Behind The Gate – The Interviews: Kiara Fontanesi

The Behind The Gate documentary series began covering the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championships in 2024, alongside the usual MXGP and MX2 coverage.  After all, if female athletes can be featured heavily in such masculine sports as Mixed Martial Arts and Soccer, then why not show their characters in the world of Motocross?  We were able to follow perhaps the biggest name in WMX, Kiara Fontanesi, for Episode 7 of Behind the Gate 2026, entitled “Back to Business”.

Kiara is basically the GOAT of Women’s Motocross. Still only 32 years of age, she first won the WMX title in 2012, and amassed a record six titles within seven seasons, before taking two out of four years away from the sport in order to give birth to her two children, Skyler and Alaska. Returning with a determination to become the first mother to win a Motocross world title, she has finished third and second in each of the last two years, bringing her GP victory tally to 24, one higher than Courtney Duncan at the top of the all-time WMX win list.

With the first two WMX rounds taking place at Lacapelle-Marival in France, and Teutschenthal in Germany, we were able to film with Kiara at the opening round and then interview her the Friday before the German round. She was able to win the first race in France and finish second behind Daniela Guillen in race two, leaving her second only on a tie-break to the Spaniard.  In a room full of Italian crew who know her very well, the atmosphere is always vibrant when Kiara is around, and she was in a determined mood to chase after another world crown.  Here is what she said to us:

 

BTG: Kiara, thanks for joining us again. Just to start things off there, we started the WMX season in France, not in the sand of Sardegna like in previous years, so how are you feeling about the schedule this year for WMX and yeah, how it could affect you?

KF: It's a pity we only have five rounds, because you cannot mess up any of the races, otherwise, the Championship is gone. But I'm happy we started with the hard-pack track, and Lacapelle was a very, very nice track for me, very technical. Some of the tracks in the calendar, most of them I like, so I think it can be a good Championship.

 

BTG: You said to Lisa, in the TV interviews, about winning there before, that you didn't remember much about it, but you liked the circuit. What did you like about the track and what do you actually remember from winning there, back in 2011?

KF: Yeah, I remember when I raced there, when the Championship was still with the MX3 class. Lacapelle was a very nice track, it was technical, it was deep, with a lot of ruts, bumps and jumps. So that's what I mainly liked the most last weekend, because it came out being a very technical track, where the high speed doesn't really count, but the way you turn. The way you carry the speed in the corner, to make perfect jumps, and then jump the other one, so you had to be very precise, and I really liked it for sure. I didn't like the second race when we went out with a completely flat track, and full of water, so yeah, I need to work things out a little bit for the second races, when the conditions are like this, but for the rest I really enjoyed it.

 

BTG: Sorry to ask this, but just talk us through what happened in the Pit Lane if you can please? You had a little stumble in front of the camera?

KF: OK, it's in there is it? I knew you were going to put it in! [Laughs]

 

BTG: It was a funny moment, it has to go in! I’m sorry…

KF: Well, we were doing Time Practice. I was waiting quite a lot in the Pit Lane, because there was somebody on the floor, so I couldn't go out on the track and make a fast lap. So, as soon as I saw there was a possibility to go, I didn't want to waste time! And I started a little bit too aggressive from the Pit Lane, where it was completely stony, and I was turning a little bit with the handlebar, so my bike slipped down, and I went on the floor in front of the camera, and I was just laughing in my helmet!

 

BTG: It was good TV, for sure! We got a good look at your crash helmets there, are they designed by your children? Is that the art there? It's very unique and it's very special to you, I feel.

KF: The helmet I have, this year’s one is fully covered by my daughter's drawings, and so there are also their names on there. There is actually a podium with the song “Girls” on it, and basically, they are all designed by them. They did that during the last few months, and put things on that mean the most in our life. So yeah, there is also me on a small tractor, cutting the grass at home. So, it's pretty funny for those who know. And the other one is one representing my dog Otto, he used to come to all the training, or all the races and he was there when I won most of the titles that I've won over the past years. And he passed away just at the beginning of the year. So, he meant a lot to me, and to the whole family and team. So yeah, I wanted to have another element, like the one I had last year with all the drawings from the kids. But last year it wasn't really made from them. This year, yes. So that's the more unique side, yeah.

 

BTG: Then in France itself, the first race couldn't have gone any better, straight towards the front of the pack there, and then pressing on to a win. So, was it challenging for you? You know, how are you finding the circuit, and yeah, how good was that? It was the first time in some time that you've won the first race of the year, am I right?

