21/11: Z1R/ WMA Cup Texas 2006: The largest women's race of the year

powered by:

26/11: Final Day: WMA Pro Racing 

The most important day of this trip is finally over. I am ready to go back home (…even if I don’t want to…). The practice in the morning went pretty good and I had my competitors under control. But the situation changed for the worse in moto #1. I got a bad start and worked my way up to 8^th place in the course of lap one. While attacking one rider, my front wheel popped out of a rut and I went down. It took me forever to restart my bike. So I restarted in dead last place (almost one lap after the front runners). I pushed it my hardest and finished 11^th…Lap times have shown, that I was good for top 5, if not even top 3.

In moto #2 I got a better start and ended up in 5^th, with a great battle going on between me and the three riders in front of me. We were all really close together (2^nd-5^th). Only Jessica was gone. I rode a very save moto, because I struggled with my suspension a lot. The track was really rough and my shock didn’t absorb the bumps…So it almost took me out a couple of times. To be on the save side I decided to slow down and make it a save finish. All week long we didn’t find a good set-up with the stock components…which cost me a better finish in moto #2. But it doesn’t matter! I had a fun week over here and I am glad that I made it. I have shown good speed all week long and have beaten my competitors in the men’s class (except JP$ and Alisa Nix, who didn’t ride the men’s expert class). So I know, that I had the ability for a better finish…But as far as racing goes, the luck is not always on your side. I felt great out there and realized that we, the European riders, are on the right way to mix it up with the top US girls.

Let me take this opportunity to thank some really special people: My #1 family at home,  Brad @ Team Kawasaki Moto Extreme, John @ Central Texas Powersports, Miki @ WMA, the Keith family for returning my bike, the Nix family for all the help throughout the entire week, my SoCal friend Tami Rice, my sponsors and everyone else I forgot…Last but not least I want to thank all the people who cheered on me (especially the Italian rider Patty). Thank you guys, without your help I couldn’t have made it.

25/11: Day #5 2^nd moto 125cc Expert (men), Women’s Pro Practice 

Today I finished racing the men’s class. This time I got 13^th and was the best pro girl of the class. So I was happy with that one. I also did WMA tech inspection today and watched some of the other motos. At the end of the day I had a 30min Women’s Pro Practice in which I checked out the track again. I found some good lines and checked my competition. So let’s hope for the best…Please keep your fingers crossed for me. So far, this trip has been very stressful and lots of things didn’t go as planned. So let’s see what comes up tomorrow.

24/11: Day #4: 1^st moto 125cc Expert (men), my dad’s 2^nd motos 

My dad finished his two classes today. He got 6^th overall in the Over 30 class and 5^th overall in the Over 40 class…That finish earned him two very cool trophies… Also I got to ride one practice and my first moto in the men’s Expert class 125cc…I got 15^th and left almost all of the other Pro girls behind me. Only 2006 Loretta Lynn’s Champion Tarah Gieger was in front of me. So we (the girls) had some great battles out there on the track. The rest of the day I cheered on all the other WMA girls out there. They did an awesome job and some of the girls are really talented.

23/11: Day #3: Day Off – Being a mechanic for my Dad 

Today was my one and only day off. I was my dad’s mechanic for the two classes he rode and had a lot of fun. Beside that I got my first whoop session ride with one of those cool US golf cards. It’s so funny to do whoops with such a card. We also did some burn-outs on the field next to the track. I think I need to get a golf card at home to do funny stuff. This evening we had a big Thanksgiving party at the track and got to laugh and talk a lot. Tomorrow is my first moto in the 125cc Expert class with the men. As a side note I would like to mention, that the weather is awesome over here. We have 25-30° Celsius…I wish I could stay here any longer and escape from the winter at home in Germany.

22/11: Day #2: Practice Day

Today was practice day at CR. I dialed my bike in and got some valuable time at one of the best tracks I know. My KXF 250 is working great and I can’t wait any longer till the races starts. The track crew changed some parts of the track and included two new double jumps, a new whoops section and a cool new up- and downhill. They also changed two of the existing jumps and equipped them with double landings. Tomorrow is a day off for me, so I am going to be a mechanic for my dad. Tomorrow night we will be having a Thanksgiving Dinner Party at the track. On Friday I have the first moto of the 125cc Expert Class (Men). I would like to thank my fellow WMA Pro rider Alisa Nix and her family for helping me out with their equipment and saving my butt.

