Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) made her FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship debut in the class’s inaugural season as a single-round wildcard rider. She announced her name loud and clear on the world stage as she nailed a P5 finish in Race 1 and followed that up with a P8 in the subsequent Race 2. She earned a spot on the permanent grid in 2025, narrowly missing the podium on several occasions, but will be back for more in 2026.

A FAMILY OF MANY HATS: “Being flexible is key, but it's a massive juggling act."

Lewis, her husband, and their two-year-old son moved to Brisbane, Australia, from Christchurch, New Zealand, to pursue career opportunities for both of them, but Lewis combines this with her riding career. For her, flexibility has been the key to combining caring for her son, earning money for her family alongside her husband, and pursuing her dream of being a professional rider.

On her family’s move and how they manage all of the moving parts, Lewis said: "We only moved in June last year, a big move motivated by my husband's work. We're from Christchurch, New Zealand, so we're about a four-hour flight away. We had a six-month-old baby in tow too, but it’s a great opportunity for him in terms of work, and he now runs the Australian arm of a motorsport electronics company. I work part-time for the company, too, and they've really supported us during our move to Australia. Our son is not yet 2, and so life’s just chaos, like absolute chaos. I think it’s important just to be flexible, that’s something you definitely learn as a parent! If you try and stick to a routine, it gets blown out anyway. We have different plans pretty much for every round, so while my husband and son came to the first Assen round, they stayed home for Cremona. At home, every day you’re just trying to fit in training, really. Trying to wake up and train with a baby is nearly impossible, so sometimes I do 20-minute sessions just to get something done. Living in Australia is great because the weather's good to go to the park, and he can chase a ball around while I exercise. Being flexible is key, but it's a massive juggling act."

MAKING THE JUMP: “I basically went from riding a 125 GP to a 600 four-stroke, with only a couple of months of training time”

The #21 leapt from Oceania to Europe to compete in the European Championship at just 19 years of age. A big jump not only for her age, but for the calibre of competition she would come to find. Coming from a background in 125cc bikes, she quickly found herself atop much larger machines up to 600cc. She would go on to ride in the highly competitive Italian Championship, and later, the European Junior Cup, as well as in the first-ever WorldSSP300 Championship season.

On her experience jumping into European competition, Lewis said: "After one year of university in New Zealand, I realised I really wanted to race overseas, and so I was trying to find sponsorship. I basically went from riding a 125 GP to a 600 four-stroke, with only a couple of months of training time before heading to one of the most competitive countries in the world – I don't recommend that pathway to anyone! I did three years of the Italian Championship and two in the European Junior Cup. I started the first-ever WorldSSP300 season, but it didn't really work out, so I went back home after that. I'd been working closely with the marketing team of a sponsor in New Zealand, and I really liked what they did, so I went back home and got a job in marketing. I then finished off my university degree as well, which was a business degree, majoring in marketing, and I’ve worked in marketing ever since. I’ve always competed in the New Zealand championship, which runs from December through to April. My husband and I both race, so it’s always busy. At times it's really hard, especially to afford it, and you just have to keep the ball rolling to try and get sponsorship in and things like that. I've been very fortunate to be able to ride a lot over the years."

THE WILL TO WIN: “I’m here to fight for the opportunity to be World Champion, a chance I've never had before. That's my driving force”

While Oceania has produced some of the sport’s most legendary names such as Casey Stoner and Mick Doohan, Lewis wants to announce Australia and New Zealand’s female rider talent to the world as well, and to do that, she wants to etch her name into the history books as a World Champion to inspire a new generation of riders from ‘Down Under’.

On her aspirations and her hopes for New Zealand motorsport, Lewis said: “I’m here to fight for the opportunity to be World Champion, a chance I've never had before. That's my driving force. A couple of people asked me what I’d do if I won the Championship. Because it's not like we're here making money out of it; in fact, it’s costing my family money. But you wouldn't ask Alvaro Bautista, so you've won WorldSBK, what are you going to do now? You go for another world title, don't you? That's sport, that's what you do. I think having this opportunity now is so important for women, and I think eventually it will get to the point where we will make money, the women in this Championship, but it will take time. I think this opportunity for us to become Women's World Champions will definitely grow the sport. And the riders can still choose to race in other Championships or compete with the men if that’s what they want to do. I mean Ana [Carrasco] has 100% proved that, with WorldSSP300, but I think it's yet to be proved in the bigger category, like World Supersport and World Superbike. I think unfortunately on our side of the world, riders start quite late. Tara Morrison is doing really well with Supersport 300 machinery, and I think she's aiming to come and do this Championship in the next couple of years. There are quite a few girls in Australia and New Zealand who are very fast, but they’re either already studying at university or have careers and just do racing as a hobby. I definitely wouldn't undermine their talent or anything but they're not at the stage to come here, whereas if they had started when they were seven or eight years old, you know, these girls would be phenomenal."

Don’t miss Lewis compete in the 2026 WorldWCR campaign by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and follow the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.