Women in Motorcycling: Dominika Grovna

Women riding Ducati: Stories at Full Throttle

Dominika Grnova is a motorsports presenter and reporter, rider, and model. If you follow our social channels or the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, then ‘Dominika Rides’ will certainly be no stranger. In our latest Women in Motorcycling article Dominika tells the story about her motorsport dream coming true…

I've been modelling for 20 years but I now work in the motorsports industry. I’m originally from Slovakia, but I grew up in Greece, and that’s where I’m currently based. 

My motorcycle journey started while I was living in London. I bought my motorcycle from The Bike Shed, a fully custom CBF 250. I didn't have my motorcycle license then, so I bought the bike under my boyfriend's name, before getting my driving license. But after passing and hopping on back on the 250, I thought it was way too small to ride on the motorway. I didn't like it at all, and went back straight back to The Bike Shed, to upgrade to something bigger, and wanting something that would match my personality more. 

I ended up in the Ducati dealership in London, wanting to test ride the Ducati Hypermotard. But my motorcycle license was still in paper form, I didn’t have an official license. The sales guy thought the Hypermotard might be a little too much as a first bike but suggested the Scrambler Ducati. My boyfriend thought it was a cool bike. And although it was an 800cc which was quite a step up from the 250, it was described as easy bike to learn on and ride. And it was also fully customisable. So, I decided to try the Scrambler Full Throttle and fell in love with it. The test ride was initially a bit scary because it was much bigger and faster than what I was used to, but I went straight back to the dealership after the test and said, “We love it, we're buying it!”

Technically the Scrambler was my second motorbike, but in my heart, it has always been my first as I never really properly rode that small 250. My Scrambler was black, with lots of Rizoma parts, and extras like a full SC-Project exhaust system. It was all-black and mean looking. 

When I owned that Scrambler, I was still a full-time model and used to ride the bike to work. And then on the weekends, I would go for little trips, little getaways, to Epping Forest, Rykas Café in Boxhill, all these local biker locations.

There was an article about me in the Sunday Telegraph as a top model going to castings on her motorcycle. And the Ducati headquarters in Italy, I don't know how, somehow found out about the article and wanted to know more. They reached out to me, inviting me on the official press launch of the Scrambler Ducati Café Racer in 2017. I found myself in Italy, with a brand-new motorcycle, with all these journalists, and me having only been riding for three months. I was very, very scared, and extremely intimidated. But I loved it. 

People were asking me if I was the model, or was I a journalist? And I wasn’t really sure about what was my place and position. I didn't know who I would become in the future. Back then I was just a model going to castings with my Scrambler. But I fell in love with it all, and the guys at Scrambler really loved my personality and asked if I wanted to start working together and become an ambassador. And I was like, “Yes, of course!”   

Ducati is such an incredible brand to work with, and that's the one I chose to start my career with. It kind of all bonded together. When I went back to London, Ducati UK gave me the Café Racer as a press bike, and I had it for six months. I was just told to enjoy it, have fun, and take some pictures and videos. The Scrambler scene was called The Land of Joy, and that's why I fell in love with it all, it just had this this vibe, because you were promoting a lifestyle not just a motorcycle.  

I’ve had lots of highlights with Scrambler and Ducati. The Days of Joy was so fun, I did the flat track edition and rode the Vairano Circuit in Italy. Then I did The Days of Joy Off-Road with the Desert Sled. That was great too. I also rode off-road with the Desert Sled at the ABR Festival. But I really adore going to riding schools, learning and improving my skills. Those schools have all been fun, but they’ve also helped me a lot to become a confident rider. Such as the Californai Superbike School where I completed all four levels and got to ride at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, and Oulton Park.

It was while I was just lost in my Land of Joy and sharing my lunch break while modelling that Red Bull spotted me on my social media. I was sharing my journey, like checking out my motorcycle or riding back home, different things but always including my motorcycle. And in 2019, Red Bull invited me to be a VIP guest at the Red Bull hospitality in Valencia for the last round of MotoGP. And on the last day they told me that they wanted to talk to me. I thought that maybe I did some posts that they were not happy with, or maybe I made some mistake, and I was basically terrified. Sunday evening came and we sat on the table, and everything was so serious. I was kind of freaking out inside, but then Marianne, who used to work at Red Bull headquarters, sat down. She told me that they loved what I did, that I was very passionate and they loved the way my personality shined on social media.And that they would love me to work with them. I started crying and I freaked out! I was looking for a way out for modelling, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do after modelling. To be asked to become the presenter of the Red Bull Rookies Cup and work on their social media was amazing. I was bursting into tears being so happy, and thinking this is a dream come true, my passion is going to become my job. So, I started working in MotoGP for Red Bull, like that's the best of the best. It can't get better than that.

When Red Bull offered me the job I decided to take a step back from modelling full time and to focus on motorsports. This year will mark seven consecutive years working in MotoGP. It’s been amazing ride and a dream come true. So many people come and go, so just being there for seven years, it really matters a lot to me, it's very special. And working for Red Bull. I mean, it’s such a great brand to be a part of. 

