On August 17th and 18th 2019, running alongside the inaugural MotoGP™ Official Test at the brand new KymiRing track, the first-ever Women in Motorsport conference was held in Vierumäki, in the Lahti Region of Finland.
This was a historical event as it gathered the FIM and the FIA in plenary sessions and workshops to address a variety of topics. FIM President Jorge Viegas gave the welcoming speech and then yielded the floor to the speakers, mainly women, from over 20 countries from all 5 continents who expressed their views and experiences on matters such as women empowerment, leadership, women’s role in the industry, and the future task of involving girls in motorsports.
Attendees heard inspirational stories by women riders, drivers, engineers, entrepreneurs, team managers who have been pioneers in their field and proudly racing against and among “the boys”.
One of the guests was Maria Herrera, former Moto3™ World Championship rider, the first woman to ever win a Spanish Championship race (CEV), and current FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup rider. She shared some stories from her early days in the CEV where she fought some battles with MotoGP™ rider Fabio Quartararo. Maria didn’t fail to mention how important teamwork is, regardless of gender, to obtain good results.
Dorna Sports was represented by the Director of the Events Department Norma Companys, who astonished the audience when she revealed how a MotoGP™ event is set up, illustrating with facts and figures all the effort it takes to put all moving parts together to bring the circus to town.
The Women in Motorsport conference was the perfect occasion for professionals, mostly women, to network and meet other experts from different fields but sharing the same passion. The attendees also had the chance to visit the first hours of the historical MotoGP™ Official Test in person, as the conference was taking place only 50km away from the track.