Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1530649
P110 FEATURE I THE 2024 WORLDWCR CHAMPIONSHIP people already knew—tough racing cookies come in all varieties. Anybody who thinks otherwise should probably leave the chat now. Up front, we can put the first year of WorldWCR into more perspective by remembering that this was not Carrasco's first full FIM World Championship win but her second. Nothing is ever perfect, especially the first time out, but WorldWCR will be back again inside WorldSBK for year two. Those teams and riders who will return are now fully cognizant of what is needed to try and run nearer the level of the rock-hard Spanish opposition. Finding enough riders of other nationalities who can close the gap to the top four in '25 should be the mission for all involved from right now until the new season starts in April at Assen in Holland. CN than if she had continued only in Australia? By several factors, that must be a yes. America was represented in the class by Mallory Dobbs, racing for the Sekhmet team, which had been set up by MotoGP journo and woman-of- many-roles Australian Maddi Patterson. Creating a team in such a relatively short space of time was not straightfor - ward, but by the end of the year, Dobbs was finishing more regularly inside the top 10 and closer to the front than when she started out. If there is one criticism of the first season of WorldWCR, it is that the 24 best women racers on planet Earth were probably not all inside the championship this year. That is partly a result of throwing the net far and wide and accepting entries that were a little unproven simply to ensure that there would be a full grid. The disparity in experience and sheer pace was most evident in the first round, particularly when there were some bizarre crashes and restarts. Then there was one particu - larly horrible one that almost led to a true tragedy. The sight of Mia Rusthen (coming back from the brink after that awful round-one Misano crash and serious head injury) walking into the press conference room at the Jerez finale—under her own physical power—was both uplifting and mind-blowing. Then we witnessed her answer questions from the media in a language other than her own na - tive Norwegian, with great care and lucidity. Believe me, it was a deeply emotional experience for even the most cynical of the jaded paddock observers. Mia and others in her 2024 peer group proved what most Mia Rusthen on the grid for race one at Misano. The Norwegian would crash moments later and suffer serious head injuries but returned to the paddock for the final round at Jerez as a spectator.