21/11:Day #1: Arrival

I arrived at the hotel in Floresville, TX late on tuesday evening. I had a crazy day, because I almost missed the flight, got a broken bag (I still didn’t check if all my stuff is alright) and had trouble while renting the van. I went to Team Kawasaki Moto Extreme and picked up my bike for practice. I need some rest now! Thanks to Brad @ Team Kawasaki Moto Extreme and to John @ EMA Racing for making my participation possible.Day #1: Arrival

21/11: Up's and Down's or Down's and Up's???

Sorry for the delay of this update. I had a couple of crazy weeks with more down’s than up’s. But let me start with the last round of the 2006 Int. ADAC MX Youngster Cup in Hoechstaedt. I knew that it was going to be a real challenge but I looked forward to it. Unfortunately the whole weekend sucked. The weather sucked, my riding sucked and one particular rider sucked. Due to the rain the track was really difficult and challenging. But that wasn’t the problem…In the course of the timed practice (which decides if you are going into the A-final or B-final) I had a hard crash. Actually it wasn’t my fault, but another Kawi rider did some dirty riding and crashed into the side of my bike. We both went down and I hit the ground with my neck and head first. Wow, how crazy was that one??? I felt dizzy and my bike was a bit damaged, so I wasn’t able to do a good lap-time. I returned to the paddock and felt pretty sick, so I went to the medical staff and my “favourite” doc and took a ride into the nearby hospital. I had my neck and back x-rayed and also had a little “surgery” on my left forearm (the doctors sucked some blood out of my arm to get rid of the swelling as well as the pain). I also had a bad concussion, but my back was okay. So I took three weeks of from racing and had all injuries heeled up properly. I returned to the track at the last round of the 2006 Thuringia Championship in Bad Salzungen. I rode two careful motos and didn’t risk anything, because I was only about 80% recovered. At the end of the day was the big final in which I decided to participate as well, what turned out to be a bad decision…because I had a horrible crash in lap two after passing one rider who crashed into my rear end. My bike looped out and hit me again. I finished that lap and retired…Once again I had a concussion, a colored arm + hand and a broken chest protector. It isn’t a great way to finish the season with two major crashes so I was back on the bike one week later and rode the final race in Triptis. This time I raced the Senior/ Women’s class only, which is much more relaxed than the 125cc class. I got two holeshots and won both motos with ease. In moto one I had some technical difficulties but was able to make it to the finish. Now the German motocross season is over, but I have one last race at Cycle Ranch in Texas. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed for me and keep in mind: “No pain, no gain”…that’s the only conclusion I could draw from these crashes.

25/09: Final North Bavarian Championship Race Markt Taschendorf

The 2006 NBS Championship is over. Even if I only competed in 4 rounds, I had some great races. I won 6 out of 8 motos (due to my bike problem I wasn’t able to start in one moto)…That means, I lost only a single moto. On Saturday I almost got the holeshot in moto 1. After a couple of laps I had the lead and won that moto with a big margin. Moto #2 didn’t start as good and I was only 5^th after lap 1. I lost valuable time in the first laps and when I was in 2^nd, the rider in front of me was already gone…In the 2^nd half of the race I rode much better and came closer to the leader. When the 2 lap board came out, I was really close…So the last lap was a hard battle, but I missed the win by 0.5 sec.

On Sunday I raced 125cc 18+. I got a great start in moto #1 and was in 2^nd for the first half of the race. Then Christian Hau passed me and I got 3^rd.  In the 2^nd moto I was a bit to careful in the first laps, because the track was slippery. After getting used to those conditions, I was in 5^th place. From there one I constantly rode as fast as the riders in 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th spot. Overall I got 3^rd.

