Roxanne on her past and present in racing
From physical and mental assessments in Italy on Monday to securing second place in the IAME Benelux championship and winning the Ladies Cup on Saturday, Roxanne is balancing two worlds. While continuing to prove herself at the front of the karting field, the Dutch driver is also exploring an opportunity to move into single-seater racing through the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy. What began as an interview about her IAME Benelux campaign became a broader conversation about her ambitions, her daily life and what has been a pivotal year in her racing career.
Picture: MP Kartracing Team
Her IAME Benelux campaign ended on a high, the opening round however, didn’t quite deliver the result her pace had promised. After strong performances in the heats, a move in the final cost Roxanne several positions. “That was probably my most challenging race of the year,” she reflects. “But our pace gave me plenty of reasons to stay positive, especially as it was my first weekend with MP Kartracing Team.” From the second round onwards, she became a regular contender at the front. “My confidence grew throughout the season, and I was fighting at the front in almost every race,” she says. “As we got to know each other better, we naturally became stronger as a team with every round.”
Joining MP Kartracing Team nevertheless required some adjustment. Having previously raced with British outfit Croc Promotion, Roxanne initially had to get used to a different team culture. “Moving from a British team to a Dutch team is quite a change,” she explains. “But I felt at home fairly quickly. Being Dutch myself makes communication easier and I feel I can really be myself here.”
She also feels supported by the team on a personal level: “We can really rely on each other. You could see that at the final round. There’s a lot of pressure, and that affects everyone emotionally.” The team’s bond became particularly important when her fellow Senior driver, Aron Weeda, suffered an injury in a crash during Friday’s second heat in Mariembourg. For Roxanne, the response illustrated one of the team’s greatest strengths: “It’s when things aren’t going well that we support each other the most. We do everything we can to bring out the best in one another.”
Picture: MP Kartracing Team
Roxanne has also experienced how much that support matters after a difficult result of her own. At the IAME Euro Series finale, she spun out of the lead on the final lap. Waiting outside parc fermé was her data engineer Natalia Balbo, ready to comfort her. “Natalia means a lot to me,” Roxanne says. “We know each other really well and having another woman in the team means a great deal to me. I can call or message her whenever I need to.” She also believes Luca Griggs joining Kartstore Engines, was a big factor in achieving stronger results. “As our trust in each other grew throughout the season, so did our results.”
With the Benelux season complete, Roxanne’s attention now turns to the IAME Warrior Final in Viterbo, Italy, at the end of October. The event brings together the world’s leading IAME drivers and will be her biggest, and final, race of the year. “We tested in Viterbo earlier this year and it went really well. The pace was good,” she says. “We’ll do some more testing before the event, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Yet the World Final is only part of a busy autumn. Roxanne has also been selected to take part in the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy, where the winner earns a fully funded season in the Spanish Formula 4 Championship.
On the Monday before the final IAME Benelux round in Mariembourg, she travelled to Formula Medicine in Italy for the academy’s physical and mental assessments. Rather than distracting her from karting, she believes the experience helped her arrive at the race with greater confidence. “I think the Richard Mille programme has actually helped me a lot,” she explains. “My physical and mental assessments went well. Knowing my strengths gave me even more confidence in myself.”
Picture: MP Kartracing Team
Alongside exploring her own next steps in racing, Roxanne has also been helping others get started. In August the Girls International Racing Lab event took place at Kartbaan Strijen, giving 25 young women the chance to race alongside Alba Larsen. Roxanne joined them on track to demonstrate the racing lines and offer advice. For Roxanne it was an experience she thoroughly enjoyed: “I really enjoyed taking part in Alba Larsen’s event. Events like this are important because we want to see more women in motorsport. I loved giving the drivers tips and sharing my experience and it was great to do that together with Alba. “Spending time with her also helped me see where I can improve. Alba expresses herself really well and knows how to present herself to the public. That’s something I can learn from her.”
With major opportunities still ahead, Roxanne can already look back on her season with pride. “I’ll go into the winter feeling positive,” she says. “Despite some bad luck along the way, I think we ultimately got the most out of this year. I was able to use the experience I’ve gained in previous seasons and turn it into results together with the team. That’s something we can all be very proud of.”