Celina Liebmann enjoys the challenge of getting ahead of the men
German history-maker Celina Liebmann said she enjoyed the challenge of competing in a men’s sport by becoming the first female driver to race in the FIM Speedway final series.
Liebmann, 20, was presented with the Czech Republic’s Prague FIM SGP2 at the Marketa Stadium this Friday and can’t wait to take on the sport’s brightest young stars in the newly refurbished FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship.
In the new era of FIM Speedway under the new management of global organizer Discovery Sports Events, the championship has been renamed SGP2 and takes place on the same leg as the Prague FIM Speedway GP of the Czech Republic on Saturday. .
If hosting the first round of SGP2 wasn’t historic enough for the Prague club, they also wanted to give Liebmann the biggest chance of her career to date, offering her as their wild card.
The Bavarian from Albaching, 50 kilometers east of Munich, scored a very solid six points in the SGP2 qualifying in Daugavpils, Latvia on May 7, beating a host of racers racing in tournaments. Europe’s premier league. Liebmann also competed in the Polish Second Division with Wittstock last season and regularly races in various German leagues. She’s unafraid about trying her hand at the SGP2 stars in the Czech capital.
“I know all these guys and I raced against them all on 250cc bikes,” she speaks. “I’m really motivated for Prague. I really look forward to it.
“When I heard about my phone call, I was shocked. I was completely on the moon. I never thought I would get wild cards.
“My mom bought tickets to a concert for her and me that weekend, but now I’m going to Prague instead and it’s the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had.”
Speedway lacks popular female-only events, but that hasn’t stopped Liebmann from pairing it with the sport’s male stars. “Maybe sometimes a women’s race would be nice,” she said. “But I want to race with the boys. I can improve myself more. ”
No female star has ever reached such heights in the sport and a big performance in Prague would further cement Liebmann’s status as the World’s Speedway First Lady.
“I always wanted to be the number 1 girl in the world,” she speaks. “I see myself as the #1 girl – I don’t know of anyone else who has achieved my success. Right now, I want to go as high as possible and do my best. ”
Despite her ambitions, Liebmann is determined to enjoy the experience of racing in such an illustrious company this Friday and pledges she won’t let a better chance go her way.
She speaks: “I always feel comfortable on the track and also on World Championship days. I am very excited now, but one day I will be relaxed. I will just listen to my favorite music and have fun with my friends. I want to have fun on the track. If I’m happy, I score. ”
Celina is the daughter of former German high-speed racing driver Jurgen Liebmann, who won bronze medals at the FIM Team Speedway World Championships in 2001 and 2003.
While she was only two years old when he retired from the ice rink, Celina admits that it was her father who guided her to the speed scene when she made her first rounds at the Bavarian club Olching.
She speaks: “My father said ‘come, we will go to Olching and you can meet the juniors’, and they said I can ride. I got on a bike and cycled. I did it and my dad has since said ‘I never thought he would ride this long and be so successful.’ He’s really proud. ”
This season saw new promoter Discovery crowned the FIM Speedway Under-21 and Under-16 World Championships for the first time under the SGP umbrella as SGP2 and SGP3. We also look forward to the launch of the SGP4 in 2023 as six-time world champion and SGP global ambassador Tony Rickardsson developing a new category of bikes and categories to showcase riders Younger racers come to this sport.
