| A competitor from an early age Ana Carrasco’s incredible adventure in motorcycle racing began when she first learned to ride on a minibike at the age of three, encouraged by her father, a mechanic who would have a big influence on her career. With a background of working in racing himself, Carrasco’s father was right by her side as she made her first forays into competitive riding. Honing her talent on the domestic stage Making her way in several Spanish domestic junior motorcycle racing categories, Carrasco accumulated numerous victories as a youngster. In 2009 she became 125cc champion in the Extremadura Championship and she would also win the Murcia 125cc 2T Championship and the Spanish Cup. 2011 saw her become the first female rider to score points in the 125cc CEV class and the following year she repeated that feat in the inaugural Moto3™ format in the same championship. The move into Grand Prix racing In 2013 she graduated to the Moto3™ World Championship, where she shared a pitbox with another talented Spaniard, Maverick Viñales. She made good progress, again becoming the first woman to score points in the lightweight Grand Prix class, with a best result of 8th in Valencia in front of the cheering Spanish fans. The first woman to win a motorcycle World title After four years in the MotoGP™ paddock Carrasco took on a new challenge in 2017 as she participated in the new WorldSSP300 series. It was a move she would not regret as a year later Carrasco created history by becoming the first woman to win a motorcycle World Championship. She followed that up by finishing third in WorldSSP300 in 2019, racing in the class for two more years before returning to Moto3™ for 2022 and 2023. A serious contender With her WorldSSP300 title and more than 80 Moto3™ races behind her, Carrasco is a true ambassador for women in motorsport, a role model to aspiring young riders around the world and one of the fastest riders on the 2024 WorldWCR grid in its first ever season. Finishing in front of Carrasco would give anyone a strong chance of winning the title this year. Ana describes… being a pioneer in racing “For me it was just normal to be the only woman, or one of a few women. I was in the same situation as when I was 3 years old, all my life it was the same. Inside the circuit I’m a rider so I don’t see any difference between the others and me. I felt always that everyone respected me a lot. If people see that you are focussed on your work, that you’re trying to be professional and especially you are fast, everyone respects you. So for me I always felt really good. Honestly I always felt really supported by the fans since the first day I arrived into the world championship. There are always a few people that don’t like you, but maybe they don’t like me, or they don’t like Marc Marquez, they don’t like anyone. I’m happy because I always felt good, people were always supporting me, in the good moments and especially in the bad ones. I always felt like people respect me and support me.” Ana is currently ranked second in the WorldWCR standings, having secured her second championship victory at Portimao. Ana’s quickfire answers… Who is your favourite athlete outside of motorcycling? “Rafa Nadal.” Who are your favourite ever riders? “Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.” Who is the female athlete that inspires you the most? “Laia Sanz.” How do you prepare for races? “I always have the same warm-up routine and dress with the same process, always starting on the right side.” What is your goal for this season?: “To fight for the title.” What does it mean to you to be competing in the inaugural WorldWCR season?: “I think it is a very important initiative for women in motorcycling, so I’m happy to be part of this project and looking forward to promoting it as much as possible this first season.” Ana explains… Who she’s learned most from in her career “My father. I spent a lot of time with him until I was 14 years old when I came for the first time to work with a team. I was racing always with him as a mechanic so I think he taught me almost everything that I had to know about racing. For sure after this in the World Championship I had the opportunity to work with a lot of people with a lot of experience. Sharing a box with riders like Maverick Viñales and Jonathan Rea, I had the chance to learn from the top riders and this helped me a lot, to try to understand how to be a champion.” |
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