On this International Women’s Day we speak with Nina Prinz, a female motorcycle racer who has been scorching the Losail International Circuit in Qatar!

Nina is a German born motorcycle racer who has been at it on two-wheels for quite some time now. She took up racing when she was 11, even though she spent the early years of her life on a farm! In 2015 she was fairing bashing with the Indian Track Hero Rajini Krishnan and Australian racer Alex Cudlin. And Nina wasn’t just circulating round the track,  she was hitting the podium regularly!

Her career started off with winning on pocket bikes, before she moved up through the ranks to the German Championship. From 2012 she has been racing in the Qatar Superbike Championship where she has seen considerable success on her Suzuki. In 2014, she also did a wildcard appearance in her home GP in Moto2. The German’s wildcard was at the famous Sachsenring with her team QMMF.

Read on to see what Nina had to say about her experiences of racing in a world dominated by men:

xBhp: Tell us a bit about yourself!
Nina Prinz: I was born on a farm and and till I was 8 years old my father taught me to ride a motorcycle. My father was in a motorcycle club. This motorcycle club was the first organisator who arranged a Pocket-Bike race in Germany. This is why I race now.
I’m a learned motorcycle mechanic because I wanna know how the bike work. In the beginning of my career I built my racing bikes by myself. At the moment I work in a estate agent company.

xBhp: How old were you when you first started racing motorcycles?
Nina Prinz: I was eleven years old… and it was on a Pocket-Bike race in my town.

xBhp: Who was the inspiration for you take up motorcycle racing?
Nina Prinz: Sure it was my father… he was riding ICE Speedway races. But it was not professional it was a small series in our town. And he did a bit Motocross, but also no races. Just on our farm he ride his Motocross for fun. When I was young I watched the whole time motorcycle races on TV.  I don’t know why but it was my passion.

xBhp: How difficult is it for a woman to participate in a sport which is dominated by men?
Nina Prinz: I think it is not much more difficult as for a man. You have to work hard and understand the sport then it is not that difficult.

xBhp: Have you ever visited India?
Nina Prinz: No never, but end of March I will do a riding school as an instructor for Rajinis School.

xBhp: Would you like to ride at the Buddh International Circuit in India? Do you think this track should be part of the international circuit?
Nina Prinz: I don’t know the track yet, but after the school in March I can let you know.

xBhp: Is motorcycle racing a very popular sport in Germany? Was it easy for you to get sponsors on board to race?
Nina Prinz: Also in Germany it is not easy to find sponsors, this is why I was racing in Qatar. But now they stop the championship there. So at the moment it means that I have no job for racing.
We have a big championship here in Germany but also you need money and sponsors to get a bike for the championship.

xBhp: What was your experience of racing in Moto2, on the world stage?
Nina Prinz: It was unforgettable!!! It was the biggest dream in my life, I was so happy that QMMF gave me the chance to race in Germany in the World Championship. I really never thought that that will happen to me!
Two years before my Wildcard QMMF try to let me race there, but there was a problem with the age limit. And I thought I will never race in World Moto2 Championship, but 2 years later there was no age limit anymore and QMMF brought me there. So happy!

xBhp:  Which is your favourite racetrack in the world?
Nina Prinz: I really love the track in Qatar… but also Mugello ( Italy) and Spa Francorschamps in  Belgium.

xBhp: Do the boys treat you any differently both on and off the racetrack because you are a woman?
Nina Prinz: Sure I had some experiences with the boys. But not in high level championships more in races with “normal” riders. They don’t understand that i’m that much faster! Sometimes they make crazy and stupid things on the track with me. But I always smile when they do like this. And I always thought, they have the problem not me!
In the big and higher level Championships they accept me as an rider not as a girl on the bike. That was and is the the important thing to be accepted, I always act like this. All I got in racing is because I was fast and I worked hard never I was acting like a real girl to get something.

xBhp: How do you stay fit to race superbikes at this level?
Nina Prinz: I really like to go on my physically border. I do a lot. Climbing, cycling, some stabilisation workouts, Enduro riding, Supermotard riding.

xBhp: Will you be racing in the 2016 season?
Nina Prinz: At the moment there is no plan for 2016.

xBhp: Is motorcycle racing your full time profession or do you do anything else besides racing?
Nina Prinz: Yes I have a regular job in a real estate company and some instruction schools.

xBhp: Rajini Krishnan got Alex Cudlin to train budding track racers in India. Do you train youngsters as well in Germany? Would you like to replicate that in India as well?
Nina Prinz: Yesssss!

xBhp: Any message you would like to share with xBhpians who want to take up motorcycle racing at the highest level.
Nina Prinz: Everything can happen even when you have nothing… believe in your dreams!

Photos Courtesy: Nina Prinz