Which women have scored points in the World Championship?

In 2022 the Grand Prix paddock welcomes back 2018 WorldSSP300 Champion, Ana Carrasco, after confirmation that she’s signed for the BOE SKX outfit in Moto3™. To celebrate the return of Carrasco, we thought it would be a nice idea to take a look at the women who have managed to score points in the World Championship down the years.

The pioneers

The first one to succeed was Taru Rinne. But the Finn first excelled on home soil in karting, against renowned four-wheel stars such as Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo. It wasn’t until 1987 that Rinne competed in her first two races on the international motorcycle scene. A year later, she was finally given a place in the Championship and her 14th place at Le Castellet etched her name in the history books. Rinne scored a further 23 points in 1989, with two top 10 finishes coming her way at Hockenheim and Assen.

Tomoko Igata would go on to do even better in the 125cc class. The Japanese rider, who had become a familiar face in the Japanese Superbike Championship, scored a total of 30 points in two seasons. After a first appearance in the 1992 Japanese GP, she fully became part of the class in 1994. Having finished 14th in Sydney, Igata also reached the top 10 twice during 1995, but returned to her home country after the season was finished.

• ANA CARRASCO CONFIRMS Moto3™ MOVE WITH BOE SKX

Then there was Katja Poensgen – the first Junior Cup winner in Germany, 1995. That same year, Poensgen also won the European Supermono Championship. She then went on to compete in the German 125cc and Supersport Championships, the WorldSSP and the European Superstock 1000. In 2001, it was time for the jump into the 250cc World Championship and she was immediately rewarded with 14th place at the Italian GP, the first time a woman had ever finished in the points at that level of competition.

The new generation

In 2013, a young Spanish rider from the FIM CEV Repsol (now FIM JuniorGP) called Ana Carrasco arrived in the Moto3™ World Championship. And straight away, Carrasco claimed nine points, including eight in Valencia alone. Unfortunately, her transfers to RW Racing GP and RBA Racing Team didn’t see her to add to her record of achievements – at least not in Moto3™. Moving to the WorldSSP300 Championship, Carrasco was regularly fighting at the front and in 2018, she managed to claim the 2018 title – the first woman to win a motorcycle World Championship title. Now, Carrasco is back and ready to add to her Moto3™ achievements.

In 2015, there were two women on the Moto3™ grid, as Maria Herrera represented the Husqvarna Factory Laglisse team. The Toledo native, who also came through the FIM CEV Repsol, bagged 11th place at Phillip Island, which remains her best result. Herrera collected eight more points during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and after a brief transit through the WorldSSP300, she embarked on an FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup adventure. Herrera is still riding for the Aspar Team, with the aim of beating a personal best fifth position, achieved at Misano in 2019.

It should be noted that other women have raced in the World Championship over the last 72 years, including: Beryl Swain (the first to have taken part in a GP in 1962), Gina Bovaird, Inge Arends, Undine Krummer, Petra Gschwander and Daniela Tognoli.