Alex #99

20/09: North Bavarian Championship and Thuringia Championship Rudolstadt

If you had asked me before the event I would have said, that this track is one of the tracks I hate the most. Don’t understand me wrong, but I never got along with that track. I know that the promoters do an awesome job there and this time they did even better. The track preparation was awesome and the facility looked great…But now my opinion changed a bit. I found great rhythm on both race days and did really good. On Saturday I took the overall win with a 1-1 moto finish. I had some good battles with my competitors but was finally able to finish ahead of them. On Sunday I had lots of competitors, but I was able to finish 3^rd in moto #1 and 6^th in moto #2. Moto #1 was awesome, but in the 2^nd moto I came together with another rider in the first corner and almost went down. In the Thuringia Championship I finished 1-2 to a great 2^nd overall. Wow, how cool was that weekend!!! Now after all the “important” races are over, my riding gets better and better and I enjoy it a lot. See you soon, Alex #99

12/09: Everts and Friends Charity Race Luxemburg

This weekend I raced a special race. The race was dedicated to children, who have cancer.

When I got the invitation for that race, I didn’t hesitate long to say: “Yes, I am in.” Since my grandma died of cancer, when I was a little child, I know what it means. Before Christmas last year I visited a little girl in hospital, who is a friend of mine. It was hard for me to see, how many children have cancer. I am strong person, but when I was in that hospital last year, I felt a bit helpless… So this race was an opportunity to support those little children. It was an honour for me to be invited and I want to thank every supporter of that race. A special thanks goes to Serge Giuliani for making this event possible.

Beside that it was also special to race in the same race with riders like Stefan Everts, Joel Smets, Antony Bossiere, Joel Rolants, Dennis Verbruggen and many more.

The track was really cool, but had a lot of big rocks in it…So I was a bit afraid. I raced all three motos and finished 3^rd overall in the women’s division behind Livia Lancelot and Steffi Laier. This time I passed my biggest Ladies-Cup rivals…but that didn’t matter to me, because the event was dedicated to the children and not to riders. I hope we were able to raise some money for the foundation. Furthermore I hope the children and their families enjoyed the event at least a little bit. I want you to keep in mind: “Those children have to be the winners and nobody else”. Thank you!

05/09: North Bavarian Championship Bramberg

After the end of the 2006 DMV-MX-Ladies-Cup I took the time to participate in another round of the 2006 North Bavarian Championship. It was cool to be back at places, where I started racing. Back in 1993 I got my first “real” trophy at this track, when I was able to finish 5^th overall. What a nice memory… I was at the trophy presentation with riders like Sebastian Schoeffel, who is now racing in the German 125cc and Open Championship. For this year the track got a completely new layout. So I was happy to be there. On Saturday I raced the Senior/ Women’s class and on Sunday I raced the 125cc 18+ class. Both practice sessions went pretty good and I secured the 3^rd fastest lap time in my class.

Moto #1: I got a top 5 start and was ranked 3^rd for half of the race. I started to feel more comfortable and pulled some better laps and ended the race in 1^st place, with a comfortable lead. Moto #2: It didn’t start good. Okay, maybe it is better to say: “I didn’t start at all.” When the 15sec. board came out, everything was fine, but a few seconds later my engine “exploded”. Being focussed on the gate, I saw some pieces of my engine falling apart…I stopped the engine and realized a big hole underneath my pipe… So far so good, I pulled the bike back to the paddock and called it a day.

After all the trouble with my race-bike on Saturday, I took my practice bike for the races on Sunday. I just got that bike back from my Kawasaki dealer, because some parts of the transmission were broken. Nevertheless gear changing didn’t work properly in practice. During intermission, my dad fixed that problem and I was ready for racing. I didn’t get good starts this time, but I was able to finish 3^rd overall with a consistent 3-3 moto finish.

29/08: Thuringia Championship Gotha

After missing most of the Thuringia Championship I came back to participate in Gotha. Back in April I won a moto in Bad Salzungen, but due to other races, I didn’t take part in any of those races lately. Throughout the whole weekend, the weather sucked. It rained all day and night on Saturday and also on Sunday morning. The track was covered with mud all over, so I decided not to race on Saturday. Track conditions weren’t much better on Sunday, but I raced the 125cc 18+ class. I got two horrible starts and ended up 4^th overall. Not what I expected, but I kept it on two wheels and survived the mud feast. Because of the weather conditions the officials shortened the race time to 10min+1lap, which was only like a sprint race. Have a look at my front wheel after moto #1. Isn’t that funny? I had a little incident in the last lap, when I came together with another rider.

