just watching the end of a program on bbc 2 about a susie wolff becoming a formula 1 driver.

was wondering why there aren’t many women in formula 1 and especially moto gp (as there are some fast women who do the iom tt).

have women raced moto gp?

Not that i know of ….
Jenny Tinmouth is pretty quick but motogp is a completely different league .

just googled women moto gp riders and there is a lady called elena rosell who was competing in moto2 last year http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/elena+rosell+to+ride+for+qmmf+racing+team+in+2012

i wish her all the best for racing and going up to motogp class 🙂

Jenniie Tinmouth is quick, just not in a field of other riders…. She’s a country mile away from moto gp

Jenny Tinmouth @ Thruxton on Friday…

There was a guy who is now a girl. .

Nice one – is she still racing?

Katja poensgen briefly.

Nice one – is she still racing?

It was a while ago.

http://zagria.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/michelle-ann-duff-1939-motorcycle-racer.html

allthegear – Member

Nice one – is she still racing?

Michelle Duff is retired, but she’s still very much involved with the racing scene:

Her website.

Ooops, double post!

just watching the end of a program on bbc 2 about a susie wolff becoming a formula 1 driver.

was wondering why there aren’t many women in formula 1 and especially moto gp (as there are some fast women who do the iom tt).

have women raced moto gp?

Not to be harsh but for the same reason why womens elite riders in downhill are a long way behind the blokes in terms of times, although I’m sure Rachael Atherton would leave everyone here eating dirt.

It’s a mixed category championship so teams will try to find the fastest racers possible ie men. What needs to happen is a womens championship needs to be set up but what they need for that is 1) Enough riders 2) Sponsor interest as it’s really freaking expensive to run a team.

Katja was in 250s

Taru Rinne is a Finnish former motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to achieve points in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.With her Honda bike she qualified second for the 125cc class GP at Hockenheim in 1989 and managed to lead the race for a while. She eventually finished seventh bettering her earlier eighth place at Assen.This was to remain her best ever result, as one B Ecclestone kicked her out the following year saying she wasn’t qualified to race (i,e she was a woman)

As long as there is no reverse parking involved,…what can possibly go wrong?…i’m all for it.

Elena Rosell raced for QMMF in Moto2 last year, but she found it difficult. A lot of crashes and no results when she stayed on the bike. To be honest, it was a bit of a PR move by the QMMF.

This year Ana Carrasco is racing in Moto3 for Team Calvo. Her teammate is Maverick Vinales, who is tipped by many as the favourite for this year’s title. It’s early days yet for Ana. She finished 20th in Qatar on her first Grand Prix appearance, but less than a minute behind the winner, which is promising.

The Estrella Galicia team are also developing a young female rider, Maria Herrara, in the Spanish Championship. She also looks promising and, if she continues to improve, may well make the step up to Moto3 with the team in the next few years.

My boss was Katja Poensgen’s manager when she was racing in 250GP. We argue about whether she earned her place there all the time!

As far as I recall the Finn Taru Rinne is still the most successful female in Grand Prix racing.

I think it will be a few years yet before we see a fast female in the premier MotoGP class.

Not being funny but is it really unrealistic for a woman athlete to attain the awesome physical power of a Dani Pedrosa?

Not being funny but is it really unrealistic for a woman athlete to attain the awesome physical power of a Dani Pedrosa?

To go really fast on a m/c doesn’t particularly require physical power, but mental self-belief.

You need to be fit to ride a MotoGP bike, and you need upper body strength too. Dani Pedrosa may be small, but the bloke is fit and has the upper body strength to stop his face slamming into the screen every time he hits the brakes.

Mental self belief is not enough anymore, not with 260BHP and 160Kg.

I’m calling the Sexist Police on you.

No, wait, that’s not right.

Understand, I’m not saying you can be feeble and be succesful at bikes, but the level of strength/fitness isn’t creating the gap- a focused female athlete could achieve that. It is unlike downhill in that respect.

Self belief? Women can’t have strong self belief, or commitment? Really?

Boys are more likely to have racing drivers and riders as role models, we race each other on pushbikes more from the youngest age we can push a pedal, we’re more encouraged to be competitive. If we say “I want to be a bike racer”, there’s more chance that your dad says “OK”. We’re not the only guys in the pits, surrounded by the smell of oestrogen 😉 We’re not weird if we want to get oily fingers. These things stop most women from even wanting to ride a motorbike never mind race them.

Not being funny but is it really unrealistic for a woman athlete to attain the awesome physical power of a Dani Pedrosa?

Brain anatomy and function is considerably different between men and women. **** know’s how/if this interacts with racing but I’ll get back to you in 10 years if I’m doing something out there like Neuropsychiatry.

I guess you do get statistical outliers though and there will be some women out there with brains that are close to what you’d expect in a man, I guess that if it does effect racing it just makes the chances of a female doing well in Moto GP not impossible but certainly unlikely.

