Daytona, Sun
Trust Moto-St: Genevieve Lesieur is back
On October 18, in Daytona, the Sun Trust
Moto-St hosted for the first time in its history a women’s
team. Racer Genevieve Lesieur had the chance to participate in
this prestigious 8-hours long endurance race, along with Marie-Josée
Boucher (Canada) and Melissa Paris (USA). The three young women —invited
by Vallely Racing— began their on-track training on Thursday: “I’ve
already been on this track two years ago, but the configuration
was different, so I have been able to familiarize myself with
the track and the bike”, Lesieur says.
On Friday afternoon, the whole Vallely team went on official rehearsal: “It
was the first time we were participating in that kind of race. We had so
many regulations to assimilate, and we had to do some pit stop practices,
test the communication systems, the lights on the bike, and to be sure that
each team member could also perform the task he was assigned for the race.
It was a real foretaste of what we were expecting for the next day!”
Very enthusiastic and determined, the three pilots started the race on Saturday
at 1 PM. On the SV1000 Vallely Racing, Melissa Paris started 13th on the
grid and put the entire team in an excellent position before being relayed
by Marie-Josee Boucher. Unfortunately, Boucher had to come back to the pits
because of a mechanical malfunction. Lesieur then replaced her, once the
bike fixed, but the mechanical problem was soon back again, forcing the three
pilots and the entire team to spend several hours in pitlane trying to fix
it: “The engineers worked so hard to help us, but it did not work… What
a disappointment after so much efforts! This race has nonetheless been a
dream for me, I’m so grateful to everyone, it was exceptional!”
In the pits, the enthusiasm of the people for the “Vallely Girls” was
at its peak. They occupied the 4th place when the mechanical problem started.
They finished 25th out of 35 teams, with 131 laps completed: “Better
luck next time. We've gained experience and we will be even better prepared!
I would like to point out how much we have been well-treated in this competition,
as much by the organization as by the other teams. It was an extraordinary
and positive experience. I met incredible people and we had great energy
in the pits!”, concluded Geneviève.
The pilot wishes to thank Tom and Gail Vallely for their exceptional support
and energy, Sport Patoine, Hardgym Performance for its assistance for this
event, Mark Rozema, Alain Larouche, William, Melissa Paris, Josh Hayes, Dave,
Jason, Matt, Ryan, Jim and all Vallely Racing team and the Boucher family.
She also thanks all the fans who came to support her.
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