A ride in the Third Epoca on Track Meeting FMI 2018 [PHOTO]

On the track, to have fun in safety! It almost seems like a slogan, perhaps already heard, but if it is uttered by a young woman riding a very fast vintage Minarelli 50cc, curiosity is triggered, the desire to know who the thought belongs to and above all what can push a woman to spend weekends on the track racing, between mixture and additives, wearing a suit and full-face helmet, rather than at the edge of a swimming pool or at the seaside, in a bikini, flip flops, reading a book and sipping an aperitif.

We met Giorgia Bonadiman – she is “the alien” – last weekend atFranciacorta racetrack on the occasion of the "Third Epoca Meeting on the FMI 2018 Track" and despite the fact that she would be on the track after a few minutes for tests, she told us about herself and her passion. Just over forty years old - but she looks much younger - Giorgia was born in Isola della Scala, in the province of Verona and like all teenagers - perhaps a little less girls - at 14 she dreamed of having a scooter. Since then, Giorgia has had many "mopeds", of various displacements, up to 600cc. At a certain point in her life Giorgia met Paolo, her partner, also with a passion for 2 wheels and a trainer, as well as a pilot; from there began the adventure that led Giorgia to compete and win in the Vintage Mini class aboard her DZM Minarelli 50, prepared by GP Corse, Paolo's team.

Giorgia, don't you feel a bit like a "fish out of water" in a traditionally male environment?

“No, because since I started riding two wheels, I have always frequented the male environment, from outings on scooters, to various motorbike trips or meeting with friends at the bar. And then, more than a few men like to see a woman on a motorbike and for this reason I have always been well received".

Besides winning, what do you think about the race?

“When you race it's difficult to think about anything else, I always give my all, a rider always thinks only of finishing in front of everyone”.

Your “first time” on the track?

“My first outing on the track with a 2-stroke, small-displacement motorcycle was at the Modena racetrack in 2013 with group 3, again in the FMI Meeting d'Epoca championship. I remember very well the question I asked myself as soon as I entered the track 'what am I doing here?' and the thing that makes me laugh when I think about it is that during the lap on the track, to the course marshals, while they were signaling me the blue flag, I nodded my head to each of them to say that I understood. The next round turned out to be more fun and I was less nervous and in the end with the last round, they would have had to shoot me in the back to stop me, luckily the checkered flag took care of it. Since then, I have become increasingly passionate and regularly participate in the Group 4 Mini Vintage races of the Italian FMI d'Epoca championship".

In the meantime, time has flown by, Paolo has completed the development of the Minarelli which “runs like clockwork” and Giorgia seems to be looking forward to getting on the track and having fun! And what fun, given that in the race she put all the other 13 competitors in line, winning and also achieving the so-called perfect lap, which formalizes the best driving continuity in the race.

Article and photo by Pierangelo Gatto