Elena Rossell, the only woman in Grand Prix racing, will be riding for the QMMF team this season
Elena Rossell from Valencia,Spain, the only woman in Grand Prix Racing, has signed up to ride for the team of Qatar’s Motor and Motorcycle Federation, it was announced yesterday.
Whereas the 25-year-old approaches her first complete Grand Prix season as a learning experience, her 28-year-old team-mate Damian Cudlin from Australia will throw in years of experience on all kinds of racing bikes to ensure strong results from the very first race, which will be held on April 8 in Qatar.  “I am delighted with our new rider line-up. Everybody in the QMMF team is very motivated and we all look forward to a good start of the 2012 season”, said Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah, President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation.
“We can expect a strong performance and good results from both our new riders and we want to thank Dorna, IRTA, DMM Motorsport and of course QMMF for their ongoing support.
“Elena Rossell is the first ever female rider in the Moto2 category, and her progress in world championship racing will not only create keen interest of the hardcore race fans, but will also be an inspiration for many other people in our modern society.
“Our development rider Damian Cudlin is a promising rider and we believe he will do a very good job for our team. With Moriwaki as a manufacturer, the QMMF team has a fantastic technical base. Together, we will strive to become competitive on the highest level!”
Elena, who grew up with motorcycles but who also practiced other extreme sports such as taekwondo and triathlon, started racing in 2002 and moved up to the Spanish Championship in the Supersport category in 2005. In 2008, she won the European Championship in the women’s class and in 2010 she started to compete in the Stock Extreme category of the Spanish Championship before making her Grand Prix debut with three Moto2 races in 2011.
“I am really happy! To be able to do a full Moto2 World Championship season is a dream coming true and I would like to thank QMMF for their trust in me”, said Elena. “Things are happening very fast. Three years ago I started in the Kawasaki Ninja Cup, two years ago I moved up to the Spanish Championship, last year I had my first wild card entries in Moto2 and now I am approaching my first full season in the World Championship – it’s unbelievable! Despite my rapid progress I know that this year in the QMMF team will be very difficult for me.”