MEETING – SANDRA GOMEZ

LADY IN WAITING

(Article reproduced with the kind permission of Trial Magazine UK)

Until Spain’s off-road motorcycling world champion Laia Sanz started to draw the attention of the media, female riders in trials and enduro were not really high on the radar. We then had Great Britain’s Emma Bristow join the elite to become an off-road world champion in both trials and SuperEnduro, and global interest has since escalated with the exploits of Laia in the Paris Dakar race well documented, hitting the television screens, affording her superstar status. Step by step we have another rising star from the female quarters in Spain by the name of Sandra Gomez; is she the lady in waiting? Winning the 2016 World SuperEnduro title has certainly given her one foot in the door.

Words: John Hulme with Sandra Gomez

Pictures: Trials Media – Irina Gorodniakova

Congratulations on your first world crown!

Sandra: “Thank you, I am very happy to have in my hand one of my dreams! Last year I couldn’t give 100% because I injured my ankle in the first round in Germany but finally this year I can celebrate my title. It’s been a hard season with only one event and two races. In the first race I was leading all the way but in the last lap I crashed twice and Emma Bristow passed me. In the second race I had a crash in the first corner and I thought the title was for Emma once again, but I re-started my machine and didn’t give up, I kept pushing as hard as I could and finally I passed Emma just one lap from the end. It was a crazy race and I was under pressure; I was really tired after the first race, but now I’m very proud of the result and finally the ultimate reward for my team.”

You are from a motorcycling family?

Sandra: “Yes, and my family loves the sport. My father started with cycle trials and he came fourth in the European Championship. He started with the trials motorcycle and he won some Spanish Championship events in the C class. My uncle always rode Motocross, where sometimes my father also rode. But I think the craziest person in the family is my mother. She was a city girl, she didn’t ride motorcycles but when my brother Alfredo and I started to ride she also practised and now she can follow us at the events always riding a motorcycle, I am so proud of her.”

Your brother Alfredo was successful in trials before enduro.

Sandra: “He is an incredible rider, he won the World Cup and the Junior World Championship in trials. I think he could have been a top rider in trials but sometimes your life changes. I’m very proud of him because he started from zero in Enduro and now he’s one of the best riders in the world with support from KTM and Redbull. It’s all we dreamed of when we were children!”

How did you become involved with trials?

Sandra: “I don’t remember my first time on a motorcycle, I think I was about three years old but everybody said I liked it. My parents showed me all the sports they could and I have competed in skiing, gymnastics, mountain biking, football, basketball and trials, but I loved skiing and trials more than the others. My brother started to compete in trials and I loved what my big brother was doing so I started to compete in trials and left my first choice of skiing.”

When was your first competition?

Sandra: “I had an orange 50cc Merlin passed down from my brother. I think my first trial was in a little place close to Madrid. It had some indoor sections and some outdoor and I remember exactly one section with a lot of rocks. I didn’t like that one but I saw Alfredo ride it and it looked easy, I was about six years old.”

You first rode in the Ladies’ WTC in 2007 in the Czech Republic and finished 16^th. Tell us about what you remember.

Sandra: “I was only fourteen years old but the year before I saw the girls competing in Andorra and so I asked my parents to speak with Super, who was the RFME manager of the trials team in Spain, to see if I could ride in the Ladies’ WTC. The round in the Czech Republic was on a closed private ground course which meant I did not require a driving license and so I could compete as it did not use any road work.”

Were you nervous?

Sandra: “I remember I was very nervous but I really enjoyed it. I had a machine problem before the start but the riders, minders from the RFME and Gas Gas mechanics helped me and the nerves then changed to excitement. I just missed scoring points by one mark!”

In 2008 you scored your first points in Spain.

Sandra: “Yes but it was one of the hardest years for me… I broke my knee at the start of the season and two operations were required to repair it. I couldn’t be ready for the first round in Belgium but I did two more rounds in Spain and Andorra. I was really excited after I recovered and I was able to compete again.”

By the time 2010 arrived you had moved into the top five in the WTC.

Sandra: “My training stayed the same and I moved from eighth to fifth in the World Championship. I continued training hard with my brother, competing in Spanish events in the ladies’ class, when there was one, or in the men’s classes. I always love competing against the men because the sections usually are more difficult. In 2010 I improved so much as I was travelling around Europe with the RFME team watching my brother and the other team riders. Laia Sanz was competing in the junior class and we spent some time training together in Italy where she lived, which certainly helped.”

You made your first podium visit in 2012, was it at this point you realised you wanted to push for the title?

Sandra: “Not really as I always I want to give my best in every competition. Obviously when you arrive in the top three you know you’re riding well. If you think you have arrived you will fail. You have to train even harder to achieve your goals!

If you work hard and continue pushing day by day and section by section you will know you have given your best.”

In 2013 you moved to ride the Ossa, was there a reason for this?

