Italian version here.
The first ever season of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, also known as WorldWCR, features well-known racers such as María Herrera, Ana Carrasco and Sara Sánchez (just a few examples), but there are also some girls who are actually living their first experience on the world stage. One of them is also one of the most surprising performers of this season, namely Francisca Ruiz, known as “Pakita”. The Spanish rider, racing with PS Racing Team 46+1, has so far managed to reach consistently the top 10 and has brought home a fifth place and three sixth places in the four races held in Portimão and Cremona. Before the last “double header” in Estoril and Jerez, the 27-year-old from Mallorca occupies sixth position in the championship standings.
Palmen in Motorradsport had the opportunity to interview “Pakita” Ruiz and get to know her story and the past, present and future of a very, very promising name.
Francisca, or Pakita, this year you are in the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship and this is a new, huge step in your career. How is it going?
The truth is that it’s going pretty well. We are improving in each race, which is the important thing. Every time we are a little closer and we hope that by the end of the year we will reach the top positions.
And what is your goal for the remaining races?
My real goal for this year is to be in the top five. In the end, I don’t have a training bike and I am racing on circuits that are all new for me, plus in a championship where there is only one free practice session, so it’s complicated to do what everyone has been doing for a long time. So, the truth is that I am very happy with how it’s going and with how I am adapting well to the circuits as well. But of course, me and my “crew” want more.
Still you are doing a good job, despite not being able to train between the races.
Exactly. We can’t buy a bike like the one we are competing with, or go to the circuits before the races to train and get the bike ready. So, we go from race to race and in Mallorca we train twice a month and sometimes we don’t train at all, like in August (the circuit was closed, ed). The more time you spend on the bike, the better, but it has a cost…
You have become part of WorldWCR after a few years competing only in Spain. Can you share a bit more about how you fell in love with motorcycle racing and your first seasons as a racer?
They gave me my first little motorbike when I was three years old and while my friends rode their bicycles, I rode a pocket bike with gasoline. And well, my mother soon took it away from me and hid it somewhere…It appeared again only when we moved to our new house, and back then I was seven or eight. We moved to this house in the countryside and there I started riding again. My mother did not want me to do it, but I insisted so much that I finally convinced her, and it was on a motocross. So yeah, I started on a motocross and then I combined it also with circuit racing.
So you were racing in multiple disciplines.
Yes, until my parents told me that, because of budget issues, I had to choose between one thing or the other. I finally decided to continue with circuit racing, which is what I have been doing since I was nine or ten years old. It all started in the Balearic Championship, since I am from Mallorca, and I have always been the only girl competing against boys. Despite being alone against the boys, I won championships. Then Christmas came in 2014 and since I could not find enough budget, I considered giving up racing. However, in January the first women’s championship appeared in Spain, with 600cc and 1000cc categories, and I got the support I needed to participate. How did it go? I won that championship seven times from 2015 to 2022. I am happy with my career so far, because it cost me a lot of work, effort and sacrifice, but I achieved a lot and I hope it continues for many years.
Among those titles that you won in Spanish Women’s Championship, is there one in particular that is special for you?
Well, the first one was special. Short time before I considered retiring, because I didn’t have support and sponsors, and few months later I jumped on a 600cc, that was completely new for me. I won the Balearic championship against all the guys and the Spanish Women’s Championship, so for me that was the most special.
And how complicated was it for you to get to this level from Mallorca?
The circuit was closed for a long time and for a few years it’s no longer possible to race there. Very good riders have come such as Izan Guevara, Augusto Fernández and Miquel Pons, but we have it very difficult, to be honest. In the end, I can tell you I competed with them many times, and could beat them more than once, but I could not progress like they did because I had no support.
So you had to follow a different path.
I couldn’t go up, so we stayed in Spain and did the best we could with what we had. The same thing is what we are doing in WorldWCR: in equal conditions, we will never be able to be with the top riders, since they have been racing at world championship level for many years, but we are doing our best. I’m adapting well to all the circumstances and we are improving every time we hit the track, so we can be happy.
What’s your goal on the longer term, apart from this season?
I don’t know what I’m going to do next year, but for sure I will try as hard as possible to be in the same championship as this year. It depends on whether I find enough budget and sponsors, but I would love to race again here. 2024 is a year we are taking to learn, gain experience and get to know the bike and the circuits, so we can aim high in 2025. More in general, I would also like to become a professional rider, so it does not cost me money and I can hopefully live thanks to racing.
Talking about WorldWCR, the riders themselves who compete there have different opinions about whether this championship is a starting point or the highest point in a woman’s career. What do you think about it?
It’s hard to say now, the only certainty is that we should race at least three years with the Yamaha R7. In the end, as you say, there are many people who have different opinions, there are many different points of view, but it may really be good to give many girls an opportunity to be on the world stage and, if they stand out, to race with men. I had never had such opportunity before. I have always wanted to reach the world championship and race against men, so I am happy I got this opportunity and I hope that this will continue for many more years and other teams will give opportunities to women too.
In conclusion, is there anyone in particular you want to thank for what you are experiencing this year?
I have to thank first of all my family for supporting me. They are the ones who always accompany me, including my mum: she initially prevented me from riding motorbikes, but now she is the one who supports me the most. Moreover, I am grateful to all the people who believe in me, to all my sponsors and especially all the people who helped me, because to get to the world championship I also had to sell a lot of calendars. I had to print a thousand calendars to secure the budget and continue competing. Without these people, I wouldn’t have been able to get there.
Palmen in Motorradsport is thankful to “Pakita” Ruiz for her kindness and availability and wishes her all the best for the next races and seasons.