The FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship is set to debut alongside the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) in 2024, with the new competition intending to widen access to the sport of motorcycle racing for women and create a platform of positive representation for female riders.

On launch, the championship will be a ‘single-brand’ competition at first that aims to have at least six rounds in Europe next year, with two races per round and will be organised primarily within the frame of the WorldSBK Championship.

The intention of the series is to become a platform where women can earn a wage professionally as a rider, not just use it as a step to another category.

“When I was informed about this project and its possibilities I took a lot of interest and had a lot of enthusiasm,” said WorldSBK executive director Gregorio Lavilla. “We thought that the World Superbike platform could be one of the places to start this project, but it doesn’t mean that it could only be in Superbike.

“It’s within Dorna, so we will see how this develops. We don’t have all the details yet, this is a live project, evolving all the time. It’s important that we expand the opportunities available, and especially seeing a lot of cups and projects that we’ve started, I think it’s a big challenge but all of us must be proud of being able to offer this opportunity.

“At the end of the season I would like to see a good progression for the future ahead in order to have more riders and more possibilities in this sport.

“The best platform to start with is a single brand, and we’ve been discussing it informally with manufacturers already. We will start to define the details, but we expect something in a similar range to Supersport displacement.

“There has been a lot of interest but this is a project that is progressing, and can progress through the years to expand with different manufacturers, teams… We want to create a destination where female riders from around the world can join the Championship and find professional success.

“That means we can also explore new ways to promote the motorcycle industry. If we start from zero, we can be more creative. Like I said from my side, I will put in my full commitment to make it happen and to make it work at the standard that we want, and hopefully, we can be successful and enjoy it.”

The intended start date for round one of the 2024 season has been outlined as either March or April next year. A single motorcycle supplier is to be announced in due course.