The fourth FIM Women’s Speedway Academy (WSA) takes place this coming Thursday and Friday (10-11 July) in the Stadion Milenium in Donji Kraljevec, Croatia, where an international class of seventeen up-and-coming riders will assemble for instruction in all aspects of the sport.
Organised by the FIM Women’s Commission (CFM), the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP) and the team behind FIM Speedway Grand Prix fixtures at the venue, the WSA is supported by HKC Koopmann, Kineo and Anlas with the FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy (WSGT) taking place at the venue the following day – Saturday 12 July.
The WSA was created to promote gender inclusivity in the discipline with the inaugural event staged in Diedenbergen in Germany in 2022. This was followed in 2023 by a second edition at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester, Great Britain, before the WSA returned to Germany last year for its most recent edition at Teterow.
For the Donji Kraljevec event, riders aged thirteen years and over on 250cc machines and sixteen years and over on 500cc machines are travelling from as far afield as Australia to receive tuition. Comprehensive instruction will cover areas including riding technique, race craft, machine set-up and nutrition as well as physical and mental preparation and guidance on dealing with sponsors and the media. An anti-doping briefing will also be held.
The expert WSA coaching team comprises four-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Champion Greg Hancock, FIM Long Track Race Director and former top-flight racer Glen Phillips and CCP Director and multi-time Italian national champion Armando Castagna.
Other experts in attendance include Laura Manciet, the Series Director for FIM Speedway World Championships at promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, along with Paul Burbridge, the Press Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.
Janika Judeika, FIM Women’s Commission Director, said: “The FIM Women’s Commission is dedicated to promoting inclusivity in motorcycling and I am hugely encouraged at the way the FIM Women’s Speedway Academy has continued to thrive and generate so much excitement and positivity.
“The WSA team works incredibly hard and on behalf of the CFM I would like to thank everyone involved along with the sponsors who have made this event possible. The commission is committed to developing female talent – both on the track and behind the scenes – and providing an open environment in which women can thrive and together we are making Speedway increasingly inclusive.”
Armando Castagna, FIM Track Racing Commission Director, added: “The FIM Track Racing Commission together with the FIM Women’s Commission are delighted to have the Women’s Speedway Academy in Donji Kraljevec. So much work goes into the WSA, and I know we are all immensely proud to see this important initiative, with the help of many people and partners, continue to flourish.”
Words by the FIM Track Racing – Images by Jesper Veldhuizen
