Kiara Fontanesi Interview

Kiara Fontanesi showed amazing speed last weekend to win the second round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, held in Thailand. Going 1-1 and totally dominating her opposition was the perfect way for the three times WMX champion to show her plans for 2015.

We caught up with Fontanesi and asked her about the weekend and also about the opening round in Qatar.

Q: Kiara, can you explain Qatar for me?

Fontanesi: In Qatar it went good for me, same as last year I did well there, but I was taking too many risks last year. I knew winning in Qatar didn’t mean winning the championship. I rode smart in Qatar and it was ok to get second.

Q: And what about the second round in Thailand?

Fontanesi: In Thailand I felt good like 100% and the track was better for me. I had to do what I am capable of, and I won on the Saturday. It was really tough with the weather because back home it was cold and we prepared in that weather. Sunday I tried to get a good start and to win two in a row is good for the points and I was really happy to have the win.

Q: Why did you prefer the track in Thailand?

Fontanesi: The track is so different from Qatar, in Thailand the track was more technical and in Qatar it was more table top, corner, table top and corner, so everyone took the same lines. The ground was also strange in Qatar and easy to crash.

Q: You looked really strong in Thailand, seems like you had bad luck in Qatar and Livia (Lancelot) bad luck in Thailand.

Fontanesi: In Qatar I could win because I was faster but I wasn’t looking at crashing like I did last year, so Qatar for me was more about being consistent and that meant finishing second. In Thailand, I started bad, but I was faster than Livia and I passed her and she crashed. I hope it will be like this for all the rounds. Now we wait for England, because we have to wait a couple of months.

Q: How will you prepare for the next round in England?

Fontanesi: We changed a lot of things from last year. We will do more races in Italy, the 125 Italian championship and for sure some other races in Europe.

Q: That opening moto on Saturday you were on another level from your opposition with the hot weather and coming back so well. Was that one of your best races in your career?

Fontanesi: It is difficult to say, because winning three world titles I had a lot of good races, so it is difficult to say if that was one of my best races. What is good for me is to know that if I get a bad start, I can still win.