Kim Rose cranking up the speed in bid for glory

The Staffordshire star is back on the familiar Honda 125GP machine, which she rode to an impressive second-place series finish last year.

But the 29-year-old, from Cannock, is keen to go one better this year and claim the East Midlands Racing Association (EMRA) 125GP title.

Rose is now in her 11th year of racing, and second in the EMRA, which is raced solely around Mallory Park, in Derbyshire.

The engineer has started her 2017 campaign in positive fashion too, claiming second, third, fourth and sixth-place finishes during the opening two rounds.

“My only goal is to improve and get faster, and try to keep with the leader to try win the championship,” she said.

“So far I’ve done well with a second and fourth in the first round, then a third and sixth in round two.

“I’ve been riding better and harder since last year.

“The first meeting started off wet then became dry in afternoon – but my riding never changed I rode just as hard in the wet conditions.

“I came second in championship last year, which I was really pleased about as it was my first season at Mallory Park, especially as most of the racers are male.”

Rose’s progress has been even more impressive as she manages to compete with – and regularly beat – her rivals despite having no sponsorship, relying solely on the support of her family and friends.

This was in evidence during round three of the EMRA championships on May 13, when she finished a very creditable fourth and fifth.

“It wasn’t a bad day but I had few problems with bike back end sliding about on me,” she said.

“It’s something I’ve got to look at and I think I need new tyres.

“We also made some changes to the bike to see if we could get some more out of it but had no luck, so next time more changes will be needed.

“I’ve had a few close calls and towards the end I got pushed over a bit and ended up on the grass but managed to stay on bike, so all in all it was a good day.”

Rose is still riding without any sponsor support and is very grateful for the vital support she receives from her family.

“I don’t have any sponsors this year, so I’m doing it by myself with the help of my dad and support of my girlfriend and family,” she said.

“I would be very grateful if there was anyone that would like to sponsor me and help me through my racing season.

“Every little sponsor helps and I would like to just say a big thank you to my dad for his hard work with the bike.

“If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t make it out for every race and I also want to thank my other half, Sarah, for her support.

“She comes to every race meeting and the support from my mum and niece is also huge.

“The encouragement my family give me makes me ride harder and harder every time.

“I go out to make my family really proud whenever I race.”