning a lot from the fastest WorldWCR riders because they are skilled, with men it would be the same. The thing is that there are probably 15 riders with a higher level than you, because there are more of them. It’s about learning wherever you race.”
She added: “There are two visions: the one that says WorldWCR is a final Championship and the one that says that it’s a springboard Championship. I think it can be whatever you want. It can be a final objective for whoever considers it, and whoever believes they are capable of doing more, should do it too. Just like we have Laia Sanz, who does what she wants when she wants; she races with women when she wants and men when she wants. I think you simply have to value what you want to do and how far you think you can go. There are women who only want to race here because that way they have the same opportunities, and it seems right to me, that each one does what they want. You don’t want to? Don’t do it. Do you feel like it because you see yourself capable? Well, I wouldn’t like the Championship to serve as a way of closing doors for you in that case. I would like this door to continue to be open, even if it is small, to stick your head out and do a wildcard somewhere else. I think that you can combine everything.”
25 RIDERS, 18 NATIONALITIES: “It’s good for growth in all parts of the world”
Finally, the Catalan rider highlighted the number of nationalities in the first season of WorldWCR: “This is good for the growth in all parts of the world. In the end, surely in Israel, for example, if Ran is not there, perhaps no one will look at the bikes. There are people who won’t even know that WorldWCR exists. It’s good that there are so many nationalities, especially in the first year. Afterwards, if everything goes well, perhaps there are riders who won’t be there. I think that what has been sought is the maximum number of nationalities possible to take this Championship everywhere. It’s clear that not everywhere is the same level, but it’s good they come together and that, little by little, the level grows. From the first to the second round, the gaps became smaller, and I think that will continue to happen. There are people will more experience and people with less, it’s normal. From Misano to Donington, it improved. The best thing is being within a structure like the World Championship, you feel like a real rider.”
JOIN THE COMMUNITY: follow WorldWCR on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and watch all the races on YouTube for free!
Source: WorldSBK.com
