Among the pre-race favourites for the first-ever FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy (WSGT) that takes place tonight (22 June), Celina Liebmann will have the double advantage of racing on home shale and a wealth of experience to draw upon despite being just twenty-two years old.
Admittedly, her hometown in Upper Bavaria is almost eight-hundred kilometres south of the Bergring Arena in Teterow where tonight’s action will take place, but compared to her usual racing itinerary which regularly takes her to tracks across Europe it is still arguably a relatively ‘local’ event for her.
Liebmann has already made a number of entries into the Speedway history books – she is the first female to race an FIM Speedway Under 21 World Championship (SGP2) event and the first female to sign for British and Polish clubs – and a WSGT victory would further cement her reputation as a trail-blazer for diversity and gender inclusion.
“My goal is clear, I want gold,” she said. “I'm one of the favourites, but you can never underestimate your opponents and everything has to work, including the bike. You never know what will happen and of course I will give everything to make history again and win the title.”
Growing up with a father who competed in Ice Speedway and a mother who rode Motocross, Liebmann feels it was inevitable that she too would race and there was never any doubt about her preferred discipline.
“It's great to grow up in such an experienced motorsport family. My dad is my mechanic and he's been able to do everything himself since the beginning, which is obviously a big advantage. I love racing and I was born for it. It was always speedway that I loved. I tried Motocross, Ice Speedway and Flat Track, but just for fun and never with serious intentions. My focus has always been on Speedway.”
After learning to ride on a PW50 at the age of five, Liebmann graduated through all the different capacity classes – from 50cc up to 500cc – and has always faced male opposition.
“I've been riding against boys for over seventeen years now. It's new for me to ride with girls! Everyone has to bring their own performance. I am proud that I can keep up with the men and have already achieved so much.”
Understandably, she is a huge supporter of the initiative to encourage female participation resulting from the ongoing collaboration between the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP) and the FIM Women’s Commission (CFM) and has attended all three editions of the FIM Women’s Speedway Academy (WSA).
She was naturally delighted that her racing role model Greg Hancock, the four-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Champion, helped lead the instruction at the latest WSA which took place on Thursday and Friday in Teterow.
“We need diversity. Women often don't dare to compete in the men's world and that's what the FIM Women's Speedway Academy is for, to encourage girls and women to get a foothold in the male-dominated sport. The WSA is a really great thing. With people like Jason Crump last year [and Greg Hancock this year], you can only develop further. It's a great honour to learn tips and tricks from the world's best!”
The inaugural FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy is scheduled to get under way tonight (22 June) in the Bergring Arena, Teterow, at 20:00 local time.
FIM Communications