WHO IS ANA CARRASCO ?
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 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 . 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 .”
Grand Prix racing In 2013 Ana 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 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
42 KIWI RIDER