2022 Women competing in FIA and FIM disciplines enters new season with the best female riders, drivers and racers vying for World Championship Titles on road and dirt circuits. This illustrious group of women not only put their performances on the line to sustain upward trajectory of their respective careers, but also serve as reminder that racing Motorsport disciplines is the most challenging of sports on and off the track.
The breadth and scope of abilities amongst the world’s best Women Motorsport athletes sets each and every one apart, in their discipline/s of expertise and standing on the dais. Equally, sustaining their results on the track has also meant honoring commitments to sponsors and passionate causes when not racing.
Of course, pushing boundaries on how Women pursue racing careers within changing economic circumstances from COVID has required high degree of adaptability on which Championships to race, what schedules to adhere to and whose Brands to endorse. No mean feat given there are only 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, and slotting in down-time is no more mere if I can fit it in- relaxing is crucial to mental health and well being.
AND competitive level of racing is at all time high. Women train just as hard as any athlete on the start-line. Women work 10x as hard to gain financial backing to race. Women delve deep into their own character make-up to make results count, not just for themselves but for future sponsors to race the next season.
Spanish riders Ana Carrasco and Maria Herrera enter 2022 Moto3 and MotoE season respectively with utmost respect on racing at World Championship level for consecutive years. Ana will enter Moto3 season with new Team BOE SKX competing in 21 Rounds from Opening Race on March 6th in Qatar. Maria kicks off 2022 MotoE Championship on May 1st at Jerez under Aspar Team along with competing in Spanish Championship Rounds.
The return of 2x WSeries Champion Jamie Chadwick this season ramps up expectations – can the Brit win her 3rd F3 – all female Championship in 2022? Most certainly, Jamie’s skilled ability to pull off results on circuits known and unknown to the F3 driver has proved winning combination amidst fiercely competitive field of 20 female drivers.
For sure, the sharp rise of credibility that WSeries has achieved from debut year in 2019 has been magnified by the Championship’s inclusion as support category at selected Formula One Rounds. Such broadening of visibility of women racing single-seater has not only been great for Chadwick, Alice Powell and Emma Kimilainen– who finished top 3 in 2021- but also for ramping up the profile of Women in Motorsport in general.
With WSeries Opening Round on May 6-8 at Miami, the 8 Round Series will maintain fan engagement right through to Final Round on October 28-30 at Mexico City. While on other side of spectrum, 2022 Extreme E Championship will sustain viewer traction via the gendered pair of drivers from 10 Teams racing the Series all electric Odyssey 21 vehicles.
Odds favorite for repeating 2021 Extreme E Championship win will be Australian Molly Taylor racing for JBXE Team, along with the highly talented and 2021 Dakar Rally Stage winner Cristina Gutierrez racing for Lewis Hamilton’s X44 Team. @cris-tortu pairing with 9x World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb will be hard combo to beat, not to mention the field of remaining 16 drivers which include Dakar Rally legend Laia Sanz. The 5 Round Series igniting awareness on sustainability of racing kicked off on February 19-20 at Neon, Saudi Arabia and finishes on November 26-27 at Uruguay.
The coveted Women Motocross World Championship keeps all eyes watching on how these remarkable group of female riders deliver high end performances on MXGP tracks- which vary from sand, to loamy dirt, to hard pack to mud. Pressure will be on 3x WMX Champion Courtney Duncan to make early head-way on the points table after short pre-season build-up to the Opening Round on March 6 at Mantova.
Such fierce determination to notch their first WMX Title will be fought between Dutch rider Nancy Van de Ven and Larissa Papenmeier whose respective 2nd and 4th Overall result was eclipsed by 6x WMX Champion Kiara Fontanesi who will be taking year off for birth of 2nd child at end of the year.
No doubt, racing will be tight with younger riders pushing the limits to grab hole-shots, hit lines, make passes stick and points count in each and every race over the 6 Round Series. Remarkably, there has only been 5 Women World Motocross Champions from initial Women MX World Cup winner Stephanie Laier in 2005, followed by Katherine Prumm in 2006 and 2007, to WMX Champion Livia Lancelot in 2008 and 2016, to Stephanie Laier in 2009, 2010, and 2011, to Kiara Fontanesi in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 and Courtney Duncan in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Women competing in America’s Grand National Cross Country Series have forged viable racing careers with NZ’s Rachael Archer taking 2022 WXC Opening Round win at Big Buck on February 20-21. In pursuit of her first WXC Championship win, Archer has made good her promise of racing America’s most prestigious off-road Series all the while growing up in NZ.
Equal praise goes to the females who take on the most challenging of task, competing in AMA SX Rounds, as Jordan Jarvis lines up to race Daytona 250SX East on March 6th. Having knocked many goals out of the park- like gaining entry in 2019 AMA National Outdoors 250 class, gaining license points in AMA SX, and winning 6 AMA National Championship at Loretta Lynn’s, Jordan lives by one mantra- never give up.
These formidable female athletes test the parameters on what each can achieve racing FIA and FIM Motorsport disciplines. Each push their skill set to learn, adapt and perfect performances on and off the track. Each seeks an edge over their competition to elevate their profile and standings in chosen fields of racing. And each sets examples on how the power of the mind can eclipse any form of self-doubt that goals can be realized- no matter what challenges arise.
Header Photo: Maria Herrera MotoE. Image Aspar Team.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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