Women could certainly get the strength and fitness requited to handle a GP bike, whether it’s likely one as diminutive as Dani Pedrosa could develop that strength to weight ratio is another matter.

It is unlike downhill in that respect.

Try racing a 200mph 280lb machine that wants to rip your arm sockets out…round a track…G forces, chatter, horizontal changes and engine vibrations to boot….for 25+ laps….I’ll place a bet that Dani Pedrosa is a LOT fitter than Danny Hart.

If size was any indicator of strength and fitness I could have kicked the shit out of Bruce Lee.

Different elements of strength/fitness, comparing specialisations doesn’t really work… But I’ll say for sure that the physical exertion of downhill is higher than motorbike racing (one downhill run takes more out of me than half an hour on track) Course I was never racing a gp bike but then, I’m not racing worldcups either!

Better example, as I’m obviously a dobber- Guy Martin, told me he was more shagged (his words) after an hour at fort william than after an hour on the island.

Re brain process- in all honesty I doubt my brain processes are that much like that of a moto gp racer (or probably any competitive sport in fact). Gender difference or no?

I’m going to go with “nurture” most of the way on this one tbh. Top end racers start young and commit their lives to it, frinstance Lorenzo had to miss the first day of practice in his first 125cc gp race as he was too young to be allowed on track- he spent his 15th birthday on track. How many girls will find themselves in the path to that? There’s the personal commitment, the family and peer support… Women are less likely to enter sport full stop, never mind go into the completely male dominated ones. Huge barriers to entry.

Different elements of strength/fitness, comparing specialisations doesn’t really work… But I’ll say for sure that the physical exertion of downhill is higher than motorbike racing (one downhill run takes more out of me than half an hour on track)

What bike do you ride and how fast? Pootling round a track is nothing compared to actually racing. The GP bikes are on a whole different level in terms of the amount of fitness you need to be able to race them?

For example, Toseland couldn’t handle the GP bikes when he came over from WSBK – he was already ridiculously fit then.

Sure one run might take more out of you – but that’s it….one run in a race and your at the bottom with time to recover. With motorcycle racing and more so with the GP you have to be fit enough to not feel fatigued half way through the race as that’s when mistakes happen.

I’ll ask Eugene Laverty if I get the chance about fitness but I’m guessing good old Guy couldn’t handle Fort William as he’s not as used to riding mtb’s as he is riding his motorcycle.

Re brain process- in all honesty I doubt my brain processes are that much like that of a moto gp racer (or probably any competitive sport in fact). Gender difference or no?

http://www.benthamscience.com/open/toanatj/articles/V002/37TOANATJ.pdf

You should be able to open that as it’s from an open journal.

bwaarp – Member

What bike do you ride and how fast? Pootling round a track is nothing compared to actually racing.

And trundling down the fort is different from racing a world cup. So it’s a fair compare, dobber-level racing 😉

<double edit!> Guy Martin rides pushirons more than motorbikes, incidentally. Or at least so goes the myth, he’s not the most reliable narrator… 😉 He’s certainly a better motorcyclist than a mountain biker though, else I would not have beat him. But in any case, he’s someone that does both- a better comparison than Danny vs Dani.

Going to try and find another article on sex difference in regards to the brain, that one was done by a Saudi. Not that I’m racist, I’m just not entirely sure I trust a paper on gender differences in an open journal by one.

You have a point with the lack of women entering though, if there was a larger pool of female riders to choose from – I certainly think women would be right up there….I just don’t really see the point of them competing in the same class as men. I think there would be more interest from women if they could compete in their own classes and have a fairer chance of getting a win.

I’m not sure female tennis players would appreciate being pitted against them men in the name of equal rights….

You and me should allow 15 minute gaps, we’re chronic editors aren’t we!

I would imagine fitness and strength have little to do with it.

It’s the same reason that women don’t excel in other male dominated motor sports where it’s not such a factor like rallying and touring car. There’s plenty of tough women out there who can take the physical aspects of these sports.

Going really fast in a vehicle takes a special mind. Is it a male mind? Not really but men react differently to women to adrenaline. Men buzz off it, women for the most part, don’t. I’m not saying there’s no women who get off on adrenaline and actually use it to focus like men do but they’re in very short supply.

Pretty much every man on the planet gets a buzz from danger of some description, this heightens their awareness, reactions and aggressiveness. That’s really going to swing the pendulum in their favour for being in the driving seat as it were.

All IMO obviously.

Maybe Samuri, there are quite a few female adrenalin junkies though…not as many as men it would seem…whether it’s a nature or nurture thing is such a complicated discussion in it’s own right.

I would love to see more female only racing in motorsports solely for the fact that I feel it would encourage more female participation and offer more high achieving role models to women.

I reckon competing against men can put a lot of women off, secondly I don’t think women should have to gain esteem by feeling as if they have to beat men but should gain and develop esteem by competing and enjoying competing against each other.

