Italian rider Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) has charted her own course into the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship’s fight at the front. Among the pioneering riders in the Championship’s inaugural season, she’s placed fifth and now fourth in 2025; however, her trailblazing nature goes back even further than that as she has made a habit of breaking down walls long thought to be ironclad.

LOVE AT FIRST RIDE: “One day, spur of the moment, I tried it, and I liked it!”

Born in Teramo, Italy, Ponziani was born into a family uninterested in racing; in fact, her first time riding happened somewhat by chance, as a nearby mini-bike track had piqued the young #96’s attention. She tried it out one day, and a fire started in her heart; by the time she was 9, her family purchased her a minibike of her own, and from there, quite literally, for Roberta, it was off to the races.

Discussing her roots and her family’s business, Ponziani said: "My family has a bakery and pastry shop. It’s a family business, and so I essentially grew up there and now work alongside my parents. In the mornings I’m there, and in the afternoons I train. No one in the family rode bikes, but when I was little, there was a mini-bike track near my house. One day, spur of the moment, I tried it, and I liked it! My dad bought me a bike when I was 9, and it all went from there, but he knew nothing of this world… I got into racing at a track near my home, but my father would take me, put some fuel in the bike, and that was it – I would just ride like that. People there would look at us and say, ‘Yes, but you need to change the tyres or something!’ I thought I was good. My father at first didn't think I was good, but then I started racing and won the Italian minibike championship against the boys. I was the only girl, and for many years, I was the only one competing in these categories against the boys. Once I got older, some younger girls started to come up and now race in the Italian CIV. But at the beginning, for seven or eight years, it was just me."

A NEW CHAMPIONSHIP: “Now that we have a World Championship, I'm happy because I see a goal: I want to win”

In 2019, the flicker of a potential new championship cast shards of light around the world of two-wheel racing. The Motoxracing Team devised a new competition that year, comprising a handful of fast female riders and created what was perhaps the first female motorcycle racing title in the sport’s history. Women were allowed to compete with men in categories such as WorldSBK, WorldSSP, and WorldSSP300; however, without a system of Championships to help develop female interest and talent, the sport remained heavily male-dominated. After just two years of Motoxracing’s nascent championship, however, it had proven the interest in an all-female Championship, culminating in the creation of the Women’s European Championship.

On her career development, the Italian said: "In the last years [of the European Championship] we were up to twenty girls, and now we have a World Championship!”, began Ponziani. “Before the launch of the women-only series, I was racing but always with the men, finishing maybe tenth. I was having fun in the national classes, but I didn't have a world goal, you know, up against the men. Now that we have a World Championship, I'm happy because I see a goal: I want to win. I wanted to win, of course, but with the men it's hard. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be this strong. I came up racing minibikes and then Supersport 300 bikes, and never did Moto3 or Supersport machinery or anything, so I didn’t have any expectations when I started last year in WorldWCR because I didn’t have so much experience. I didn’t know all the tracks or this bike and didn’t have the level of experience that Maria or others who had already competed in World Championships have. In the strongest group, I’m one of the least experienced.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR #96: “It’s crazy because I came close to quitting. I was 23, there was no World Championship, you’re spending money, you don’t find sponsors, what are you going to do?”

Ponziani looks back fondly on her time in the Women’s European Championship. Among her positive takeaways from there, she values the relationships she has formed with several of her fellow WorldWCR riders. She and the friends she’s made in the WorldWCR paddock have come a long way, but most pleasing to Ponziani is that they now have a prestigious title of their own to fight for.

Talking about the friendships she’s made and her future, Ponziani said: "I get along with everyone, but the riders I know best are Beatriz, Sara and Maria. Last year, when Sara won her first race, I was happy because I thought, ‘Wow, we've followed the same path and have come this far - I finally understand the level that I too can reach.’ And it’s crazy because I came close to quitting. I was 23, there was no World Championship, you’re spending money, you don’t find sponsors, what are you going to do? And now look where we are. As for the future, I’d like to stay in this world. If not riding, then doing riding courses and maybe continuing with the family business. Perhaps we can run a team, and the bakery can be the sponsor!"

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