Race Week Women in Motorsport – Moto3 Round 5 and MotoE Opening Round at Le Mans, France, along with Extreme E Rounds 3 and 4 Hydro X Prix in Scotland this coming weekend.
The Spanish rider’s of Ana Carrasco (BOE Motorsports) and Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) will take to the track in Moto3 and MotoE respectively, and Extreme E line-up of 10 Teams with 10 corresponding female driver’s will race for Championship points in the former opencast mine in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
Ana enters her 2nd consecutive season in Moto3 having completed the 2022 season of 20 races in 32nd overall. Never one to shy away from pursuing her racing career amid far-too-many-challenges along the way, Ana made courageous decision to switch from competing in WSBK SSP300 Series, at end of 2021 to head back to Moto3 – a Championship which held particular significance, with Ana racing the class in 2013, 2014, and 2015 on KTM.
Currently standing P29 after 4 Rounds, Ana remains sole female rider amid the fiercely competitive class, battling the world’s most talented male rider’s for higher position on track. If you think this sounds tough, take a closer look at what Ana has dealt with over the years, which includes recovering from major spine surgery in 2020, to race 2021 WSBK SSP300 Round 4 and win Race 2 on Kawasaki. Note: Ana remains only female to win WSBK SSP 300 Championship in 2018.
Maria Herrera competes in her 5th MotoE season having finished P17 overall in 2022 on Energica, making the switch to Ducati for 2023. Mere words couldn’t describe how hard Maria has fought to race as one of only a handful of females in WSBK SSP, WSBK SSP300, Moto3 and MotoE, from first GP race in 2013 to current day.
Such tenacity has to be respected, as Maria has proved many times over – from winning FIM CEV Moto3 Championship in 2013, to managing her race season as Owner-Rider in 2016 Moto3, to consolidating her presence in MotoE Championship which has increased to 8 Rounds. Note: there will be 2 Practice sessions on Friday’s, 2 Qualifying sessions on Saturday’s and 2 Races on Sunday’s.
Extreme E heads into Rounds 3 and 4 with all 10 women vying for podium spots along-side their Team’s male driver’s. Australia’s Molly Taylor and Kevin Hanson top the table-board tied in points with Spanish racing legend Laia Sanz and Mattias Ekstrom.
Taylor continues to push her racing career forwards having competed in The Dakar Rally 2x in SSV category, and Laia proving her talent extends beyond an already illustrious career which includes 14x Women Trial World Champion, 11x Women’s Trophy in The Dakar Rally, plus numerous awards across varying disciplines.
Complimenting the founding principle of Extreme E which has been to raise awareness of climate change and impact on geographical landscapes, vegetation, and species, Spanish driver Cristina Gutierrez (X44 Vida Carbon Racing), Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky (RXR), Amanda Sorensen (Hummer Ganassi), Klara Andersson (ABT), Neom McLaren Racing driver Emma Gilmour, Christine GZ (CarlCox Motorsport), Hedda Hosas (JBXE), and British driver Cattie Munnings (Andretti) all possess seasoned race skills to compete behind the wheel of the Series car: Odyssey 21.
A startling line-up of women on one weekend of racing: May 13-14.
Header photo: Ana Carrasco testing at Jerez 2023. Image: Team.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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