VERONIKA HANKOCYOVA, MELISSA KENNEDY & YVONNE MONTGOMERY Defy Death at 200mph

June 4, 2017

• YVONNE MONTGOMERY proves age is just a number in the most badass way possible – she didn’t touch a bike until 47, started racing at 48 after her marriage ended, and now at nearly 60, she’s still throwing down on 400cc and 600cc machines. While other people her age are planning retirement, she’s planning her next race weekend, choosing fuel cans over manicures because that’s what real dedication looks like.
• VERONIKA HANKOCYOVA and her fiancé have literally restructured their entire lives around road racing, driving their truck from Prague to Northern Ireland for every race weekend. The 32-year-old Czech rider has been so consumed by racing for nearly a decade that she and her partner haven’t even found time to get married – though watching him qualify after breaking his back at the same track five years ago still terrifies her more than hitting 200mph herself.
• MELISSA KENNEDY might be 4ft 11in and getting dwarfed by the rest of the field, but she’s a absolute weapon once that visor comes down on her Moto3 bike. The 25-year-old from Enniskillen admits the sport is selfish – her mum Letitia has panic attacks every race weekend – but this grassroots road racing scene is her MotoGP, her shot at doing what she loves without the corporate machinery.

400cc, cookstown 100, european series road racing, moto3