Sandra: “Ossa wanted a lady in the world championship and when Emma moved to Sherco I was offered the opportunity to be part of a factory team. I tested the Ossa and it was very good to ride, and so for the first time in my career I was an official ‘works’ rider.”

The Ladies’ WTC was now very competitive with Laia Sanz, Emma Bristow and Becky Cook your main rivals.

Sandra: “Laia was a very special rider but she also has a very strong mind and she beat us before the trial had started. In my opinion the level of the ladies’ world championship is changing year by year because we are all so much more competitive. Since Laia is not riding trials and moved to Enduro I think everybody is more excited because the opportunity to win is more open.”

After moving up to 3rd in 2015 you moved to Scorpa before you injured your leg and could not compete in the final rounds.

Sandra: “I was very motivated for the opening world rounds in Spain, and I was very happy how the summer training went and how the team was working but unfortunately I broke my foot. I was testing my machine on the Friday afternoon next to the paddock as always. I had a stupid crash in some rocks and the machine crushed my foot breaking two metatarsals. It was one of those moments when you feel like your dream is over.”

When did you start with SuperEnduro?

Sandra: “My brother won the 2011 Junior Trials World Championship on Montesa but at the end of the year he could not find a team to move into the ‘Pro’ class and he made the decision to move to Enduro. This was a very tough decision for the family as we were 100% trials. I continued in trials but obviously the family wasn’t as interested, but they knew I had a dream in the sport. Alfredo started competing in SuperEnduro taking in some world events and he won the Spanish Championship. He was riding very well and getting the results and Husqvarna Spain started to support him. It was a very steep learning curve but he trained all the time and never gave up. He now has a new ambition, and is very happy with his riding and enjoying life.

So it was case of following in your brother’s boots?

Sandra: “Yes he has always encouraged me and my first time in SuperEnduro was at the XGames in Barcelona. My brother received a phone call to ask if I was interested in taking part. I was but it was the same week as the Scottish Six Days Trial and so that was my choice. I did eventually compete in Barcelona and took the bronze medal. I enjoyed it so much and continued riding, going to Munich in Germany where I took bronze again before going to the USA and Los Angeles where I finished fourth.”

You have now moved to Gas Gas for the 2016 season.

Sandra: “It feels very much like I am back home again but this is the start of a new journey for Gas Gas. Everybody in the team is very motivated, focused and wants to win, but the most important part is that everybody knows we need to be a team and work hard to win. These are exciting times for Gas Gas and I am very proud to be part of the adventure.”

Before we close tell us about how you like the Scottish Six Days Trial.

Sandra: “I really love this trial. I spend six days in a motorcycling paradise riding my machine with and amongst friends. Year by year I feel much better in Fort William and how I ride my machine there. The trial is very different from the other ones but I learn so much, especially this year because I couldn’t practice much on the Gas Gas. I also love to go there because I am with my English family during the week, the Moffat Family, I feel like I am at home! Without them the week would be much harder. They are part of this event for me… My first year I enjoyed the Scottish riding with David Moffat and I remember that it was very cold weather and the sections were difficult for me. With David the most important part was to have fun and smile; that’s been my philosophy since my first year despite the tough conditions.”

Article copyright: Trial Magazine UK

The trials world in the UK were stunned on February 10th with the news of the death of Bristolian trials enthusiast Dave Norris.

Dave was the father of former Hamilton Yamaha teamster, Adam Norris who was a top UK rider in the 1990s.

In a personal tribute Trials Guru’s John Moffat said: ” I got to know Dave Norris in the 1990s as he was always around the SSDT, he chased after his rider and son Adam and we were always within speaking distance every day as Dave was a master at being in the right place at the right time, on time every time! Dave must have clocked hundreds of thousands of miles following Adam at events over the years.”

He continued: “I really got to know Dave in 2002 when I was SSDT Secretary and Adam was of course riding his umpteenth Scottish. I always enjoyed speaking with him and I just knew that he was like us all, a motorcycle sport enthusiast. He never passed me without speaking he was one of the good guys. I, along with many other friends will miss him greatly at Scottish Six Days time.”

Dave Norris’s funeral will take place on 9th March 2017 at Westerleigh Crematorium, Westerleigh Road, Bristol, BS37 8QP at 2 pm. Mourners can then attend and join the family at The Kendleshire Golf Club, Henfield Road, Near Coalpit Heath.

Our sincere condolences go to the Norris family, Delya, Lee, Jamie and Adam.

George Moore from Northampton has been a busy lad recently, setting up ‘Montana Adventures’ in Spain. Trials Guru took some time out to have a chat with him and what he was doing.

Words: George Moore & Trials Guru

George: “I have been riding motorcycles since a very young age, when my mother introduced me to off-road riding as she rode a KTM 250 and she thought that the perfect bike for me would be a BETA REV3 250 which the clutch didn’t work properly, so as you can imagine, a baptism of fire.

