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LADY WHIRLWIND . . . Zimbabwean female motorcycling rider Tiffany Fisher will ride for South Africa’s Monroe Racing Team during the 2015 season

Collin Matiza Sports Editor
TIFFANY Fisher, one of the two top female motorcycle riders in Zimbabwe, has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of racing for South Africa’s Monroe Racing Team during the 2015 season. Monroe Racing Team yesterday announced their Team drivers and riders for 2015 and among them will be Zimbabwean Fisher who impressed them while competing in last season’s National Championship Series.

Bianca Schultz of Bulawayo is the only other female motorcycle rider in Zimbabwe.

According to Monroe Racing Team, Fisher, who only started riding in 2013, will represent them in the superbikes in Zimbabwe aboard the Adrenalin/Monroe Honda 600.

She will also promote their brand in Zimbabwe.

Fisher tested her new machine and kit at Kyalami Race Track in South Africa in December last year before she was named as a member of the Monroe Racing Team for the 2015 season yesterday.

“Twenty-year-old Lyle Ramsey joins Andrea Bate in the second Polo Cup car at National level. Our most senior campaigner Andrea Bate once again flies the flag with her Polo Cup challenge.

“New matriculant Themba Khumalo once again will fight for top spot in the 600 class aboard his Honda CBR. At Zimbabwe National level, Themba and Greg Maloney will support Tiffany,” Monroe Racing Team said in a statement yesterday.

They said their official team launch before the first event will be announced soon for “all our press friends and supporters”.

Fisher was yesterday over the moon after she joined Monroe Racing Team.

“I think it’s a privilege to be included in the Monroe Racing Team, they are a great Team and I’m learning so much more about motorbike racing! I’m really excited and can’t wait to get the races started!”

But it is the inclusion of Fisher in the Monroe Racing Team for the 2015 season that will come as a big boost to the sport in Zimbabwe as most riders in this country have been struggling to find sponsors or a big team to ride for in the National Championship Series.

Shaun Whyte, one of the organisers of the National Championship Series, yesterday welcomed Monroe’s decision to include Fisher in their team for this year.

“Tiffany performed exceptionally well last season where she also competed in South Africa and it’s good to see female riders coming through in Zimbabwe,” said Whyte, who has been spearheading the revival of motorcycling racing in this country for the past two years.

Whyte is also the chairman of the Bogwheelers Club who run the motorcycling sport of motocross in Zimbabwe. Temba Mazvimbakupa of the Zimbabwe Motorsport Federation also congratulated Fisher for being included in the Monroe Racing Team for this season and said this bodes well for the development of the sport in this country.

“It is good to see female riders like Tifanny Fisher getting recognition (from Monroe) and mixing it with the men in a sport which is predominantly a man’s sport.

“In fact, it just shows that motorsport is no longer exclusively for men in Zimbabwe. Women are doing extremely well in the sport and at times are performing better than men. So, I would like to make a passionate plea to Zimbabwean women to come and join the sport in their numbers and follow Tiffany’s footsteps.

“We also hope that more teams like Monroe or sponsors will come on board and back the other top motorcycling riders from this country,” Mazvimbakupa said.

During the 2014 season, Fisher battled it out for the top honours in the superbikes section of the National Championship Series with seasoned male riders such as the evergreen Phil Archenoul of Harare and Bulawayo riders Ian Gutherless, Tim Schultz, Fuzzy Walker and Dave Moaut.

In fact, Fisher was just a joy to watch on the track at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare where she claimed a number of podium places during the National Championship Series last year and it would be interesting to see how she will perform this season now that she has the backing of South Africa’s Monroe Racing Team.

Meanwhile, Fisher, Tim Schultz, Bianca Schultz, Gavin Brett, Randall Gerrit and Ian Gutherless are looking at coming up with a team that will compete as Monroe/Zimbabwe Team at the Motorcycle Olympics at Phakisa in South on the weekend of April 24-26.

The event is being organised by Moto Rider Academy of South Africa and it’s a weekend of riding designed for all categories of riders from beginners to professionals.

The Motorcycle Olympics weekend will open on April 24 with an open practice session for A, B, C and D riders then on the following day in the morning there would be gymkhana and drag racing followed by qualifiers in the afternoon. On April 25, there will be sprint race in the morning and then a four-hour endurance in the afternoon. A team of four riders each may use their own bikes and each rider must compete in all the four disciplines as it is a team sport.

The participation fee has been pegged at R700 per rider for all the three days.