Features 22 Apr 2014

Five Questions Why: Sophie Lovett

Star female racer on her love of motorcycle road racing.

One of the brightest and bubbliest personalities on the Australian road racing circuit is also one of the busiest.

For Sophie Lovett, a love of road racing sees her fit in as many events and track day activities as her schedule will allow.

CycleOnline.com.au ran five questions by Sophie in order to learn a little more about her background and her passion for the sport.

Why did you choose to go road racing?

Dad and I were racing Supermotard, and when that sort of finished up in Australia then the next option for bikes was either to go road or go dirt. And based on my terrible dirt skills which weren’t improving in motard days, road was definitely the way to go.

Going to Eastern Creek and having people out there that I was beating on dirt bikes and they were on 1098s and 1000s, it was definitely my area, not dirt. It’s good having dad out there. No one else is out that with that father and daughter team. When we’re in the same race we can have our little tactics with what we’re going to do, and sharing ideas on things like gearing.

I might have one lot of feedback and he might have something else, so we can sort of meet in the middle.

Why would you encourage other females to try their hand at the sport?

It’s a sport that everyone welcomes. Rocking up at the track I’m never intimated that I don’t know. We need more women, it’s like a family there. You go to work from nine to five, Monday to Friday, and if you’ve had a stressful week you can go racing.

There’s nothing better to neutralise you and get back to normal – the adrenaline is like nothing else. You certainly can’t get the same adrenaline playing basketball or soccer!

Why choose to race the Ninja 300 alongside the 1000?

Last year it was interesting jumping from one to the other, where one is super light and one is heavy. One’s got super brakes, and one is standard. But I do see the benefits from it. Last time at Wakefield when I jumped off the 300 and onto the 1000 I was a little worried about the power difference, but I think that I was braking a lot later into the turns.

From the 300 race I was expecting to brake a lot later, and hopping on the 1000 you had to brake at the certain point too. Certainly when you’ve got five people wide into turns I’d be a little hesitant into the turns, because it is a bigger bike and I’m a little more scared to be wrestling with so many people into the one spot.

Being on the 1000 is teaching me to be a bit more aggressive and not so polite as I have been in the past.

Why do you choose to contest so many series and events?

I’ve moved to New Zealand with work, so I’m trying to do as much as I can over there. It’s quite a cool feeling just having the bike in the back of the van, and heading out to a track day or race meeting weekend by weekend.

I guess over Christmas dad and I probably did the most riding of anyone in the Southern Hemisphere! We had the Wanganui circuit on Boxing Day, and the two rounds before that in December. Then the two rounds of the national championship in March before Wakefield.

So we had a lot of events helping to keep us moving and keep the bike fitness up. These past couple of months we’ve both probably improved by riding on so many different tracks, so we’ll keep doing that as it has been a lot of fun.

And for the love of it too. People at work think I’m a bit strange, because I’m in Australia every second weekend or at a racetrack and having Fridays and Mondays off. I love it, it’s certainly something I don’t wish to stop anytime soon.

Why is triathlon such an important part of your training?

When I first started road racing I didn’t realise fitness had so much of an influence. You see a lot of the guys who are out there cycling every day, which is super dedicated. I started doing a bit of cycling, a bit of swimming and running, and saw the benefits from that.

I think at Eastern Creek over the space of six months I improved by a good three or four seconds a lap after getting into a bit of exercise. At least in triathlon you have certain goals to work to, which you train for over a couple of months. It keeps me fit for racing so I’m happy to do it.

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