Inspiration Friday: Women of Speed

Inspiration Friday: Women of Speed

Inspiration Friday: Women of Speed

What do you get when you combine Fast, Fashion and Foxy Females? This week’s Inspiration Friday: Women of Speed! Women Racers are empowering our motorcycling culture, they love riding, love motorcycles and want to compete in sports too. From WorldSSP, MotoGP, Supersport, Flat Track, BSB, Motoamerica, MXGP, Supercross, GNCC, Enduro, WorldSBK and Trial so many women have found empowerment and success in areas dominated by men. With Yamaha‘s announcement of Marie Herrera joining their WorldSSP Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha team it further cements the growing list of our Women of Speed.

“My main goal for this year is to do a great job and have fun by going fast.” says Marie Herrera, don’t mistake that she is just a sweetheart but a fierce competitor. Herrera was the first female competitor to win a race in the FIM CEV Repsol series winning the Moto3 race at Motorland Aragon. Racing at Phillip Island 2015 alongside Isaac Vinales for Husqvarna and again in 2016 on KTM. Maria Herrera was the only female rider in the MotoGP paddock for 2017 with Team AGR before moving on to WorldSSP 300 for Yamaha. In 2019 she raced for (and I’ve never heard of this myself) the inaugural FIM Enel 2019 MotoE World Cup.

She isn’t the first (check out the list on Wikipedia) but it is great to see women stepping into these roles! Total Motorcycle has always supported our lady riders and back in 2003 created our Ladies Lounge in recognition and to empower them to reach for the stars.

Total Motorcycle would like to thank Yamaha and congratulate Marie Herrera for inspiring us to bring you this week’s Inspiration Friday: Women of Speed. Each week we bring you another Inspiring Motorcycle story to inspire you to get out and ride! Thank you for your support for visiting us and supporting us at Patreon for just $1 a month.

 

Yamaha Confirms Female Rider for WorldSSP Biblion Motoxracing Team

Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha Confirms Maria Herrera for WorldSSP

The Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha team has announced Maria Herrera as their rider for the 2021 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign, in which the team will receive support from Yamaha to become the Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team.

Ahead of the new season, Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha have moved to a new headquarters in Fiano Romano, Italy, and this marks its second season in WorldSSP, where it will once again field the Yamaha R6 bike, having also enjoyed success over their past two FIM Supersport 300 World Championship seasons.

Spanish rider Herrera is no stranger to the category, and despite her young age, 24, she boasts a valuable amount of experience, which made her the perfect fit for the team’s second endeavour into the category. For 2021, Herrera will take part in the WorldSSP Challenge, featuring at the European stages of the championship, which currently make up the first nine rounds.

Hailing from the Iberian region of Spain, Herrera has shown from a young age that she is a fierce competitor, winning the ‘Campionato Velocità del Mediterraneo’ in 2011. The following year she stepped up to the CEV Moto3 class, and during her second season in 2013 she took two victories on her way to fourth in the championship. That year she also earned a Moto3 world championship wildcard entry at the Aragon Grand Prix.

She took part in three more Moto3 Grand Prix in 2014, where she raced in Jerez, Barcelona and Valencia, before she earned a full-time ride in the championship for the following year. She went onto complete three full seasons, racking up 65 Moto3 starts, and in 2018 switched to WorldSSP300, riding a R3 GYTR-kitted bike.

After a single campaign, Herrera made the move to the WorldSSP class on a Yamaha R6 in 2019, combining this with a full-season ride in the newly-formed MotoE World Cup. After some impressive performances, she spent another year in MotoE and joined three WorldSSP rounds.

On this basis, coupled with the strong foundations of the Sandro Carusi-led outfit, the Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha team is confident of being competitive, having already achieved success in the WorldSSP300 class.

WorldSSP Racing News Daily

Maria Herrera

Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team

“I chose this team because many people speak well of Sandro, the bike, the group and the potential they have. My main goal for this year is to do a great job and have fun by going fast.”

 

Sandro Carusi – Team Principal

Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team

“I am very happy to be able to announce Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha’s participation in the WorldSSP class with Maria Herrera. Having the only woman in the championship, who is a huge talent, gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the level we have reached. I’m sure it will be a strong incentive for all of us.”

 

Andrea Dosoli

Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager

“We’re really excited to see the Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha team coming back to the WorldSSP class in 2021. Sandro and his team have already given young talented riders a great opportunity in WorldSSP300 and it’s great to see how they have continued that trend in the 600cc class. Maria is an impressive and versatile young rider who adds good experience to the team and I expect them to achieve some strong results together this year.”

 

About

NAME – MARIA HERRERA
TEAM – Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha
MOTORCYCLE – YAMAHA YZF R6
DATE OF BIRTH – 26 AUGUST, 1996
BIRTHPLACE – TOLEDO

Born in Toledo, María Herrera first hit the tarmac in 2012 when she started to compete in the Moto3 class of the Spanish championship CEV. 2013 welcomed two wins and three podiums in her national championship, and in the same year she made her debut on the international racing scene with a wildcard appearance at her home Grand Prix at Aragón in the Moto3™ World Championship.

