FIM cross-country world champion, Russian motorcycle racer Anastasia Nifontova told the support of foreign pilots in personal conversations.
Previously, it was announced that to participate in the Dakar, Russian athletes must complete an FIA questionnaire condemning the special operation in Ukraine.
– Are you going to follow the Dakar, or are you going to spend time with your family?
– Of course, family time is most precious, but anyone interested will watch Dakar. Of course, I will not sit in front of trackers and monitoring screens and follow from morning to night, but I will watch certain news with interest, which happened in what way. I will especially follow my biker comrades. For example, with Tommy Price we correspond on social networks in a friendly way, and he is now broken down in Morocco. I’m worried about him, I’m worried: will he have time to recover for the Dakar. The situation in the world has not affected my communication with people with whom we have friendly relations. Of course, I support them.
– Do you hear words of support from strangers?
– Sure. It is clear that they do not write any petitions. But in person, everyone is in solidarity. There are no hateful or malicious messages… Maybe at the very beginning of all February events, a few or three. And then these are people who engage in rally raids, but I don’t know them personally, only on the Internet. Basically, these were guys from the Baltic States, they perceive all this acutely, because they are close to everything. All the others, the Germans, the French, the Spaniards, said nothing of the sort.
– That is to say that they separate politics and everyday life?
— Of course, I also have Ukrainian friends with whom we communicate. Everyone is well aware of the situation. When people are normal and adequate, they communicate normally, even when disagreeing about political views. It’s just that now a lot of nerves can’t take it anymore and start shifting to a different tone. But for the most part, this does not apply to athletes. The way we communicate is the way we communicate.
Source : MatchTV