KF: Yeah, it was 2013. Starting off the Championship with a pole position, and a first moto win, it has been, somehow, crazy, because it didn't happen for a very long time. It was back in 2013, and at the same time, winning the opening race was always a little bit difficult because of a lot of things. But I really felt super comfortable on the track, and I really enjoyed riding the bike during the whole Saturday programme. I felt super smooth and had a perfect flow on the track, and it was like, somehow, easy to win. I didn't really expect that, so it was just amazing.

 

BTG: Nice one, and yeah, you touched on it before, but the second race, it was a very different track for you all. You went off very quickly at the start. I think you built like an eight second gap pretty quickly. So, did you have a problem like arm pump, or did something go wrong there? Because suddenly Daniela caught you, and there didn't seem to be much you could do about it?

KF: The second race was pretty strange. I mean, I know exactly what the problem was, and so that's good for sure, to know why you lost a race, and that's how I see it. I mean, I feel like I really lost it, because it was not me, on the bike. I went out of the gate with the same motivation as the day before, and I could see from the start, from the first lap, the problem was that the track was really deep and wet. And I took two big risks in the first lap, where I risked a crash and I went off the track. I thought that if you crashed there, then the race would have been gone and I would have lost so many points for the Championship. And so, the risk, plus the fact that I saw I had a big gap, brought me to ride carefully, to slow down, and to slow down by riding stiff. So, as soon as I saw Daniela was catching me, I tried to make a step and go back pushing, but it was just not possible, because I felt like I just wanted to bring home the race. And somehow, it was something more mental than physical, because I felt like I was not really riding the bike and I was very, very slow. But that was the problem. I risked too much the first lap, and I started to ride stiff, and didn't want to take any extra risk.

 

BTG: Of course, we saw problems there for Lotte van Drunen as well. She had the crash in race one over the finish line jump there. I did have a smile on my face, and I'm sure you must have had one as well, when you came around the track to lap the number one. I just wanted to get an idea of what you were thinking at that moment.

KF: Well I thought, that's not normal. I didn't know that I was going to be lapping Lotte in race one, because nobody from the team had put it on the board. What they do is put my pace, and the gap between me and the second rider, and I just rode by, enjoying it, and I never looked back, and that's one of the things that makes you think a lot, because it means that if you never look back, you feel you are comfortable with the bike, with the track, and the flow you have. So, I never really looked back and I didn't know where Lotte was. I just realised that she might have some problems, when I saw I was going to lap her. But yeah, for sure, I thought it was immediately good for the Championship to be lapping her at the first race. So, yeah, that was the only thought I had.

 

BTG. Why do you ride with number eight? What's the story there?

KF: I ride with the number eight because my brother already had that number, when I started to ride, and there's not a real big reason why we started to both use it. But since we use it, we never really wanted to change it, because number eight, it happens so many times in our journey, in our life. Everywhere we go is like, for example, the hotel room here is 108, and the table at the restaurant most of the time is number eight. So that's also, I mean, that's mainly why eight is in our life, but there's not any special reason, just that I always wanted to keep it even when I was winning. I don't like to ride with the number one, because I don't feel like being a number one, I just feel like being myself and I want to ride with my number.

 

BTG: Obviously, the Championship ahead now, you've come to Germany, a place you've known well in the past years. So yeah, in the season, it's dead level between yourself and Daniela now, so you've got to feel good about your chances this season?

KF: Yeah, it's a good feeling here, there's no problems. Fitness-wise, everything went well in the winter. I mean, I feel comfortable and I’m enjoying this season a lot. Starting off the season with a great ride like I did in France, it's always positive. I like to be here in Teutschenthal, I like the track, and yeah, I'm just enjoying the track and just enjoying the process. For sure it's going to be a tight Championship, because even if you win, there's not any way you can get so many points to arrive in Australia with a big gap. So, it's like starting now with four rounds, because we are on the same points, so it's just like a Championship of four rounds now. And so, we need to be focused and make no mistakes.

 

Epilogue

Kiara did indeed make precious few mistakes in Teutschenthal, apart from a slight excursion off the track in race one, which allowed Van Drunen through into second behind Guillen, but then the Dutch reigning Champion crashed trying to make a move on Daniela and she dropped to third behind Kiara and Courtney Duncan.  It got worse for Lotte with a big crash in race two, while Kiara took a steady second to claim second overall, dropping just six points behind Guillen.  Next up is Foxhills, where she will be keen to score her first victory in the UK after three podium finishes across her four visits to the previous circuit at Matterley Basin.  It could be crucial with just the sand of Arnhem and the heat of Darwin to come after this weekend.  Whatever the outcome, the pro that is Kiara Fontanesi will make sure that she is in contention.