Elisabeth Novak

A photograph of Novak taken in a press event in 2021.

**Laeticija Elisabeth Gabrijela Novak** (born 27 March 1999) is a Flovorlean-born Vuzenican Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently riding for MČV Factory Racing Team Takamitsu in the World Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship. She won the 250GP World Championship in 2018, and the 600GP World Championship in 2020.

She is the older sister of 250GP World Championship rider, Lucija Novak.

## Youth

Novak was born in Beaumonton, USFA, on the 27th of March, 1999, to a Flovorlean mother and a Vuzenican father.

In an interview conducted after winning her first World Championship in 2016, she recounted times as a toddler where her father would sit her on his classic MČV L400A and let her rev the engine. Novak says this fostered her love for motorcycles, and in 2003 her family decided to move to Vuzenica to allow their daughter to race.

## Career

### Early Career

In early 2003, Novak's family moved from their native Beaumonton to Jezero in Vuzenica to help her pursue a career in motorcycle racing. In her first ever event aboard a 50cc pocket bike, she finished 6th in a field of 34 riders.

For 2004, Novak gained a ride with Snow Leopard Team in the Jezero 50cc Cup, and finished the season 4th. In 2005, she took four race wins on her way to the 50cc title.

2006 saw Novak move to the Visoka Cup Series, where she won the 2006 Visoka 125cc Cup. In 2007, she moved to the Visoka 450 SuperMoto Cup, where she took two race wins and finished runner-up to Florijan Breznik. The next year, she returned to 125cc machines, where a clean sweep of race victories earned her the 2008 Visoka 125cc Cup title.

In early 2008, Novak was contacted by a representative of the Vuzenican motorcycle company MČV, who offered her a ride in the 2009 and 2010 Vuzenican National Championship (CNV) in the 100cc category. She accepted, and joined Jezero Juniors Team aboard their MČV RV100R.

2009 saw mixed fortunes for Novak, winning one race, but not finishing four. She finished the season in eleventh overall. 2010 was a different story, with no wins, but nine consecutive second-place finishes, which saw her lose the title by one point, again to Florijan Breznik.

2011 would see Novak and her rival Breznik become teammates in the National 125cc Championship, which saw her return to race with Snow Leopard Team. She once again lost a title to Breznik, however towards the end of the year she was approached by both MČV and Vidič Moto, with offers to ride for both official junior teams.

Novak remained loyal to MČV, and in 2012 she would win the National 125cc Championship for the MČV Talent Team.

In 2013, Novak moved up to the flagship series of the CNV, the 250cc Junior World Championship, to ride an MČV RV250R for the JG Racing Juniors team. She finished her rookie Junior World Championship campaign an incredible 3rd overall, taking a podium in her debut event and a win in just her third appearance.

In 2014, Novak would move to the official MČV Talent Team, and took four wins from the first four races. In the fifth race of the season, at her local Jezero International Circuit, Novak high-sided through turn four while leading the race and collided with the wall, breaking her right arm and shoulder, and fracturing both ankles. Novak was ruled out of the remainder of the 2014 season immediately, and would struggle to walk for the next four months. Five days after the crash, MČV announced they would offer Novak a 2015 ride in the Junior World Championship, as a symbolic gesture of faith and belief in their stricken rider.

Novak made her return to the track in early 2015, testing her 250cc machine at the same track that ended her 2014 campaign so brutally. In her first event back, Novak would finish in seventeenth place. It is alleged that a meeting took place between Novak and MČV after round three, where Novak offered to resign, yet the team would not accept it, and instead offered to extend her contract to 2016. From round four onwards, she would appear on the podium in eleven successive events, taking four wins in the process and narrowly losing out on the 2015 Junior World Championship title to Regniso rider Augustus Romania.

In 2016, Novak continued with the MČV Talent Team, and won thirteen out of fifteen races in the 2016 season, on her way to the 2016 Junior World Championship title, and the overall CNV points record for all categories in the championship.

### World Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship

#### 2017

Novak made her 250GP World Championship debut with the MČV Junior Team at the 2017 Grand Prix of Kurikonai, where she finished 12th out of 38 riders. She would later comment that the Furuyama Speedway circuit was "awesome" and an "absolute blast to ride".

Novak's first podium would come, unsurprisingly, at the Grand Prix of Vuzenica, where a late fall by Etelvín Borrell promoted her to second place. Her first win would be one round later at the Küsbergring, with a dominant display where she won by over 1.5 seconds.