22/08: Sidecar-World Championship Teutschenthal - Open Class

It was an awesome race weekend in front of 8.000 spectators. My class ran in conjunction with the Sidecar World Championship and the German Quad Cup. So my class was the only solo class of the weekend. The track conditions were totally different this time. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon the track was dry and hard-pack. After all practice sessions were over, the track personnel watered the track. Throughout the night heavy rain came down and in the morning the conditions were far away from being perfect. My free practice was the first one of the day, so it was really muddy and deep. By the time of the timed-practice it got much better. I got 13^th place out of 48 riders. Not perfect, but still a good result.

My start in moto #1 wasn’t that good, because some riders went down in front of me and I lost valuable places… I did my best and was currently running as high as 10^th place when my rear wheel lost grip and I went down…Remounting in 16^th, I cruised to the finish. My handlebars were bent and my elbow hurt a bit.

In moto #2 I got a decent start. This time it worked out better and I didn’t go down. After passing some riders I ended up 7^th place, really close to 6^th.

 

To sum this race weekend up, I have to say, that I am satisfied with how I did. Riding with the men was different, but I don’t know why, but I enjoyed it…

08/08: European Women's MX Cup/ Rd. #10 DMV-MX-Ladies-Cup Prisannewitz

The final round of the 2006 DMV-MX-Ladies Cup took place in the north of Germany. We arrived at the track on Friday afternoon and planned to go swimming, but the weather wasn’t that good, so we cancelled our plan. Instead we drove around the area and watched some famous towns. I also got to see the place, where George W. Bush resided abroad his journey to Germany a couple of weeks ago. The race was a one-day event, so we had Saturday to relax and to have fun. That was exactly what I needed, after being under stress for such a long time. Saturday afternoon we had a short rider’s presentation and I was really happy to see, that a lot of International girls made their way to the final round, which was also an European Women’s MX Cup. Our class run in conjunction with the International German 125cc Championship of the men, so the race was really big. In both practice sessions I secured the 2^nd fastest laptime behind Steffi Laier. It was really cool, because in my last fast lap I pulled a great time, which was only 0,1 sec. slower than Steffi’s. This time I didn’t have the best starts, but was still in the top 10. In moto #1 I was in 3^rd after the start, but passed Larissa Papenmeier in the course of lap one. Maria Franke had the lead. I wasn’t satisfied with my riding, because I made a lot of small mistakes, that’s why I was a bit slower than Maria and couldn’t follow her closely. Nevertheless I was able to save 2^nd spot till the two round board came out. Then Steffi passed me and I got 3^rd. She had a problem at the start and came from the back of the pack. Normally I am not happy when someone passes me, but this time I was…Because I wanted Steffi on top of the podium (overall) and no one else. Moto #2 didn’t start as good, because I got blocked in the first corner and was only in 9^th spot after the start. By the end of lap 1 I was in 3^rd, but the top 2 girls were already gone (they still had a 15sec. lead). So I did my own race, because I couldn’t get closer to the front runners and the riders behind me were slower. With three laps to go I ran into some lapped riders and had to take a different line on a straight. Suddenly my rear wheel kicked out on a big braking bump and I crashed really hard. When I got back on the bike I was still in 3^rd, so I took a relaxed ride to 3^rd place. Once again I got 3^rd overall (3-3). My knee and my elbow is bruised and has blue colour, but beside that I am okay. Nevertheless it was a pretty cool race, even if I didn’t like the track changes after the practice sessions. They track personnel did a lot of track preparation during intermission, so a lot of the good lines from practice were gone and the track got much drier and easier. 

Result: 1.Steffi Laier (2-1)  2.Maria Franke (1-2)  3.Alex Haupt (3-3) 

In the championship I got 4th overall. It’s not a great finish, but still okay. I had some bad motos and some technical failures. You know, I don’t need to apologize for anything, but actually my riding  wasn’t bad. I had a couple of strong motos, but also bad ones. It started in Dreetz with a 6^th place in moto 1, technical problems in Frankenthal and Kleinhau, an injured ankle after Kleinhau and some stupid moves.

30/07: My 2nd term at University is over

The last four weeks were crazy. At the one hand I had all those races, but on the other hand I had to concentrate on my semester-end exams at University. After my 10^th exam last Friday I am really, really happy. Wow, it was insane. Sometimes I didn’t know what to do first, that’s why I decided not to practice at all for 3 weeks. For this reason I want to apologize for the delay of this race report, but between my studies, the races, exams etc. I didn’t find any time to do this earlier.

