Meet Your Women's Champ: Ashley Fiolek 4

Last week was a busy one for Ashley Fiolek...but not in a usual post-championship way. After clinching the Women's title in dramatic fashion at Steel City (she wrapped it up after riding half of the first moto with a broken collarbone), she had it surgically repaird. The good news is, she had lots of time on her hands to type up some answers to questions we had about her '09 season. And we could see her trademark smile coming through in some of the answers.

Vital MX: First off, congratulations on your second championship. How did this
year go compared to ’08?

Ashley Fiolek: Thanks GuyB! '08 was really good except when I got hurt preparing for the X Games but I definitely think this year was more fun. All the girls have stepped it up and are working really hard, so there were some really good battles! Of course being a part of Honda Red Bull Racing is an unbelievable experience, I couldn't ask for a better team or motorcycle to ride. Also winning the X Games was a first for me, training with Jeremy, going to the Honda SX track, those were all new experiences.

That was quite a cliffhanger in Steel City. You went into the final race
with a big points lead. Did you think it was pretty much a formality at
that point that you’d finish up the first moto and have it wrapped
up?

Well I knew I needed tenth or better, but this is motocross so anything can happen. I went out in practice and felt good so I just wanted to get a holeshot and let the race come to me. I didn't get a good start and ended up crashing on the third lap after getting into second place, so nothing is for sure in motocross.

So what happened? How did you go down?

I don't really remember it because it actually happened so fast, but I think I cross rutted toward the sweeper and swapped. The bike pitched me (everyone said it was gnarly crash!). I jumped up and started running to my bike, the first thing I did was rev the engine so it would stay running, picked it up and got going again.

As soon as you crashed, did you know the collarbone was broken?

Not really. I got the wind knocked out of me so it was hard for me to breath, so actually my stomach was hurting, I didn't notice my collarbone until I hit the next jump, that is when I felt like something was wrong with my shoulder. At that point I knew I needed to keep racing, I think I rode four or five laps with my collarbone broken and finished seventh, which was enough to win the championship. Good thing, since I wasn't going to be able to come out for the 2nd moto.

Did you have any trouble getting the bike picked up or restarted?

Good thing I kept it running because my bike was pretty twisted, handlebars were bent and front brake wasn't working, Cody my mechanic told me everything was messed up, the hot start was bent into the throttle and it was stuck open so if the engine stopped I would not have been able to start it again.

What was it like riding with a broken collarbone? Were you still doing all the
jumps? Or limiting what you were doing?

OUCH! It was painful. Yeah, I starting off doing as many of the jumps as I could, but as it the pain got worse I did just what I needed to do, but I was still doing some of them!

How many laps did you have to do like that?

I think 5 laps!

Were you getting updates from your mechanic on where you were at and
what you had to do

I knew I had to get top 10, Cody told me what place I was in but to be honest I was in a lot of pain so all I was thinking was I wanted the race to be done!

Okay, I saw the photo of your collarbone x-ray on Twitter. That was
quite a gap between the ends of the broken bone. How did the surgery go?
What did they have to do?

Yeah, it was gnarly x-ray huh? Surgery went really well, the pain should be gone soon! I want to thank Dr. Augustine for fixing me and and taking great care of me. He had to put a plate and six screws! I am bionic now. Just kidding. I'll have to show you guys the x-ray after the surgery, much better.

You’ve done quite a bit of traveling back and forth, racing the U.S.
and parts of the GP series. How do the two series differ?

In the FIM the motos are 20 + 2 laps so you have more time if you get a bad start or fall early. The European tracks get a little more gnarly because they don't prep them once the first practice starts, I think the pace is pretty close in the FIM and WMX, it would be awesome if we could get their top 15 girls to come here.

It seems like the women’s racing here has gotten better over the last
year or two, with more depth to the fields.

Yeah for sure, being recognized as professionals, being added to the Saturday program, teams supporting us, and overall the hard work the girls are putting in are making for some exciting races. It is going to be better next year.

Jessica was coming on strong near the end of the season, and provided
more of a challenge.

Yeah for sure, Jessica is the fastest women to ever race a motorcycle, that is why Jessica has five championships. I always expect Jessica to reinvent herself as she did in the past, this year and in the future. It makes for great racing.

What’s next for you? What are your plans for the 2010 season and
beyond?

I am just waiting for this to heal up, I think Ill be ready to ride again in eight weeks. I am going to Belgium to hang out with my friends for vacation. I just want to keep working hard for sure and helping the WMX and women's motorcycling to grow. I cant wait for 2010!

Anyone you’d like to thank?

God for always keep me safe, my mom and dad, my brother Kicker, my mechanic Cody, Honda Red Bull Racing, Alpinestars, Red Bull, Smith Optics, Rockwell Timekeepers, Vans, Leatt, and all the fans of the WMX.