Steffi Laier is 2009 Women's MX World Champion

Offroad

pubblicato il 02 settembre 2009

Steffi Laier is 2009 Women''s MX World Champion

A world championship title added to Pirelli Scorpion MX’s victory shelf is no small task, but from a championship beginning as just one race in 2005 to the current season which hosted seven races, Steffi Laier was crowned champion yesterday, confirming her superior performance in the FIM Women’s World Championship. Her title comes well respected by the remaining 40+ women who competed, especially after finishing first in the last three rounds of the series. Other Pirelli riders in the top five positions for the Championship were Irish rider Natalie Kane on a Suzuki (third) and Swedish rider Elin Mann on a KTM (fifth).

The Scorpion MX tyres from Pirelli are perfect for Laier’s KTM 250 SX-F, allowing her to find traction throughout the variety of terrains encountered during the season. The MX MidSoft range was often the tyre of choice, but considering the often unpredictable weather conditions, and having to share the track with so many competitors, the MX Soft proved also to be a competitive solution for the Champion.

Laier’s racing career has carried the Heidelberg-born German all around the world over the last 8 years, competing in various off-road competitions the USA in 2001, and even winning the maiden single-race edition of the FIM Women’s MX World Cup in 2005. The Women’s World Cup was eventually upgraded to a World Championship and so began the 2008 series from Sevlievo, Bulgaria, without Laier. The German had an injured right shoulder ligament but did her best to return at round two in Mantova, Italy. Laier’s comeback was as strong as ever with the German taking four consecutive heat wins in between Italy and France. Laier was again first overall in Germany, winning at home for her first time, but a technical issue at the final round in Lierop put an end to an astonishing winning streak and to title ambitions that year, leaving Lancelot to take the season’s win ahead of Laier.

This year has been a dream for the German racer, but the loss of 2008’s title holder Livia Lancelot through injury at mid-season season was disappointing, since she would not be competing against the hard riding Lancelot for the title. Laier, who has been a full factory rider for the Pirelli-sponsored Red Bull KTM Factory Team since the beginning of the 2009 season, is now the sole rider to have won both the former FIM Women’s World Cup and the new FIM Women’s World Championship.

The women's championship, officially inaugurated in 2008, was extended to seven rounds for 2009. Laier won nine motos and placed either second or third in the remaining four. Only in one race was she not on podium due to a disqualification in the first moto, due to an official inadvertently helping her right the bike after a crash.