Some of the professional riders manage to pay their bills with sponsorships and contracts. Others have to work during the day to pay for the expenses: meet NEXX Rider, Laura Martinez, one of the best Spanish female riders, who competes in CEV and is a passionate nurse who knows what it takes to concentrate on her sport.
Laura Martinez Hernandez, a Madrid native born on the 7th of September,1989, began her career in the world of motorcycles at just 18 years old after convincing parents that this was her dream.
“I have to make the most of my time to be able to keep up with the physical training and work with my sports psychologist in order to be at the highest level.”
She has been competing in territorial championships since 2008, but it was in 2012 that she started to compete at a slightly higher level, participating in the Kawasaki Ninja Cup and in later years the Spanish Supersport Cup, where she gained experience.
In 2015, she fell in the second round of the Spanish Women’s Cup race when she was fighting for the podium places, leaving her outside the top three in the overall standings.
In 2016, she started to set higher goals and the improvement was noticeable: in the Spanish Women’s Cup she got 3rd place, with a victory and several podiums.
Also in 2016, she competed in the Intercommunity Championship of Speed (Campeonato Intercomunitario de Velocidad – CIV), securing victory overall, winning all of the races in the women’s category and earning a hard-fought third place in the 600 Cup where she was racing in the mixed category.
In 2017, she again participated in the same championships, finishing runner-up in the Spanish Women’s Championships and taking the fight to the eventual champion in several races.
She also finished 5th in the CIV Supersport Cup and finished first in the CIV women’s category.
Very good results, considering that our team is one of the most modest in the championship, comprising her father, her boyfriend and friends, who share our passion and make the most of means that are very restricted due to a small budget.
“We make a huge effort to combine this passion for competition with my work as a nurse in the intensive care unit of the hospital in our region. I am also an active partner with the NGO “Infancia Solidaria” [“Childhood Solidarity”] and I am currently fostering two children, Adjara, who is seven years old and who has been with us since she was three, and Epifanio, who is two years old and a recent arrival. He is in hospital at the moment whilst he is treated for a disease that prevents him from eating normally. Both come from Guinea Bissau and this work takes up a lot of our time but it is profoundly satisfying to see them smiling again.”
“It has been a great season, one during which I broke my own records on all the circuits, but our goal for next season is very clear – to take another step forward! We will be back and going all out in 2018, with even with fewer financial resources and less dedicated time with respect to my main rivals. We will do everything we can to fight for the women’s national title and stay ahead in the mixed championships.”
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