FIM reveal new Women’s Motorcycling World Championship for 2024

The FIM has revealed details of an all-new Women’s Motorcycling World Championship which will begin in 2024.

The first of its kind at a World Championship level, the Women’s Motorcycling World Championship will consist of a least six rounds within Europe, and will primarily run alongside the World Superbike Championship.

Current plans will see two races take place at each round, with all riders competing on equal machinery. A single motorcycle supplier will be announced by the FIM in the coming months.

In a special press conference held at Jerez ahead of the MotoGP action in Spain, it was suggested by FIM President Jorge Viegas that the new championship will be seen as the pinnacle of female motorcycle racing, rather than a stepping stone series such as the Talent Cup.

“We gave a lot of thought to this, and we had a lot of demand,” Viegas said. “As we do in Motocross, Enduro and Trial, we are starting with a Women’s World Championship next year in circuit racing.

“We will try to have women from all over the world racing in this new championship, and it’s a championship where we want women to be pro. It’s not a step to another category, we want women who race here to be able to earn a wage as a rider, as professionals. We hope to start in March or April next year.”

An FIM-run championship has already seen a female rider become its champion. In 2018, Ana Carrasco clinched the World Supersport 300 Championship trophy – doing so whilst battling against male competitors. It remains to be seen whether racers in the Women’s Motorcycling World Championship will be considered for rides within other championships alongside male competitors.

Providing more details on the upcoming championship, WorldSBK Executive Director, Gregorio Lavilla hinted that the bikes used will be close to Supersport-spec machines.

“The best platform to start with is a single brand, and we’ve been discussing it informally with manufacturers already,” Lavilla said. “We will start to define the details, but we expect something in a similar range to Supersport displacement.

“There has been plenty of interest, but this is a project that is progressing, and can progress through the years to expand with different manufacturers, teams…we want to create a destination where female riders from around the world can join the Championship and find professional success.

“If we start from zero, we can be more creative. Like I said from my side, I will put in my full commitment to make it happen and to make it work at the standard that we want, and hopefully, we can be successful and enjoy it.”