I aspired to steal the KTM off her and when I could, I left trials behind and started enduro and when I was old enough, trail riding, this was my love of an ‘adventure’.

My enduro bike got stolen some years later and with running my own business and thinking I could not risk getting injured, I decided to take up trials again and got hooked. But for me it was still all about the adventures, my favourite events were road trials because of the between section riding. I have never been a good trials rider but always been brave and up for a challenge and within the first year of riding trials again I have entered the Scottish Six Days, I will ride a Montesa 4-Ride.

I have ridden and owned every modern trials bike and there are many that I truly love to ride the bike that I have always come back to is the montesa because it allows me to have the most fun for the least amount of hassle in the trials that I really enjoy.”

George in England :

“I have started and built up a successful tree surgery business over the last 10 years which I thoroughly enjoyed in which we built many custom made machines which I have loved as I am fascinated with how things work and am of the opinion that you can build most things with a welder and a good brain, not that I have a good brain when it comes to welding but I am very good at seeing the project in my head and getting the right people involved to make it all happen.”

George in Spain:

“I came to Spain at Christmas time in 2015 to go on an enduro riding trip with a company very close to where I am operating my own business now and was a little disappointed in the level of riding, it was too easy, and how it lacked many things that I think are necessary in a holiday. When in Spain I met my now girlfriend Raquel and this prompted many more visits to spain and to this magical area, one of my journeys to see her I decided to drive and bring my trials bike. With my bike being in Spain I decided to do some map reading and some exploring and see if I could find the trails I had been craving when I had come out at Christmas and would you believe it they were everywhere.

This got me thinking, things were going well with Raquel and if this other guy can do a bad holiday then why can’t I do a good one.

So I carried on exploring some routes and finding great resteraunts for lunch and finding great accommodation and basically putting the frame work of the business in place.

And then to the bikes and the equipment well it could only really be the brand new Montesa 4 Ride, it was as if the planets had aligned the perfect tool for the job. John Lee Motorcycles sorted me out with all of the riding kit and spares I was ever going to need.

I had already built a business from the ground up before, which is hard so was determined that with this one I was not going to have any customers until it was 100% prepared.

I bought my bikes, a van for collecting customers from the airport and all parts and kit I was ever going to need and set off for Spain.

I started putting some videos and photos of my route finding on ‘facebook’ and within a day or so I had a chance message from someone I had never come across saying he wanted to come with three friends in September, this was ‘D-day’ which was brilliant, I had a target.

The four English guys lived on Ibiza and also do a trip of this sort each year so I was apprehensive as to how my tour would live up to home but they couldn’t have been happier and immediately booked up for the following year at the end of the tour they described as being the same as home but better because the landscape is bigger and the wine is better. I was at this point I was quite sure that I was doing the right thing in life.

I decided I had had enough of England apart from my favourite trials, I put my business up for sale and moved out with Raquel.”

Montana Adventures:

“I decided when I had moved to spain that I wanted to buy some land and use it as a trials practice ground partly for my business and partly as a free and legal practice ground for brits practicing in the winter, I wanted to help trial sport as a whole but also bring some more people to my tiny village that I know call home.

I now do free trials practice lessons for the children in the village with two Osets I bought from John Lee Motorcycles.

And using this new goodwill from the locals I plan to run a three-day trial in this area in 2018 to bring even more people to this little village.

So far we have some professional German riders coming to practice, ‘Hippel Racing’ who fitted right in and had a lot of fun.”

George explains ‘Montana Adventures’ mission:

“It’s quite simple, to provide a top quality holiday.

It does not matter if you have never ridden offroad or ride the Six Days, I have stunning trails for you. This is not only for trials riders it is for motorcyclists who want to have a holiday on a bike in a beautiful place without being scared by an enduro bike or put off by not wanting to share a room with Fred or not wanting to be at the back of a ten man group.

We only provide small number tours with a max of six riders and we provide all your meals and take you to superb restaurants to eat good food.

We provide beautiful traditional accommodation with everyone having their own room.

We also provide the best bikes around, which unlike enduro bikes are suitable for absolute begginers to ride. We also provide all riding kit and safety kit as required and cover accidental damage with no charge. We collect and drop off to the airport.

The only thing you need to do is get to spain and bring some money for your beers!

I am based in the area known as Mataranna on the border of Aragon and Catalonia which is known for its beauty. The best airport is Barcelona.”

To find out more about Montana Adventures – click HERE

Article copyright: George Moore (Montana Adventures) & Trials Guru – 2017

All photos: Copyright and Courtesy of George Moore (Montana Adventures) – 2017

Be sure to look in on our special section dedicated to the AJS & Matchless single cylinder trials machines of yesteryear, with four separate articles on the marque.

Jump straight to it… HERE