Kawasaki Says Goodbye To Champion Ana Carrasco
After five glorious years with Kawasaki, during which she won the 2018 WSSP300 Championship, Ana Carrasco is moving from the environment of WorldSBK to the MotoGP paddock to ride in the Moto3 Championship. Thank you for everything, Ana!
Not only a highly successful racer in her own right, Carrasco has also been a role model for women globally combining her racing with law studies at home in Murcia, Spain and a gruelling public relations programme promoting the role of woman in sport.
The 2018 WSSP300 Champion guided her Ninja 400 to success in a year that saw her become the first FIM sanctioned female to win a road race Championship. The Murcian rider achieved seven race wins on Kawasaki machinery climbing the podium no less than 12 times equaling that with 12 fastest laps and three pole positions in what is generally recognised as one of the most competitive and hard-fought racing classes in the WorldSBK paddock.
Amassing a total of 420 points in over 50 race starts, the rider who was guided in every one of her Kawasaki race seasons by former Superbike rider, David Salom, came under the wing of the Provec racing enterprise in 2019.
Team Manager of KRT WorldSBK and co-owner of Provec, Guim Roda, is sad to see Ana move on but understands that the opportunity is too good to pass up. Commenting on Ana’s time at Kawasaki he said:
“Ana’s move to Moto3 is a fitting end to a journey we started together in 2018.
We are so proud to be part of the history now, and a Kawasaki Ninja will forever be recognised as the first ever bike that powered a woman to an FIM Motorcycle Open Championship.
In 2018 she won the Championship which was magical year, but I think 2019 and 2020 were when she performed the best. In 2019 she fought every race just losing second position in Championship on the last lap of the last race. In 2020 she pushed for the title again before her big crash in Estoril that was very nearly life changing – but Ana fought back to health as only she can. Across all this time David Salom was at her side as Team Manager guiding and advising her and he should be singled out for special praise. In 2021 she came back with no time to make winter testing properly due to her recovery process and was able to win in Misano showing she had lost none of her speed.
Moto 3 opens the door to new challenges and motivations. We are sure she will recover the winning edge she showed many times. On behalf of in all in the Kawasaki family we wish Ana all the best and hope she can continue making history motivating women and demonstrating that they deserve the same opportunities in life as men.”
Echoing Guim Roda’s comments, Steve Guttridge (Race Planning Manager, Kawasaki Motors Europe) said:
“Ana has flown-the-flag not just for Kawasaki in the tough, male dominated World Superport 300 racing arena but also for the positive perception of women in motorcycle sport in general. Ana has set the highest standards and is a model athlete for all other riders to aspire to. We wish her well in her new endeavours, even if this is tinged with sadness at her leaving the Kawasaki family. Good luck Ana and thank you for all you have achieved in your career with us racing on our Ninja400.”
Finally, from Ana herself:
“Racing is tough, not just on track where people see but also at times like this when you have to make tough decisions. My ambition is always to grow as a rider, to set myself new goals that other’s see as impossible and to achieve them.
When my parents bought me my first minibike and then I started racing of course my dream was like any rider “one day I want to be a World Champion”. This I achieved in 2018 and even today that feeling is magical; but anyone that understands racing will know that every racer needs to push, to be ambitious and to test themselves again and again.
This opportunity to ride in Moto3 is a logical step in my mind even if the emotional step is hard. I would like to thank everyone at Kawasaki who truly made me feel part of a racing family, of course to my pit crews and team staffs across these years who gave me the best machinery to compete on plus Provec who created a professional environment that was just incredible.
Finally, I must say a special thanks to Eliseo Escámez, Alvar Garriga, the Roda Brothers and all Provec team members, who were always there for me with friendly help and advice and truly believed in me and, of course, my parents who started this amazing journey. I thank all of you and hope you understand you all played a part in making me the rider and person I am. I hope I can repay your kindness with a second World Championship. Thank you.”