28/07: DMV-MX-Ladies-Cup Rd. #8 Strassbessenbach and Rd. #9 Moorgrund

Moorgrund:

From the beginning of the season, Moorgrund was the race with the biggest question-mark for me, because on Saturday before the race was an exam and on Monday after the race I had another exam. Nevertheless I decided to take some time off from learning and went to the race on Saturday evening. In practice it didn’t work too good, but the races were okay. In moto #1 I got a top 3 start and ended up in 3^rd place, after a consistent and relaxed ride. My start in moto #2 was better and I was in 2^nd place behind Steffi Laier. But I was blocked a bit in the first corner, that’s why Maria Franke passed me right after that. Throughout the whole race I battled with Larissa Papenmeier. I avoided bigger mistakes and was able to finish in front of her. With a 3-3 moto finish I got 3^rd overall.

Strassbessenbach:

The days before the race South Germany suffered from rain. When we arrived at the track the weather was still okay. But it rained throughout the night and the track got muddy and slippery. Only a few girls did the first practice session. But right after our practice some heavy showers came down. So the promoter cancelled all remaining practice sessions. They did some track preparation and the track was in great shape Sunday morning. In moto #1 I had a top 10 start and was in 5^th for a while. By the halfway mark I was currently ranked in 4^th, because Kawasaki rider Maria Franke made a little mistake. Nevertheless I wasn’t able to hold her back and she passed me back. So the battle was on between Birgit Lemp and myself. We had some really cool battles and in the last lap I made a final move and got 4^th place. Moto #2 started in similar manner. I was in 7^th position after the start, passed a couple of riders and got 3^rd place. This time I was able to pass Birgit earlier in the race, so it was much more relaxed. I got 4^th overall tied with Larissa Papenmeier, who got the better overall because of a better finish in race #1.

20/07: Rd. #2 FIM Women's World Cup Uddevalla/ SWE - 5th Overall World Championship

More than 40 female racers out of 13 countries made their way to the 2nd Rd. of the 2006 FIM Women’s World Cup in Uddevalla/ Sweden.  The crew at “Glimminge Motorstadion” did an awesome job and presented us a totally new track layout, which was much more difficult with a couple of new, technical sections. Once again I got support from Team GPKR Kawasaki in cooperation with Kawasaki Europe and Kawasaki Germany. Thank you guys for making this possible!!! It gave me a very professional image in front of the spectators.

During Saturday’s time practice I was able to secure the 7^th fastest lap time. This was a last minute deal, because during the whole practice I was in 8^th, right behind my German fellow racer Larissa Papenmeier. Also the warm-up on Sunday morning was pretty good. After 10 minutes I was still in 5^th, but the track got much drier during the last minutes and I didn’t get another good time.I got a decent start in moto #1 and ended the first lap in 8^th place. By the halfway mark the battle for 6^th was on between Swedish rider Elin Mann, Germany’s Larissa Papenmeier and myself. I put some pressure on her, then she faded a bit, made a mistake and went down. I continued the race in 7^th and raced together with local star Elin Mann, but didn’t find a good opportunity to make a serious passing effort. So I ended up 5^th place, after the race officials disqualified US Champion Jessica Patterson. In between our motos I checked the point standings of the 2005 FIM Women’s World Cup after 3 of 4 races and figured out, that I was in 4^th place. So I was a bit nervous for moto #2. Since our moto was the last one of the day, the track was really rough. But this didn’t bother me, because I like rough and technical tracks of this kind. I got a horrible backpack start and had to work throughout the course of lap one to come to the top 15. After three quarters of the first lap I was in 15^th place when my front wheel washed out in a left hand corner. I crashed and another rider fell onto me. So I had to remove the Yamaha which was parked on my bike to continue the race. The bad thing was, that I burned my hand on the silencer. Even if my bike had some damage I continued the race and ended up 12^th. I was sad, because I expected a better finish, but after considering the circumstance, that I came from dead last, it was okay. I still managed to get 5^th overall in the Championship.