At this point in the season, Novak began receiving offers for 2018 and beyond, one of which was a ride with Vidič Moto's 600GP team. Novak turned this offer down, citing a loyalty to MČV, and a desire to win the 250GP World Championship.

Novak would finish her debut campaign in 6th overall, earning her the Rookie of the Year Prize, which saw Novak receive an Enigma Ash R-Sport.

#### 2018

Novak remained with the MČV Junior Team for the 2018 season, partnering 2017 CNV Junior World Champion, Alessandra Lešnik.

At the opening round of the season in Kurikonai, Novak achieved her first World Championship pole position, beating Elena de Fillippis to the top of the timesheets by 0.006s. Novak finished the race second to de Fillippis, the two being split by under a tenth of a second at the line.

Novak's first win of the season came at the following round in Pasabello, which was followed by a further three consecutive wins in the United States of Linarus, Tebing, and Osameira. In the Grand Prix of Syraglia, Novak was collected in another rider's incident, and neither finished the race.

After the disappointment in Syraglia, Novak dominated her home race, with pole position by over a quarter of a second, and breaking the slipstream of the pack behind to win by just under seven seconds.

The remainder of the season saw three wins in the final six races, along with one third place, a ninth in Floviania, and a DNF in Vallenada. Novak's score of 243 points was enough to clinch the 2018 250GP World Championship in round 11 of 13 - the earliest ever in 250GP.

On the day of Novak's World Championship win, MČV announced Novak would compete in 600GP for the 2019 season.

#### 2019

2019 saw Novak move to the 600GP World Championship, remaining with MČV Junior Team, and partnered once again with fellow Vuzenican, Florijan Breznik.

Novak's first 600GP appearance at a very wet Furuyama Speedway surprised many, taking pole position in her first ever 600GP qualifying. Unfortunately for Novak, Sunday was bone dry, and she ultimately finished 5th. Nevertheless, Novak's skills as a wet weather master were clear, and her great finish on debut were a sign of things to come.

At round two in Pasabello, Novak crashed early in qualifying, and ultimately started from pit lane. On race day, however, she scythed through the field to take a remarkable 9th place in a field of 31 finishers. Her ride that weekend, and the racing team in her junior career, earned her the nickname "Snow Leopard" among fans and competitors, as she would "stalk" an opponent for half a lap, and then "pounce" on parts of the track usually not suited for overtaking. This style of patience followed by quick and abrupt aggression, seen to a lesser degree in the lower cc categories, began to earn Novak new-found respect, both on-track and off.

For the next few races, Novak seemed to focus on finishing races and bringing home points, with a 7th place in the Linarusian Grand Prix, 4th in Tebing, and 9th in Osameira. For the second consecutive season, Novak was taken out by another rider's incident in Syraglia.

Also for the second consecutive season, Novak's home race in Vuzenica would be a highlight. On this occasion, Friday's first practice session was completely rained out. Needless to say, she dominated the weekend, taking pole by 0.35 seconds, and winning the race by over 8 seconds. In a post-race interview, Novak said she "felt like [she] was high, like nothing was real, but it all was".

At the Grand Prix of Küsbergland, Novak finished a respectable 5th place. She would continue a string of top 6 finishes for the next four rounds, including a 3rd place finish in Vallenada.

After the 2019 250GP Manufacturers' Championship was wrapped up by MČV in Küsbergland, the company's management were present at the season finale in Chakingre for celebration and rider evaluation. On this occasion, Novak and Breznik started 3rd and 2nd respectively, with Yamada Team Ikarisport's Yumisa Katayama taking pole. After an intense battle throughout the duration of the race, Novak finished second to Katayama, with the top three being covered by less than three hundredths of a second; the closest podium in 600GP history.

At the conclusion of the season, Novak finished 4th overall, and once again won Rookie of the Year, but was not eligible for the prize; this was passed down to the next-best rookie, Yumisa Katayama.

#### 2020

For the ninth consecutive year, Novak rode for an official MČV team, and for her fourth consecutive year, she rode for MČV Junior Team. Novak's 2020 teammate was 2019 250GP World Championship runner-up, 2017 CNV Junior World Champion, and former CNV teammate, Alessandra Lešnik.

After a positive end to the season and a very productive winter break, Novak opened her 2020 600GP World Championship campaign with a win in Kurikonai, denying local Yumisa Katayama home glory by just over a second. Katayama would return fire in Pasabello, beating Novak to the line by six tenths of a second.

