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Collin Matiza : Sports Editor
ACE Zimbabwean motocross female rider Tanya Muzinda is turning herself into a “Princess Charming” of several top European sports personalities during her current month-long tour of Europe. After having been invited to be a “special guest of honour” of world motocross champion Tony Cairoli of Italy during a European Grand Prix event at Lommel in Belgium a couple of weeks ago, Muzinda has now caught the eye of another prominent person – former world champion Yves Demaria.Demaria, born January 22, 1972, is a French former professional motocross racer. He is a three-time FIM Motocross World Champion in the MX3-GP class for motorcycles displacing 650cc.
Born in Marseille, France, Demaria won his first MX3 world championship in 2004, following with two more crowns in 2006 and 2007. He has also won Grands Prix races in the MX1-GP and MX2-GP classes. Demaria was a member of the victorious French 2001 Motocross des Nations team that included David Vuillemin and Luigi Séguy.
He has since retired from the sport and is now a full-time motocross trainer.
And at the weekend, Demaria flew from his base in France to join Muzinda (11) at her training camp in Turin, Italy, where he has been assessing her for the past two days.
Speaking to The Herald from Moncalieri in Turin yesterday, Muzinda’s father, Tawanda, said Demaria was told by a well-wisher that the young Zimbabwean rider was in the north Italian city for her training attachment and he (Demaria) volunteered to come and train her there.
“A well-wisher, who is a close friend of (Tanya’s international manager) Stefy Bau, also happens to be a close friend of Demaria and he asked him to fly here to Turin to have a look at Tanya and he (Demaria) did not hesitate to say ‘Yes’.
“Apart from being a former top rider himself, Demaria is now currently heavily involved in coaching female motocross riders across Europe and he has a number of top European bikers in his stable; and he agreed to come and have a look at Tanya here in Turin where he has been training her since Monday.
“He is basically teaching her new skills and how to handle different machines; and today I think she really improved and he was quite impressed by her,” Tawanda Muzinda said.
Tanya was initially supposed to spend most of her time training and competing in Belgium during her stay in Europe but one well-wisher, who asked not to be named, was touched by her story of being one of the few black females in Zimbabwe who are into motocross and he asked her to be flown from Belgium to Turin to have her training base there for an indefinite period – all expenses paid for.
And it is the same well-wisher who then invited Demaria to fly to Turin with the main aim of giving Tanya some expert advice on how to ride her motorbike.
The 11-year-old Zimbabwean motocross rider is now being officially sponsored by one of the world’s biggest motorbike manufacturers – KTM – of Austria.
“At the moment everything is going according to plan as Tanya has been getting some professional tips from different top European motocross trainers or coaches and the arrival of Demaria here in Turin is just the icing on the cake.
“Our main thrust as Team Tanya is for Tanya to become the first professional female motocross rider to emerge from Zimbabwe, if not from the whole of Africa, and her international manager Stefy Bau is working around the clock to make her realise this dream and she is the one who facilitated our trip to Europe.
“At the moment we are training in Turin and we are likely to spend the rest of our month-long tour of Europe based in this Italian city while several European sponsors, who have been engaged by Stefy, chart the way forward for Tanya and signs are that she might end up being based here in Europe as she embarks on her journey of turning into a professional motocross racer,” Tawanda Muzinda said.
Tanya’s trip to Europe was also made by possible by a number of Zimbabwean sponsors who include NetOne, who paid for her airfares, and MBCA Bank.
Online Reporter