Lucy Michel scored World Championship points at Donington: “There was nothing relaxed about it”

Heading into the penultimate race of the season, Lucy Michel of TSL-Racing travelled to England, as usual, having fallen slightly behind in her training on the track, but by the end of the World Championship weekend she was able to take home four points for 12th place. “It was a bit tricky at the start,” the Saxon told SPEEDWEEK.com. “Two weeks before the race, lots of my rivals were at a test session at Donington; I just didn’t have enough time on the track.”

For Michel, who is in her third year competing in the Women’s World Championship, the race weekend was therefore only her third visit to the picturesque circuit. She would have loved to have taken part in the test session: but money is one thing and time is another. “I haven’t planned out every day at work yet,” she said. “But it’s the summer holidays at the moment, so colleagues with children take priority. There’s already a special arrangement for me at the clinic, so I always get time off for the races.”

High on her list

Donington ranks high on Michel’s personal list of favourites. “The track suits me well,” she said. “I’ve never had any major problems there and have always managed to achieve my best results there in the past. I like the layout. It’s not like at Balaton, for example, where you often have to shift down from sixth to second gear. At Donington, you can ride nice and smoothly.”

Although Lucy Michel managed to improve her lap times, she herself described her 18th place on the grid as poor. “It wasn’t just the time that was poor,” she explained. “But somehow everyone was about the same speed. It was just a matter of a tenth of a second here or there. So the groups were correspondingly large in the races.”

Next race not until October

After finishing 18th in Race 1, Lucy managed to improve in the second race, ultimately finishing 12th. “But there was nothing relaxed about it,” said the 21-year-old with a laugh. “On the final lap, I was still in 14th place going into the last corner, then I managed to overtake two more riders.” Incidentally, she also set her fastest lap of the weekend in the second race. “Very good,” she said of her points haul. “It was brilliant and I really enjoyed myself out there.”

The World Championship rider now has a break from racing until October, when the final round takes place in Jerez. And this time, if possible, with a test beforehand – provided her holiday request is approved. “The clinic makes a lot possible,” said Michel. “I like my colleagues and they always follow my races too. If there’s an emergency at the clinic, it’s naturally difficult to get time off. But they do a lot for me.”