The incredible part of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is that I work with teenagers. One of the most special things is meeting them when they’re still very young and then watching them grow into future champions. Because half of the GP riders are coming from the Rookies Cup. If you go on the Moto3 category, I’d say 95% of the riders were all Rookies. When someone asks me who's your favourite rider I can't choose, it's like 35 riders are my favourite riders! I meet them when they’re 15 and full of dreams and motivation! I help them with their English, how to be media ready for the future, we play games and spend so much time together. It’s so special.

When I moved back to Greece from the UK I decided to bring my first Scrambler with me. And after a few years, the Next-Gen Scrambler came out. I was really keen to get a quick shifter on my original Scrambler put they don’t work with the first gen models. That was one of the reasons I got a Next-Gen Scrambler, another Full Throttle model. It was great to get a fuel gauge, but the quick shifter was what I really wanted. But the newer version has an improved clutch, and better throttle response too. Overall, it just felt like a much better bike. Because my original Full Throttle was so customised I almost felt like I wanted something more original from Ducati. So, I kept the new Full Throttle completely standard. I just bought the side bags, and once again did lots of traveling.

I’ve started doing solo camping adventures with my Scrambler, something like six or seven so far, and they're all on my YouTube channel. The first journey was two hours away from home so that it was not too far in case I had a problem. But slowly I’ve become more comfortable and confident, and going for longer trips. This has been a great way to discover myself, as a rider, and to bond with a motorcycle and just basically do whatever makes my heart happy. Because when you're alone, you're not following anyone. You're just going your own route at your own pace.

It was on the Next-Gen Scrambler that I discovered how much I enjoy the travelling. I love nature, and I love motorcycles. So, what’s better than taking the next step and moving into the adventure world and then getting an adventure motorcycle?  

I was riding for ten years, and I test rode so many different motorcycles from Panigales and Streetfighters to Multistradas, and lots of different types of motorcycles, from track to enduro, off-road, road riding, everything. And when you try so many different bikes, you find out your own style and your own taste of what makes you happy. Because not every riding is the same. You require different skills on the truck, but then different skills when you ride a big, heavy adventure bike. 

When I saw the new Multistrada V2 coming out, everyone was saying incredible stuff about the bike, and I was very excited because the V4 was maybe a little bit too heavy for me to use in the city every day. It's a wonderful motorcycle, but I wanted a bike that I could do commuting, still go to work, but also go away on the weekends. So that’s why I said maybe the new Ducati Multistrada V2 was the right one for me. 

As soon as it came out, I test rode it. And it was an instant bond. I fell in love with the bike. I really, really like it. It's like only 204 kilos and it feels really light and has perfect aerodynamics. It's powerful enough, but then very smooth to ride it in the city and I felt very confident riding it, so I had to have it. And the best part is, I have two side bags, but I can mount any other bag I want on the top. Basically, I can carry half of my house with me! It's a lot more comfortable to be travelling with a Ducati Multistrada, which is made for travel, than a Scrambler, which was great but anything more than 300 kilometres per day would make me feel exhausted. 

I had gotten really tired of travelling on the motorway and not having a cruise control, which I now have with the Multistrada V2. I now also have an off-road mode, wet mode, and I just love that no matter if it rains, if you're riding on the beach, on gravel, or in the mountains, you can always have a motorcycle like this which with the various modes is perfect for all those different kinds of conditions. 

The Scrambler Ducati team were perhaps a little bit sad because they wanted to obviously keep me as an ambassador, but I am now so proud to be a Ducati Ambassador. That process took a while but happened whilst I was getting the Multi. Everybody knows me as the Scrambler queen. But I'm 37 years old now, and when I started riding, I was 26, 27, so lots of things change. And you kind of start looking, maybe as you're getting older, for more comfortable bikes as well. I want to start travelling more and I want to do lots of trips by myself so the Multi V2 will be fantastic for this, just ideal for what I exactly want. 

I cannot imagine being an ambassador for any other brand because Ducati is what makes me happy. I would never share something that I have to, or have people pay me. It's quite obvious when people get paid for sharing stuff. For me it's not about being paid or not, but it's more about supporting something that you truly believe in. And for me I believe 100% in the Ducati brand. It's something that matched and represents my style and my personality. 

I’ve already been to two previous World Ducati Weeks. For my first one Ducati Greece gave me a Scrambler Urban Motard. I was in Greece fully packed and loaded, took the ferry and went all the way to Misano Circuit. It was one of the best adventures I’ve ever done by myself. And this year I’ll be going into my third World Ducati week. I don't know which model I’ll be taking yet. Maybe a Multistrada, or perhaps even a Diavel, we will see. But it's going to be fun for sure. It's 100 years of celebration of Ducati. That's going to be sick. 

And the MotoGP season starts with the rookies in April, so I can't wait to be back on the track. The first round is in Jerez. But my favourite tracks have to be Mugello and the Red Bull Ring. And away from the track? I’ll be setting off on plenty of adventures all around Greece on my new Multistrada. I can’t wait to get to know it better.