Getting more females into motorcycling has been a major focus of the industry for at least three decades now. Riding bikes has been a male-dominated pastime and, despite best efforts, the number of men riding bikes outnumbers ladies by around nine-to-one in the UK.
In racing, this ratio is even worse but that will hopefully change soon with the introduction of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship for the 2024 season.
Dedicated female championships have been common in off-road racing for a few years now but the introduction of a single-sex road racing series marks the start of an era aimed at making bike racing more accessible for female competitors.
A total of 23 racers have signed up to the six-round series, which takes place alongside selected European rounds of the Superbike World Championship. To keep costs down, and to ensure a level playing field, all riders will compete on race prepared Yamaha R7s. The series kicks off at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in June, with round two taking place as support to the British WorldSBK round at Donington Park in July.
Last week saw the riders make their first outings together on the R7 with a test at the Cremona circuit in northern Italy, where the penultimate round of the championship is scheduled to take place in late September.
Fastest rider at the Cremona test was Spain’s Ana Carrasco. Carrasco is undoubtedly the highest profile female racer, having won the 2018 World Supersport 300 championship before moving on the compete in the Moto3 Grand Prix world championship in recent years. The 27-year-old leads a very international field which sees competitors from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australasia and the Middle East, as well as from Europe.
Britain will have one representative in the series, in the form of Alyssia Whitmore. ‘Lissy’ gets her first taste of international competition, having previously raced in the National Junior Supersport championship, a support class to the British Superbike series.
2024 WorldWCR calendar
1. Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, MWC "Marco Simoncelli" - 14-16 June
2. Prosecco DOC UK Round, Donington Park - 12-14 July
3. Pirelli Portuguese Round, Autodromo Internacional do Algarve - 9-11 August
4. Hungarian Round, Balaton Park Circuit - 23-25 August
5. Acerbis Italian Round, Cremona Circuit - 20-22 September
6. Prometeon Spanish Round, Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto - 18-20 October
2024 WorldWCR provisional rider entry list
Emily Bondi FRA
Tayla Relph AUS
Ran Yochay ISR
Mallory Dobbs USA
Sarah Varon COL
Lucy Michel GER
Adela Ourednickova CZE
Nicole Van Aswegen RSA
Ana Carrasco ESP
Ornella Ongaro FRA
Mia Stenseth Rusthen NOR
Chun Mei Liu TPE
Alyssia Whitmore GBR
Lena Kemmer AUT
Beatriz Neila Santos ESP
Luna Hirano JPN
Francisca Ruiz Vidal ESP
Jessica Howden RSA
Iryna Nadieieva UKR
Sara Sanchez Tamayo ESP
Andrea Sibaja Moreno ESP
Astrid Madrigal MEX
Roberta Ponziani ITA
Isis Carreno Avila CHI