Continuing in the Spanish CEV also in 2014, Herrera became a regular in the Moto3™ World Championship from 2015 to 2017, before switching to WorldSSP300 for 2018. Thanks to several top ten finishes she ended 13th in the standings her first year in the series.

Ready now to make history as she become the first female to race in WorldSSP full-time, Herrera hopes to achieve great results aboard the Yamaha YZF-R6 of MS Racing.

 

Stats

All time
Category Poles Races Podiums Wins P2 P3 Best Race Lap
WorldSSP  0  14  0  0  0  0  0
WorldSSP300  0  8  0  0  0  0  1
Years
Year Cat. Poles Races Podiums Wins P2 P3 Best Race Lap Pos.
2020 Supersport  0  6  0  0  0  0  0 27
2019 Supersport  0  8  0  0  0  0  0 29
2018 Supersport300  0  8  0  0  0  0  1 13

 

What is WorldSSP?

Yamaha WorldSSP

The FIM Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) was introduced as a support class to the main Superbike event in 1990, originally as a European Championship before extending its program to follow the global pattern in 1997, and with the exception of the American round, participates in the full 2019 season calendar.

WorldSSP
Featuring smaller, lighter and more agile mid-range production sports bikes compared to the litre WorldSBK class, WorldSSP predominantly hosts 600cc machines, like the Yamaha YZF-R6. With only restricted modifications allowed – to items such as cylinder head, gearbox, rear shock, front fork, electronic system and brake discs – and increasingly close racing, the class continues to highlight the ethos of the overall championship, allowing fans to watch exciting racing which utilises machines closely matched to their own pride and joy.

Yamaha has an incredible pedigree in the mid-range class, with foive World Championship victories in the last eight years at the hands of Cal Crutchlow (2009), Chaz Davies (2011), Sam Lowes (2013), Lucas Mahias (2017) and the reigning champion, Sandro Cortese (2018).

The WorldSSP schedule has two timed practice sessions on Friday and one non-timed free practice session on Saturday that lead into a new for 2019 single qualifying session. Sunday’s race successfully showcases the talents of its 25 permanent riders and six participating manufacturers across the 12 global locations and is a perfect appetiser to the final WorldSBK battle of the weekend.

 

Yamaha R6 WorldSSP

Yamaha R6 WorldSSP

The debut season for the all new 2017 Yamaha R6 could not have gone any better! GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team’s Lucas Mahias enjoyed a sensational year to become the FIM Supersport World Champion, while his teammate Federico Caricasulo’s strong season that saw him finish in fifth overall saw GRT lift the Team title as well. Yamaha also lifted the Manufacturer’s title to completely dominate the class in 2017, and with Mahias returning to defend his crown alongside teammate Caricasulo, 2018 should be an even better season.

Mahias’ championship victory meant that the Yamaha has been crowned champions in one of the most competitive classes around four times in the last 8 years, highlighting the sensational performance of the R6 in its various iterations. Completely restyled by Yamaha last year to give the 600cc Supersport World Championship bike a radical new look to match its racing ambitions. The new design was clearly inspired by the latest generation MotoGP and WorldSBK models – the M1-type central forced air intake, recessed LED twin headlights and new R1 style tail just being three examples – giving the bike an intense look that’s instantly recognizable as being a member of the R-series family, while its own unique character still shines through.

The WorldSSP Championship’s regulations allow only very subtle alterations to the consumer bike’s cylinder head, gearbox, rear shock, front fork, electronic system and brake disks creating a close symmetry between track and road, and a greater appreciation between racer and fan.

Main titles:
2019 Randy Krummenacher World Champion
2018 Sandro Cortese: World Champion
2017 Lucas Mahias: World Champion
2013 Sam Lowes: World Champion
2011 Chaz Davies: World Champion
2009 Cal Crutchlow: World Champion
2000 Jörg Teuchert: World Champion

The GMT94 Yamaha team built their reputation in the demanding FIM Endurance World Championship, where they were the official Yamaha team from 2003 until 2018. During this period the team racked up 17 race wins, 38 podium finishes, 13 pole positions and, most importantly, three world championship titles.

In 2018 the team took on a new challenge, moving paddocks to contest the Supersport World Championship with a single rider set up built around promising French youngster, Corentin Perolari.

For 2019 the team returned with support from Yamaha Motor Europe, expanding to two riders as WorldSSP frontrunner Jules Cluzel joins Perolari, who remained with the team for a second season. Courtesy of Cluzel the team took three podiums and three wins, and finished the season second in the team standings.

In 2020 the team retains their rider line up aboard the YZF-R6, seeking to go one better and take both the rider and team titles.

 

 

Want to discover more on Women Motorcycle Racers (thanks to Wikipedia), here you go:
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