The Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship was back in action at the Forsiteservices GP of Wales, with RIEJU Factory Team’s Rosie Rowett racing to a double victory…
As home rounds go, the Forsiteservices GP of Wales was one to remember for RIEJU Factory Team’s Rosie Rowett for all the right reasons. Not only did she secure her debut race win in the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship, but the British rider also triumphed on both days, racing her way into title contention.
From the get-go, Rowett looked in control. There was confidence in her riding and she held a belief that she was there to win. Any mistakes were quickly rectified as the RIEJU rider rode with grit and determination from start to finish. From waiting three years to win once, she did it twice in the space of 48 hours.
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“It’s an amazing feeling to have a result like this, especially at my home Grand Prix,” beams an immensely happy Rosie on Sunday evening. “Honestly, I came into this weekend just hoping for a podium result, if anything, so to come away with a double victory is a huge one for me.”
With a fourth and fifth place finish at the Expotrade Women’s Enduro season opener back in April, Rosie isn’t really playing down her expectations when she says that her goal was simply to podium.
Naturally, a home round offers riders an extra lift, with local support helping them rise to the occasion. But, as many would agree, in Rhayader, Rosie raced with a new sense of character not seen in her before. Calm, cool, collected and confident, she controlled the battle for the top step of the podium each day. So what changed?
“I have been training pretty hard to be ready here, along with racing the French National Championship,” she says. “Obviously, we’ve had a lengthy break between our first round in Portugal and Wales, so by doing plenty of other races, it has helped me to come here strong.
“Getting a win is a huge step forward for me. At 25 years old, I am still one of the younger riders in the class. I always felt like I had the speed and capability to battle for a podium result, but I guess it’s the progression in my riding that has helped me learn how to put it all together and take a win.”
Alongside her teammate Rachel Gutish, the RIEJU Factory Team pairing seemed to have had the upper hand on their classmates, too. Battling hard, they were over three minutes clear of HRC Honda’s Francesca Nocera in third on day one, and one minute ahead on day two.
“This is my third year with RIEJU and I love being part of the team. It’s also great to have a rider like Rachel (Gutish) as my teammate, too. We get on great, talk a lot and there’s no rivalry, although we do want to beat each other. But that’s just racing!
“Now that I’ve done it, it’s a massive boost of confidence for me. It has put me into the running for the championship, so I’ll try to build on that and fight as hard as I can at the next round in Portugal.”
