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More Ladies Join Motorcycle GP. Is This the Beginning of a New Era?

After two increasingly exciting seasons in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, it’s time to prepare for what could be an even more interesting one in 2015. Two girls are joining the ranks of the Moto3 entry class, Maria Herrera and Ana Carrasco.
Maria Herrera and Ana Carrasco. 1 photo
Photo: motogp.com
We believe that telling you that both girls come from Spain is not going to surprise you. It didn’t surprise us, and maybe learning that they were NOT Spanish could be a bigger eyebrow-raiser. Maria Herrera is an 18-year-old girl from near Toledo. She was the runner-up in the FIM CEV Repsol Championship in 2013 and battled at the top of the same competition in 2014.

She had multiple wildcard appearances in the World Championship and she believes she’s now ready to step up into the real game. Herrera will be Isaac Vinales’ team mate in Calvo Team, and both will race Husqvarna machinery. She seems quite happy with her 2015 bike: “I was very happy with the first tests, as they really helped me to get to know the bike. I was comfortable from the first laps. The feeling under braking was very good, which allowed me to go quick,” motogp.com reports.

Third year in GP racing for Carrasco

2015 will be the third year in GP racing for Ana Carrasco. She is part of a three-rider line-up for Aleix Espargaro’s Boe41 RBA team, alongside Argentinian Gabriel Rodrigo and Finnish Niklas Ajo. If you believe you’ve somehow gotten things wrong, it’s THE Aleix Espargaro who owns the team, as we already told you in late July.

Carrasco’s previous season was not exactly one to remember, as she had to sit out for the final rounds. Still, as the winter testing ahead of the 2015 championship got underway in Valencia, the 17-year-old from Murcia seems to regain her focus and pace. He is once more building up confidence in her KTM machine and is looking forward to regain a full feel for it.

“I believe it’s a very competitive machine. I haven’t been able to try many things, and was lapping mainly to regain my confidence and get a feel for the bike. But there is still a lot to improve,” Carrasco adds.

Will we get to see ladies in the intermedia class and even in MotoGP?

Seeing more ladies in GP racing is truly amazing. We have been cooking an editorial on this for some time, and it looks like the following weeks are going to set things on the right path.

It’s not the first time when the matter of women in GP racing is discussed, and it will definitely not be the last. However, with each girl who makes it into motorcycle Grand Prix races, we can only cheer, because this brings a whole new level of entertainment to the sport.

Obviously we have to steer clear from all the feminist or misogynistic remarks and shuns, no matter where they come from. This is all about the sport of being the fastest on two wheels across the finish line and not about the length of one’s hair, gender or anything else.

Can you imagine a girl on the MotoGP grid in Qatar several years from now? She doesn’t even have to beat the top guys, she just needs to finish the race, maybe earn points. Eh?
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