The dramatic finale to the 2015 FIM WMX Championship may have seen Yamaha’s Kiara Fontanesi only needing to coast through the second moto of the Grand Prix of Czech Republic (and the last of the season) after rival Livia Lancelot’s mechanical trouble on the sighting lap but it was still a daunting experience for the 21-year-old Italian.
Fontanesi finished second overall and second in the crucial race behind brand-mate Nancy Van de Ven but coping with the fuss around Lancelot next to her in the gate and before the sprint commenced was not an easy task.
“It was really difficult to handle that situation because you prepare your mind to go to the gate and do a particular race and everything changes in one second,” she explained after initially needing to win the race and Kawasaki’s Lancelot having to finish third or lower to confirm her fourth crown.
“I wasn’t already thinking about the championship [when Lancelot was forced out] but I was a bit lost and didn’t know what to do. When I finished the race I realised I didn’t even see the gate properly. It was probably the worst moto I have ever ridden. It was strange but over the years I have learned that you don’t win a championship by winning races but by being focused and managing it with your head…so I just started and managed the moto step-by-step.”
With her success Fontanesi is now the first athlete to have won four consecutive titles since the FIM WMX series was inaugurated from World Cup status in 2008.
