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In part one of our feature with former WorldSSP300 world champion Ana Carrasco, based on interviews with Carrasco by Israeli journalist and TV commentator Tammy Gorali, Carrasco spoke at some length about how becoming the first female rider to win an individual motorcycle road racing world championship had changed her life, and the effect it had on the wider world, both inside and outside of motorcycle racing.

She discussed at great length with Tammy Gorali about what it means to be a woman racer, and a woman winning a championship.

In the second part of the feature, Ana Carrasco talks about her career as a rider, what her plans are, and what she would like to do in the future.

She discusses her relationship with the team, and the bond she has developed with reigning five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea.

On July 4th, 1916, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren mounted their Indian Model F motorcycles, and departed from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY, to start a journey that would take them 5,500 miles across America to Los Angeles, CA, over dirt roads, rough trails, and more.

Their objective was to prove that women could handle riding a motorcycle over long distances, and as a consequence, were fit to serve their country as motorcycle dispatch riders in the US military.

Two months later, after becoming the first people to reach the top of Pike’s Peak by motorized vehicle, they rolled into Los Angeles to complete their journey, following it up with a quick sojourn to Tijuana, Mexico, having proved their point.

The sisters’ quest went unheeded: although women would serve as dispatch riders in the WRENS, the British Navy, the US military would not employ women motorcyclists until the Second World War.

Women riders have always faced greater hurdles to riding and competing in motorcycle racing than their male counterparts. Beryl Swain became the first woman to race the Isle of Man TT in 1962, which prompted the FIM to ban women from competing, deeming motorcycle racing an unsuitable occupation for a woman.

That ban was later reversed, and riders like Taru Rinne, Tomoko Igata, and Katja Poensgen competed in Grand Prix racing, though their paths were never smooth.

This past weekend was an historic one for motor racing, as the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) combined their forces to hold the first-ever motorsport conference for women.

The conference was held in Vierumäki, Finland, and aimed to bring conversation around women empowerment, leadership, women’s role in the industry, and the future task of involving girls in motorsports.

The two-day event saw nearly 40 speakers (mostly women) from 25 countries and 5 continents sharing their stories and experiences in motorsport. 

It started with a social media post from the Italian motorcycle maker, with a naked female model posed provocatively on the new MV Agusta Superveloce 800

The photo was a classic playing of an old motorcycle industry trope, where a sexy girl is draped over a motorcycle, like lavish window dressing at a fancy department store, hoping to get your attention…and then later your hard-earned money.

In that regard, MV Agusta’s ad campaign is nothing new for the motorcycle industry. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

This is business as usual in the two-wheeled world, and while even though the video campaign that came after the social media blitz was even more bizarre (and pornographic) in its story (or lack there of), we doubt few in Varese saw issue with the choice of messaging. 

Sexy bike + sexy girl + quick edits = bikes sell. That is the basic formula that the monkeys in the motorcycle marketing departments have been using for the past 50 years. So why change it now?

Airbag technology is making your traditional motorcycle apparel items obsolete, and the technology just keeps getting better and better. Both Alpinestars and Dainese continuously raise the bar against one another, proving that competition improves the breed.

As such For the 2019 model year, Dainese is releasing its third generation D-Air airbag system, which boasts significant improvements over the previous iteration.

For starters, the new Dainese D-Air system is 37% lighter the previously generation, which is a big deal if you have ever picked up an airbag-equipped leather suit or jacket.

Dainese also says that its third-generation system has better ergonomics and efficiency than before. Most importantly though, Dainese is going to start using the D-Air technology in suits and jackets for women.

Much history was made this weekend, at the WorldSBK round in Magny-Cours, France. On Saturday, Jonathan Rea became the first World Superbike rider to win four championship titles in a row, further solidifying his amazing career in production superbike racing.

And on Sunday, Ana Carrasco became the first female world champion in all of motorcycle racing, clinching the World Supersport 300 title in the final round of the season. Carrasco won the championship by the narrowest of margins, a single point, just ahead of Mika Perez, who lost the lead of the race with two corners left to go on the final lap.

The United Kingdom has a new law, requiring companies with 250 or more employees to report to the authorities the earnings of its workers, by gender.

The topic has been a sticking point in the British news cycle right now, with woman across the company showing median earnings that are 12% lower than men, which is a sizable gap in income equality.

Where does the British motorcycle industry falls into place in all this? Well as Visordown initially reported, that is more difficult to say, as it appears that only Triumph Motorcycles meets the reporting criteria, amongst motorcycle manufacturers.

Asphalt & Rubber is in New York right now, attending the unveiling of the 2018 Pirelli Calendar. It might seem strange that a tire manufacturer from Italy would become so famous for producing something as benign as a calendar, but the Pirelli Calendar is an institution in its own right.

A product of the fashion elite – mixing the world’s top models and celebrities with some of the most renowned photographers, at some of the most beautiful locations – the Pirelli Calendar is available only to a select few of Pirelli’s best customers, as well as the most famous of people.

For a long time, the Pirelli Calendar grew from the intersection of garage pin-up photography and high-fashion aesthetic and production, but in 2016 “The Cal” switched its tone to something more reflective of the time, and with a larger social message. Gone were the naked supermodels.

For the 2018 edition, the Pirelli Calendar continues this trend, and for the second time ever, it features an all-black cast of models, actors, celebrities, and social figures.

Relying on the talents of British photographer Tim Walker, the 2018 Pirelli Calendar retells the story of Alice in Wonderland by ?Lewis Carroll.

It features the following models: Adwoa Aboah, Sasha Lane, , Thando Hopa, Slick Woods, Zoe Bedeaux, Alpha Dia, King Owusu, Wilson Oryema, Adut Akech, and Duckie Thot as Alice – with celebrity appearances by Jaha DukurehWhoopi Goldberg, RuPaul, Djimon Hounsou, Puff DaddyNaomi CampbellLupita Nyong, and Lil Yachty

Outside of an exploratory time in college, I will admit to a certain amount of naiveté when it comes to women’s makeup, but I do know a few things about motorcycle racing, and a little bit more about the motorcycle industry as a whole, which is why today’s news is a pretty big deal.

Motorcycle racer and motorcycle school instructor Shelina Moreda has been named the newest CoverGirl, as the American cosmetic brand is looking to broaden its reach with women, which in turn also helps the motorcycle industry broaden its reach with women.

Moreda is known best for racing in the MotoAmerica paddock, along with stints abroad, racing in China, Japan, Qatar, and Spain. You can read about her time racing the Suzuka 4-Hours right here (Part 1, 2 & 3), where she and Melissa Paris were the first all-female team to complete in the Japanese endurance race.

Now as a global face for one of the most iconic cosmetic brands, Moreda’s reach will extend well beyond the race track, and into the mainstream media consciousness.

History was made in the FIM World Supersport 300 class this weekend in Portugal, as Ana Carrasco became the first woman ever to win a World Championship (solo) race.

Her victory didn’t come easy though, as three riders had a hand on the winner’s trophy, as they came down the front straight away for the final time.

Expertly gauging the draft to the finish line, Ana Carrasco put herself in front of Alfonoso Coppola (+0.053) and Marc Garcia (+0.062), narrowly beating the two Yamaha YZF-R3 riders with her Kawasaki Ninja 300.