Roberta Ponziani, the only Italian to race in the women's MotoGP

Twenty-four years of which fifteen were spent at full throttle, Roberta Ponzianiborn in Teramo in 1996, continues her adventure in the world of sports motorbikes by defending the colors of Italy in first women's MotoGP in history. Six stages, the first in mid-June in Misano (then England, Portugal, Hungary, Italy again in Cremona and Spain), to fulfill another dream: that of participating in a world championship.

«I can't wait to get started», Roberta tells us on the phone, it will be a wonderful experience. The passion for motorbikes arrived at the age of nine. I was traveling with my father and we came across a minibike circuit in Teramo, my city. I tried it and immediately fell in love with this sport. Then the circuit closed, but we found another one in Giulianova.”

Roberta, like many girls, had started with other disciplines. «I had played volleyball, then a bit of dance, but once I got on my motorbike I immediately understood that that was all I wanted to do». In the family, everyone agrees. Almost. «My father is always with me, he accompanies me in all the races. My mother, however, prefers not to see thembut not because she doesn't like motorbikes, she's just afraid that I might get hurt!”.

Roberta Ponziani's days are divided into two. «In the morning I work in the family bakery in Teramo, in the afternoon I alternate between track and gym. I'm lucky to be able to afford to be away from work when I have to compete, but I don't take advantage of it (laughs, ed.), the other days I never miss it.”

The first women's MotoGP will be waiting to be discovered. «It's a single-brand competition, we will all race with the Yamaha R7 (which can reach 278 km/h, ed.). Many very strong girls are taking part, including the Spanish Ana Carrasco, winner of the 2018 World Supersport 300 championship.”

To arrive in perfect shape for the long-awaited appointment, Roberta leaves nothing to chance. «For some time now I have also started to be followed by a nutritional biologist, Miriam Patalano. To achieve results you need to prepare in all aspects.”