The Linarusian Grand Prix saw Novak and Katayama share the podium again, but neither were on the top step, with rookie Lešnik taking her first 600GP race victory in only her third race.

The following races would see the championship lead juggled between Novak and Katayama; Novak led after Linarus, Katayama after Tebing, Novak after Osameira. Novak avoided a repeat of previous Grands Prix of Syraglia and finished second, ahead of Katayama but behind Lešnik, who took her second race win in her rookie season.

At the Grand Prix of Vuzenica, Novak again won her home race, but was followed by Katayama 0.3 seconds behind and Lešnik a further tenth; this would mark the fourth time the trio had shared the podium in six Grands Prix.

After the race, it was confirmed by MČV that Novak would race for MČV Factory Racing Team Takamitsu in the 2021 Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship, with options in her contract for 2022 and 2023.

In Vallenada, Novak and Katayama were involved in a crash; Katayama remounted and finished 14th, while Lešnik finished fifth.

At the Grand Prix of Küsbergland, Novak returned to the top step, with Katayama third, and wildcard Sara Aldeguerri second aboard a year-old Vidič Moto machine.

Novak finished the Flovianian Grand Prix in second, with Tsoghetian rider Filip Lahovary winning, and Flovorlean rider William Lowery in third. Novak's title rivals, Katayama and Lešnik, finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Novak was crowned the 2020 600GP World Champion after winning the Morgan Grand Prix, ahead of Lešnik and Katayama; Yumisa Katayama was four points adrift, while Rookie of the Year Alessandra Lešnik was eleven points further back.

#### 2021

Novak debuted in the premier class in 2021, riding for MČV Factory Racing Team Takamitsu aboard the V5-powered MČV RV-GP. Her teammate for 2021 was rookie Nozomi Kamiya, who was drafted in by Takamitsu after both MČV factory riders retired from racing at the end of 2020. This was the first time the MČV factory team had fielded two rookies in the premier class since its return to the category in 2003.

## Personal life

Novak has since moved near Videna, in the Alto region of Vuzenica. She lives in a "lovely little log cabin by a lake" with her partners, Beatriz Ferreira and Yumisa Katayama.

#### Relationships

Novak is in a polyamorous relationship with Syraglian Beatriz Ferreira, whom she met when she was taken out of the 2019 Grand Prix of Syraglia, and with Kurikonjin Yumisa Katayama. Ferreira was a marshal at the corner Novak crashed at. Novak remained trackside at the marshal post until the end of the Grand Prix race to talk with Ferreira, and then offered to take Ferreira out for dinner.

Novak and Katayama met many times during the 2020 600GP World Championship season, but they treated each other as competitors would until the season had finished. Novak attended the 2020 WGP Prize-Giving Ceremony with Ferreira, who were both seated next to Katayama. The trio enjoyed the evening together, and Katayama was invited to an off-season ride day in Jezero aboard MČV RV50R pocket bikes. The mutual respect from the 2020 championship quickly became amorosity, and Katayama moved to Vuzenica to be with Novak and Ferreira not a month later.

#### Number

During her very early career, Novak raced with the number 763; this was the unit number of her father's MČV L400A, and thus she felt a connection to the number. When she moved to the 125cc Cup series in Visoka, Novak had to choose a two-digit number, which ended up being 63. Similarly, Elisabeth's sister, Lucija, who is currently in the 250GP World Championship, races with the number 76.

## Racing record

Elisabeth Novak has achieved the following results in her career:

2004 - Jezero 50cc Cup - 4th

2005 - Jezero 50cc Cup - **1st**

2006 - Visoka 125cc Cup - **1st**

2007 - Visoka 450 SuperMoto Cup - 2nd

2008 - Visoka 125cc Cup - **1st**

2009 - CNV 100cc Cup - 11th

2010 - CNV 100cc Cup - 2nd

2011 - CNV National 125cc Championship - 2nd

2012 - CNV National 125cc Championship - **1st**

2013 - CNV 250cc Junior World Championship - 3rd

2014 - CNV 250cc Junior World Championship - 11th\*

2015 - CNV 250cc Junior World Championship - 2nd

2016 - CNV 250cc Junior World Championship - **1st**

2017 - 250GP World Championship - 6th

2018 - 250GP World Championship - **1st**

2019 - 600GP World Championship - 4th

2020 - 600GP World Championship - **1st**