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‘‘It’s almost hard to comprehend what you’ve done. It was a pretty crazy feeling’’ Roma Edwards’ five-month c

Roma Edwards is back in NZ after a long campaign to become British Women’s Motocross Champion. Now she tells Mat Kermeen she has eyes on a bigger prize.

Five long months living out of suitcases and enduring what seemed like a million kilometres across the United Kingdom in a campervan has been a sacrifice to success for emerging Kiwi motocross star Roma Edwards.

The newly crowned British Women’s Motocross Champion is back in New Zealand – after dominating in her first major overseas competition – following an unexpected adventure that has opened up the throttle on her international career.

For Edwards, 20, the British title was a major goal with special significance. She was born in the UK and her family immigrated to New Zealand when she was just two.

But just as importantly, she hopes it will help her bid to race in the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship in 2023, alongside fellow Kiwi and three-time champion Courtney Duncan.

‘‘My mission when I get home is to get enough sponsorship together so I’m able to afford to come back out,’’ Edwards said. Her British campaign was not on the radar until last summer when much of the New Zealand season was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Edwards’ family, with the support of Honda Racing New Zealand, made the call for Roma and her mother Lisa, to make the ultimate commitment of putting their lives on hold and packing up for the UK to test the waters.

At times the campaign was challenging and Edwards, who was based in Wales, usually faced around a six-hour round trip for races and even practice tracks were more than an hour away.

But Edwards has already overcome far greater adversity.

Back in 2019 when competing near Blenheim, Edwards fell in a horror crash that saw her break both ankles. She was told she wouldn’t ride again and may lose her foot.

But winning the British title is no redemption story as far as Edwards is concerned.

She told the Sunday StarTimes she had long moved on from that chapter and her moment of overcoming the odds was when she won the MX Fest in Taupo¯ less than a year after the horror accident that left her in a wheelchair for two

months.

Riding her Honda CRF250 that was flown over from New Zealand, Edwards was the class rider in the eight-round championship before wrapping up the prestigious British title in the final round on September 12.

‘‘It makes all the long drives and late nights worth it when you’ve achieved something like this,’’ Edwards said.

‘‘Mum and I were both very overwhelmed and just so grateful for everything . . . the opportunity I’ve had to come out here.’’

Edwards only needed to finish the first of three races – shifted from the original venue of Norley due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II — at the final round at Lower Drayton, around a 40-minute drive from Birmingham, but won it to put an exclamation mark on a remarkable championship victory.

With a moment to herself after taking the chequered flag, Edwards described the feeling as surreal.

‘‘It honestly doesn’t feel real,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s almost hard to comprehend what you’ve done. It was a pretty crazy feeling.’’ Upon further reflection, Edwards said the win was also ‘‘a big sigh of relief’’ given how much sacrifice from so many people had gone into it.

‘‘I’m very grateful to my mum and my dad who is still working hard back home, keeping us out here.’’

Edwards won the championship with 1189 points ahead of 15-year-old sensation Rheanna Morgan-Rogers (1050 points) and defending champion Chelsea Gowland (984 points).

Edwards, who grew up racing around a circuit at home in Upper Moutere, near Motueka, alongside her three sisters, now resides in Mount Maunganui.

Her father, Tim, was a motocross racer and despite being encouraged into multiple other sports, the excitement of high speed, jumps and flicking dirt on two wheels proved the winner for Edwards and her three sisters.

With her time in the UK, Edwards has made some strong connections to help guide her towards a WMX campaign, most notably with former New Zealand motocross star Nikki Malin (nee Scott) and her husband Paul and the moral support of Duncan.

Edwards entered the Spanish GP of the WMX as a one-off, but after being sick all week, amid other distractions, it did not go to plan, finishing down the field.

However, the experience was still invaluable.

‘‘Just being there, seeing how it all works and just being amongst it all has made me really want to go back and try again.

‘‘Courtney was really great, she was like a big sister.

‘‘We walked the track together and she gave me tips and helped me keep calm as I was extremely nervous.’’

Edwards will go head-to-head with Duncan in the upcoming New Zealand season starting with MX Fest on Labour weekend and she’s excited to represent her Honda team on home soil. ‘‘I’m just on the racing buzz now, I just want to keep it going,’’ Edwards said.

Long term, Edwards hopes to emulate Duncan by riding for one of the top international teams in the WMX.

‘‘It’s almost hard to comprehend what you’ve done. It was a pretty crazy feeling.’’

Roma Edwards

SPORT

en-nz

2022-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/286895234043664

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