An Austrian engineer pursuing her dream
Talented 20 year-old Austrian Lena Kemmer’s first memory involving a motorcycle is watching her father racing, when she was a young child. She is now a World Championship rider herself, proudly representing her nation in the inaugural WorldWCR season, having made a rapid rise to the top. Kemmer is also a mechanical engineer, with a talent for both building prototypes and racing finely tuned machinery.
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The early days on two wheels
As a youngster Kemmer rode with her sister on their grandfather’s land, then also took a bike with her when they were at tracks watching their father race. She explains, “We rode there around the tracks and had a little bit of fun. I was five and my sister was a little bit older. My parents said that I had to learn to ride a bicycle first, but I didn’t want to do that, so I rode motorcycles before I could even ride a bicycle! I stopped for a while then, I started riding motorbikes again as a young teenager, or maybe at around 11 years old, on the dirt. Not motocross, just riding in the forest. Then I started to think it would be cool to ride on the track too, like my Dad and my cousin.”
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Following in her father’s footsteps
Lena’s father Herbert Kemmer participated in Austrian national championship racing, in addition to endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, continuing to compete until 2016. As well as her father; many of her uncles and cousins raced as well. “It was always a big get together of friends and family,”she remembers. Her dad was initially hesitant to encourage her into racing, understanding the demands and the pressure involved, but having seen his daughter’s natural ability on the race track, he is now fully behind her pursuit of her racing dreams. She reveals, “As we started with the pit bike racing he saw that I really wanted to do this, that I did a lot to get better and that it worked pretty well. He saw with the first track days that I was pretty good, he saw that I had the talent for it and from then both of my parents supported me all the way.”
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Making progress in racing
At the age of 14 Kemmer started to race pit bikes at a karting track near her home, quickly showing her talent as she began to outpace adults who were also competing. She first tried real circuit racing in the winter of 2020 on a 250cc bike, before she entered the Austrian Junior Cup as it was starting in 2021 and again in 2022. She continued to build up her experience in that competition, including races at the Red Bull Ring, where she achieved two fourth places at the Spielberg track. She competed in the Women’s European Championship in 2023, before joining the WorldWCR grid for the first season of this exciting new series.
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Watching her favourite
When asked about her favourite rider, without hesitation she names Pedro Acosta. “He is such a talent and such a completely different rider compared to others,” she explains. “It’s just incredible how he could change bikes, sit on it and straight away he is fast and at the top. The older riders have so much more experience and he is just faster.” Together with her father, she watches Acosta race on TV, trying to learn from him, with her dad pointing out different aspects of his riding style.
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Kemmer at her day job
Not only does Lena Kemmer know how to ride fast herself, being a mechanical engineer she also understands the technical aspects of vehicles. She’s employed at AVL List, one of the world’s leading mobility technology companies for development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry. Kemmer works in the concept vehicle team where she builds prototypes. “We take a car and we rip everything out, then we build another engine in it, or another engine concept. Like taking out gasoline engines and putting in an electric motor.” She continues to explain how she likes the variety of the job. “We do a lot of different things. My role there is to build cable harnesses and build in measurement supplies and stuff like this. It’s very complicated work, but I like it, you have to think a lot and do so many different things. You might have to go on the milling machine, or you have to drill something.”
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Inspiration from Ellen Lohr
Ellen Lohr is the female athlete who has inspired Kemmer the most. Lohr is a celebrated German race car driver, having raced in the DTM and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. She also competed in the Dakar Rally and various other elite level rallies. “Why Ellen Lohr? Because she did so many things, she raced almost everything on four wheels! From Dakar to DTM, and she was the first woman to win a DTM race, and that was in a time where nobody believed a woman could do anything. That’s just an incredible victory, not just for her but for all women, especially in racing. She showed that women can do it, too.” The connection to Lohr is extra special for Kemmer, with Lohr now being Director of Motorsports at AVL List and being involved with AVL Racetech, the company’s race department supporting Kemmer’s racing career.
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Exploring in her free time
Kemmer has her motorcycle licence and her first street bike was an Aprilia RS125, which she later upgraded to an RS660, although she currently does not own a street bike. “There’s just no time!” she explains. When she does have a moment between work and racing, she still likes to go out and discover new places. “It doesn’t even have to be trips. It’s just when I go out running or cycling, I will take a different road, or go to the forest and just go, go, go, and most of the time I end up somewhere pretty cool. Sometimes I’ll take my car and go some kilometres away, and discover new places there.”
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Being part of a historical new championship
“It’s unbelievable to be part of a World Championship after only such a short time in racing. I am very pleased and proud to represent my country as the only Austrian woman in the championship. It’s also very motivating to know that other girls see me racing and get inspired. I hope to get more women and girls into racing and riding bikes fast. Maybe in a few years I’ll start a racing school for girls or something like that. I just want to use my experience and knowledge to inspire other girls.”
