South Africa’s fastest woman Superbike racer, Nicole van Aswegen, otherwise known as Nix21, has been invited to participate in the prestigious FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, which will commence in June 2024 as a support class for the FIM Superbike World Championship.
WorldWCR will take place over six rounds at selected European tracks, starting with the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round on June 14 to 16. The first official test for the ladies will kick off on May 17.
Van Aswegen, who is a confessed adrenaline junkie, says this will definitely be the pinnacle of her career and a dream come true - the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
Commenting on the level of training required for an event like this, she says it takes hours of practice on the track, pushing yourself and your bike to the limit. Secondly, tons of physical training.
“I am in the gym twice a day most days, doing both fitness and strength training. Finally, and perhaps the biggest challenge, is trying to prepare mentally. I have no doubt that many of the women I will be competing against are much younger, professional riders that get paid to race.
“I am a wife, a mom and have a full-time job. It takes a lot of strength and courage to put yourself out there for the world to the judge. I am, however, truly blessed to have the most amazing people standing with me on this journey,” she says.
Van Aswegen is passionate about motorcycle racing. It is literally something she ‘lives, eats, sleeps and dreams about’ since she was a teenager and the bug bit. She is also passionate about developing the sport.
“South Africa is relatively far behind most developed countries, with the number of female rider numbers declining over the years. There is a lot of work to be done to get the numbers up to a level where we can have a good representation of female riders and, ultimately, at least two female-only race classes,” she says.
Van Aswegen also aims to inspire her daughter, and other young girls across South Africa.
“I want to show my daughter and all the young girls in our beautiful country that anything is possible - they must not let their doubts and fears hold them back. Girls do not need to be put in little stereotypical boxes. They are free to make their own choices, to break out of conventional norms and just follow their dreams, no matter what those dreams may be.”
Van Aswegen says that, like many sports, motorsport is still a male dominated sport, but this stereotype is changing, and through her success and the advancement programmes she is involved with like Basadi in Motorsport, she is proving that women should never feel inferior to men.
Source: Motorsport South Africa