Junior Supersport Team Pushing for More Women in Motorcycle Racing

Car racing has long been a male-dominated sport and motorcycle racing is no different. Female involvement at each level — racer, team management and engineers — is low.

But now, female racers have found success in world-class motorcycle racing. Ana Carrasco became the first woman to win a World Championship in solo motorcycle racing when she captured the Supersport 300 crown in 2018.

In 2021, the British Superbike Championship, the strongest domestic series in motorcycle racing, will have a female team owner, Faye Ho. Ho aspires to build something significant and permanent. Having survived breast cancer and being orphaned at the age of six and after a successful business career in her own right — Ho is now facing her greatest sports challenge.

"For me going into bike racing, I know it is a bit out of the norm, because I'm the only female team owner in BSB. It's a bit of a challenge, obviously being such a male dominated sport. And secondly, there's online comments, and people are going to say things. I think the most important thing is you just have to do what you love and focus on the end result and just enjoy it. Life is always going to be difficult.”

Ho added, “But if you are happy with what you do, and you enjoy it, you should always take on a challenge. We need to see more women involved; more female riders or more female management; that's what I would like to see in the future. We are getting more female car racers.”

Supporting Female Motorcycle Racing

Motorcycle racing is constantly evolving. In fact, the sport is now opening doors for future champions to push through boundaries. In recent years, women have taken strides in motorcycle racing — breaking records in a male-dominated industry.

FHO Racing has announced a new collaboration with two female riders in the HEL Performance British Junior Supersport Championship. The superbike team will work closely with 16-year-old Charlotte Marcuzzo and 17-year-old Scarlett Robinson in the Junior class. Both riders will use the distinctive FHO Racing livery for the remainder of the season.

“To begin with the new livery, we have for this weekend looks amazing and I feel that it is just the start of getting us noticed on track," Marcuzzo said. "They are definitely go-faster colors so hopefully we can be on the pace straight away and keep moving forward. Faye is really strong, and she has already helped with boosting our confidence, so I am excited about working together."

Robinson has raced in several different disciplines over the years, including Motocross, Supermoto and circuit racing. Robinson finished second overall in the Supermono GB Junior Championship in 2019. Last year Robinson made an appearance in the Junior Supersport season finale at Donington Park, whilst she's been competing in the 2021 Thundersport Superteens series, alongside other championships, on a 400cc Kawasaki.

“This is massive for me and I feel that already we are getting noticed more, especially because of the color scheme," Robinson said. "If this can help to raise our profile more then it will hopefully also mean we can add to our existing partners, who make it possible for us to go racing. I would like to thank Faye for her support, and I am looking forward to being associated with FHO Racing."

MotoAmerica and Female Racers

Chuck Askland of MotoAmerica recently stated, "MotoAmerica doesn’t necessarily look for female talent, but it encourages their participation."

He further stated, “MotoAmerica provides a platform to better yourself as a motorcycle racer, and it’s not dependent on being a man or a woman, it’s about having the opportunity. We have five different categories for racers to progress through, plenty of choices from beginning your racing career to racing in the top category, Superbikes."

“The competitors that we have appreciate the fact that in our racing there is no handicap, it’s a racer with his/her motorcycle competing against each other. The women competing with us like to race against the other competitors as competitors, not male or female.”