Summary: Even if Rd. #2 of the Women’s World Cup didn’t work great for me, I would say: “Mission accomplished”. My goal was to end up in the top 5 and that’s exactly what I did. Okay, a 4^th place would have been possible, with two better motos in Teutschenthal and a better second moto in Uddevalla, but the top 3 were out of my hands. I don’t want to apologize for anything, but I still need to concentrate on my education at University and don’t have the opportunity to practice everyday or under as professional circumstances as the first three girls do. Nevertheless I will do my best over the winter to get better and invest as much time as possible to achieve a better result next year. 

I want to thank some special people: Steve Guttridge at Kawasaki Europe, Patrick Geladé and Roger Pourcel at Kawasaki Team GPKR, Anja Bluem at Kawasaki Germany, the organizer of the GP of Sweden: BMK Uddevalla, Youthstream and Guiseppe Luongo, the FIM and my German race federation: DMSB. 

I want to thank my personal sponsors for making my World Cup participation possible:  UFO Plast, MG-Sport, Premier Helmets, M-CAX, Oxtar, ADAC Hessen-Thüringen, Motorex Oils, Pro Circuit, Autohaus Haupt, Bridgestone, Hinson Racing, Scott USA, Renthal USA, Applied Racing, Innovation Sports/ CTI2, ASV Inventions, Engine-Ice, Pro Clean 1000, O’gio, Sponsorhouse, Factory Backing and Kawasaki Pfeil 

Last but not least I want to congratulate the top 3 girls: 1^st Place: Katherine Prumm, 2^nd Place: Steffi Laier and 3^rd Place: Livia Lancelot.

10/07: Rd. #7 DMV-MX-Ladies-Cup Bielstein:

This was the first race after my injury. When we drove to the track I still wasn’t sure if I am able to do the whole weekend. But it worked better than I thought, my ankle was okay and I did a better job on that track than last year. In moto #1 I got a decent start and was 6^th for a while. I passed two riders and was in 4th. Than the girl in front of me went down and I got 3^rd, behind Maria Franke and Steffi Laier. Considering the circumstances I was happy with that result.

Moto #2 started really bad, because I got a horrible start. After three laps I was in 6^th place. Later on I passed Marianne Veenstra and Silvia Kluttig and was in 4^th. Larissa Papenmeier was about 15 sec. in front of me. I made up some time, but couldn’t pass her. With a 3-4 finish I ended up 3^rd place on the podium.

Please note my signature jersey. It’s a birthday present from Steffi Laier, Petra Draeger and my sponsor MG-Sport. Thank you guys for that sweet present. It’s awesome! It displays a little chick and says: “The Evil has a new enemy”. The chick is surrounded by a lot of pink hearts.

18/06: Strange things happen - I injured my ankle!!! 

This weekend was supposed to be a week off from racing. On Tuesday evening I tore a ligament of my left ankle. So I took the whole week to rest. If it is getting better I will try to race in Bielstein. Originally it happened three weeks ago, when I fell down some stairs and twisted my ankle (right after Kleinhau). But on Tuesday evening when I wanted to get up from my sofa and I put the left foot on the ground I didn't have any feeling. So I fell to the ground and had incredible pain afterwards. Wednesday morning I went to the doctors and had x-rays and further examinations... So I spent the rest of the day on crutches. My foot is still very thick and hurts when I am walking. On friday evening I tried to practice with my KXF, but I was unable to shift properly, so I didn't ride a lot and was very slow. I used my "off-weekend" to test the 2006 Kawasaki ZX 6R Road Bike. It's a different style of riding, but very cool and much faster than my KXF.

See you, Alex

16/06: It's getting even worse!!! Rd.# 6 DMV-Ladies-Cup Altmersleben 

Last weekend was the 6th round of the 2006 DMV-Ladies-Cup in Altmersleben. The track was sandy and it was very hot, nevertheless it has been a lot of fun. I felt good in the free practice, but struggled afterwards. In moto #1 I got a bad jump of the gate and had to put some hard efforts to pass slower riders. That sucked a bit, because it was really difficult on the sandy, rough and tight track. I ended up 5th. Moto #2 started much better, because I almost got the holeshot. After a few corners I passed Elien de Winter and had the lead for two laps. I felt pretty comfortable, but on the harder part of the track my front wheel washed out and I went down. It took me a long time to restart the bike... I repassed some riders and got 4th. I raced with my practice bike, because my race bike still has a broken drum-change (transmission). Congratulations to Maria Franke who won the race!

See you, Alex

COPYRIGHT BY ALEXANDRA HAUPT