Thing is, it’s a trend you see all the way down… It’s not just a lack of elite racers but motorbike racers at any level. Or trackday riders. Or road riders. And a good proportion of the women I know who ride got into it through boyfriends/husbands. Not all, of course. But again it’s a different lead into the sport. (I do know one guy who got into motorbikes because of his wife…)

Now GP winners don’t really come from the pool of road riders, they start earlier (I think exclusively these days) but many amateur riders do- the progression’s pretty similiar to mountain bike racing I reckon.

So, as Bwaarp says, role models. And I don’t think there’s much argument that there’s social barriers, or perhaps just lacks of social support (when I decided to get into motorbikes, I knew some guys who ride bikes, who encouraged me… But female riding peers are obviously scarcer)

If it were purely physical or mental barriers that prevent a level playing field, would you expect to see that reflected all the way to the bottom? Seems unlikely. Even on trackdays, I can count the number of girls I rode with on one hand vs 100s of guys

It’s a sausage party basically 🙁 We should have all taken up ballroom dancing. Over on serocworld.com they’re all asking how to get more guys into it.

Spot on Northwind, I feel quite strongly about this actually….if women do have a chance of really competing for podiums against men at the highest level of motorsport…then they need a larger pool of riders to begin with….and the best way to develop this would be to create a competitive environment where women and sponsors feel they can be included.

Once the competition and skill increases over a number of generations (the latest generation is always faster)….then perhaps there would be a few more women about who could make the jump and try to compete against the men.

Personally…I would love to see it…the bigger the Moto GP weekend is…the better. Bring on a female only moto 2 or CRT class (to keep costs down and attract sponsors). I’d love it if there were women in motorsports that my girlfriend could sit down and support!

I guess it would have to start with promoting various grass roots 125cc series specifically for junior females.

I guess you do get statistical outliers though

This isn’t an area I know much about but surely all pro sportspeople are statistical outliers?

‘Winners’ are statistically, not even worth registering.

Weirdos.

This thread turned out far more interesting than i expected 🙂

FWIW Mrs Weeksy is a motorbiker. She currently rides a 160bhp Yamaha R1. However, has very very little desire to go particularly quick on it, even on track. We’re on track next weekend, we both love it, but she’s happy to sit in Novice for each trackday, making he own way round and enjoying the riding, doesn’t work up a sweat and doesn’t push her limits. However enjoys herself lots.

I was the opposite, getting through the groups as quickly as i could up to fast and then off into the world of racing as soon as i was quick enough to compete.

Whilst a survey of 2 isn’t much… i doubt many other male/female biker couples are tha different in all honesty.

This isn’t an area I know much about but surely all pro sportspeople are statistical outliers?

Yes but I was talking about women who’s brains more closely resemble the anatomy and function of a mans, whilst you can generalize about the physiology of the sexes there’s always a few that prove to be an exception.

I seem to remember somewhere that female scientists brains on average appear to be more male…that or they have more testosterone running round….can’t remember….and vice versa for males.

Anyway, who knows….women could be much better adapted to motor racing than men….social constructs have seen to it that mean we have yet to find out as the development pool is to low for women. Women are certainly doing better on average than men in academics.

A woman could easily explain the reasons behind this to you, but your puny male mind would be unable to understand.

Also there aren’t many outfits that look good both with and without blood splatters.

Women have a much higher intrinsic awareness of risk and therefore are generally more cautious.
Men tend to develop their risk awareness as a result of negative experiences. That’s why with us guys it’s always a case of the older you get, the better you were.
Probably the most successful woman in motor sport of recent times would be the Indy car driver Danica Patrick. She has won 1 Indy car race and finished on the podium 7 times. She was Rookie of the year in 2005. More recently she has switched to NASCAR with less success.

One thing though which I’ve never understood is how women just don’t seem to be able to equal men in so many sports, yet can in equestrianism. Discuss. 🙂

Sir Stirling Moss says women lack mental aptitude for Formula 1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22083547

Moss, 83, told BBC Radio 5 live: “I think they have the strength, but I don’t know if they’ve got the mental aptitude to race hard, wheel-to-wheel.”

Stirling Moss ( with respect) is an arse.

There are about 630 female pilots in the USAF, about 50 or so are fast jet fighter pilots, I’m willing to bet money any one of whom could drive a F1 car pretty damned rapidly with the required fitness levels, and required “win at all cost” personality type

Stirling Moss ( with respect) is an arse.

There are about 630 female pilots in the USAF, about 50 or so are fast jet fighter pilots, I’m willing to bet money any one of whom could drive a F1 car pretty damned rapidly with the required fitness levels.

And since none of them do, he’s not wrong.

Moss isn’t wrong about what he knows, true.

He’s wrong if he believes that women don’t have the mental aptitude to race hard.