FEATURE
MOTOAMERICA'S SHELINA MOREDA
P82
I had been warned China had of a
view that females shouldn't be at the
racetrack. I'm used to being the girl
making waves because I've raced as
far as Qatar, where it's unheard of for
a female to front the grid. I was not
prepared for China, though. Here, females wear pants
and show skin and seem to be living in a similar fashion
to women in the USA—but they don't race.
In China, I stuck out like a sore thumb—especially
when walking the fresh markets, checking out the dif-
ferent types fish and crazy fruits and vegetables that I've
never seen before with my goliath-sized crew chief, Tony
Pogue. "Gweilo" is what they call an American or Euro-
pean, which literally translates to "white devil." We were
almost always the only "gweilos" around. We definitely
caught the stares, but most were friendly. We even got
invited to have tea with several of the locals who remem-
bered Tony from times he's been there in the past. We
gladly obliged, as having tea is such a fun, traditional
activity in China (and much more of a process than I ever
knew).
A S T A R T O S O M E
A female competing on a mo-
torcycle dropped the jaws of so
many traditional men in China.
As I mentioned earlier, some
really didn't care for it, but there
was a healthy contingent of
males that were pumped and
gave me a big smile and thumbs
up, while some of the girls were
calling me "Superstar!"
The racing in the Chinese
Pan Delta Superbike Series was
not easy. I had a huge task in
front of me. First was to qualify,
"I was dropping seconds at a time, and word of
the American girl on the American Superbike was
spreading quickly through the pits."
(Above) Moreda
quickly gained
a following from
some of the
more progressive
members of the
crowd.
Getting ready for battle.
