Swain defied a new weight limit to compete in the 1962 TT
Central Press/Getty Images
More than half a century ago the FIM (motorcycling’s FIA) banned women from world championship motorcycle racing. The international governing body was spurred into urgent action by the ambitions of Londoner Beryl Swain, who in 1962 became the first woman to contest a solo Isle of Man TT.
Britain’s national governing body had already tried to thwart Swain. Shortly after the Auto-Cycle Union received her entry for the 50cc TT it introduced a nine-and-a-half-stone minimum weight rule for the event. That should keep her out.
“Personally, I am very much against women taking part in racing,” wrote Motor Cycle News editor Charlie Rous, in supporting the ACU’s dark arts. “I’ve got nothing against them, in fact I think they’re rather nice, and I would like to see them stay that way. Motorcycle racing is dangerous, and frankly, I think their presence adds to the danger.”
Swain fell considerably short of the weight limit, but she wasn’t for giving in, so she put herself on a feeder diet of cakes, bread, potatoes, sweets and fatty foods. On the island she just tipped the scales in her favour.
The 26-year-old “attractive blonde housewife from Walthamstow” had a promising TT, so a few months later she announced her intention to contest the 1963 50cc Grand Prix world championship. That was too much for the FIM, which rewrote the rules, banning women from grands prix.
Swain appealed but without success. “No one would like to think about such a charming person getting hurt in a motorcycle race,” wrote an official in turning down her appeal. Swain now knew she was beaten and retired from competition. How times change…
“Carrasco has the phrase ‘Ride like a girl’ across her helmet”
Next year, two years after the collapse of car racing’s ill-fated W Series, motorcycling will have its first all-women road-racing world championship. The FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship will take place within the well-established World Superbike series, owned by Dorna, which also owns MotoGP. Its creation comes almost two decades after the establishment of a women’s championship for motocross – spectacular off-road racing.
During this time there has been much debate: should women have their own asphalt world championship? Is a women-only world championship demeaning, or is it a boost for women who are hoping to make it to the top of motorcycle racing?
Beatriz Neila, winner of the 2023 Women’s European Championship, which will be replaced by the world series, believes women-only racing does have a place in the sport.
“There have always been women competing against men, but none have reached the top: MotoGP or World Superbike,” says the 21-year-old Spaniard. “Why? Because women and men are different, physically different. Which is why the new championship is a present to us, because it allows women to fight for a world title, to see who’s the fastest woman in the world.”
Not all female racers agree with Neila. In fact most women I know that race motorcycles would prefer to keep racing with the men, which they’ll still be allowed to do.
On Sunday Ana Carrasco won a race just nine months after breaking her back. Hers is an amazing story but no more so than the shocking story of the first woman who tried to make it in motorcycle racing
Maria Costello, one of Britain’s top women racers for almost three decades, believes a female-only world series is a backwards step.
“I love the fact that we can compete on equal terms with men,” says Costello, who races sidecars and motorcycles in the UK and on the Isle of Man. “There are already women racing in the Moto3, Supersport 300 and MotoE world championships, plus team owner Faye Ho is doing amazing things with her all-women team in the British Junior Supersport series.
“I love what Formula 1 is doing with its F1 Academy, which is nurturing women drivers from the grassroots up. What we need in motorcycling is the same kind of support, not women-only racing.”
Although no woman has won the MotoGP or World Superbike titles, Spaniard Ana Carrasco wasn’t a million miles away when she won the 2018 Supersport 300 championship, the junior category of World Superbike. Carrasco beat a grid almost entirely comprised of men to become motorcycle racing’s first female world champion.
“I always try to be confident, because really we are all the same,” says the 26-year-old. “When fans watch MotoGP riders, maybe they think these guys are from another world, but we are all the same. Some of us are racers and others are builders or doctors – I don’t see any difference. Even in normal life, when you want to do something different, some people will always say, ‘Yeah, try it!’ And you will have others who always say, ‘You are wasting your time, you won’t make it!’ So you listen to those who want to help you and everything else means nothing. It’s always important to know who is trying to help you and who is trying to destroy you.”
Carrasco makes her point that women can beat men by having the phrase “Ride like a girl” plastered across her helmet and merchandise.
The FIM wants its new series to be a final destination for women racers, but it’s a fairly big step down from the Moto3 World Championship, which Carrasco currently contests, so it’s difficult to see the world’s fastest women racers wanting to contest the Women’s Motorcycling World Championship. In which case, what’s the point?
Mat Oxley has covered motorcycle racing for many years – and also has the distinction of being an Isle of Man TT winner
Follow Mat on Twitter @matoxley
