MXLink Live speaks with Sara Garcia and Rachael Archer on their respective racing careers which appear as articles in first Issue of Women in Motorsport Magazine. Sara Garcia completed Dakar Rally 2021 in Original by Motul category finishing an incredible 44th place in General Classification. Rachael Archer competed in America’s GNCC WXC class for 3rd season, winning Opening Round at Big Buck at the weekend.
What stands out as unique within the characters of both these women is firm courage of conviction that to achieve success in chosen sport each sets goals, put plans into action, worked extremely hard, and above everything else remained so focused on achieving victory no matter which challenges arose along the way.
To put in perspective, as Sara states: ‘to achieve success in racing The Dakar Rally is not just one year of work. This has taken many years of step-by-step progress racing and gaining results that I have managed to put plan of action in place to race Dakar. It started out as a dream, until I worked so hard, focused so intently to make the dream a reality’.
For Rachael, the goal was to race in America’s inaugural GNCC WXC class. At 16 years of age, when we first interviewed Rachael, the deliberate intention to race as professional rider overseas was firmly planted in Rachael’s mind-set. So much so, the Kiwi knew what steps to take, making this goal her reality, as it is today.
Rachael: ‘Hard work and believing in yourself has always been my focus of getting what I want to do. I knew, with the help from family the steps I needed to take to achieve the goal of racing in America’s GNCC WXC class, backed by my determination to make it work. Even growing up and living so far away in NZ, there was never any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t achieve the goal of racing against the best GNCC WXC riders in the world’.
The whole point of Women in Motorsport Magazine is to showcase the world’s best female Motorsport athletes as in the case of Sara Garcia and Rachael Archer. Not only does Sara provide younger riders, like Rachael true inspiration to pursue racing career in chosen discipline, but in doing so Sara sets precedent on how women can achieve goals which are truly challenging in every sense of the word.
Sara highlights the key factors to realize goals in face of ever mounting obstacles- not least financial budget to race. The decision to race Original by Motul category in Dakar Rally for past 3 years remains the toughest challenge- racing 12 Stages with No Assistance. However, doing so, eliminates additional costs of having crew on location- all the while leaving sole rider to race, carry out mechanical repairs, from one Stage to the next.
So, what resonates with both Sara and Rachael to dig deep when needed, to find solutions when challenges arise and to remain calm in face of sudden moments of disruption which can either end a race or transpire to making it to the finish. For both Women, mental toughness is a necessity. As Sara states, ‘being mentally strong is the first attribute for a rider to achieve success’.
‘When I had a mechanical issue with gearing at Dakar this year, I thought how can I continue and race with only 4 gears? And more importantly, how am I going to fix this racing under this category? When I arrived back at the bivouac early, I rang my father, who thought I was crazy! I carried on, went ahead, looked at the problem, rang Yamaha support crew, and managed to solve the issue!’.
For Rachael: ‘When I broke my foot leading GNCC WXC Round 12, I thought, well I’m not going to stop now even though I knew I had broken my foot. Anyway, there were no medics where I was on the track. So, I carried on, winning the race, then went to see medics about my foot’.
Without a doubt, up-close-and-personal accounts on how Sara and Rachael pursue racing their respective Motorsport disciplines makes clear to all what these women go through to achieve goals set. And, more importantly, these stories need to be shared for everyone to read, gain inspiration and admiration for 2 Women making history within careers racing Motorsport.
MXLink Live Chat with Sara Garcia and Rachael Archer in link below:
Women in Motorsport Magazine on sale now: https://www.mxlink.co.nz/product/women-in-motorsport-issue-one/
Words: Sharon Cox.
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