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From Mexico to the Women's World Championship: this is the parabola accomplished by Astrid Madrigal, the 24-year-old rider of the ITALIKA Racing FIMLA team, who arrived to compete in the debut season of the Women's Circuit Racing World Championship after having made her way on the scene in her home country and Latin America, and having earned a wild card in the World Supersport 300 in 2023.
Born in Chihuahua on March 02, 2000, Astrid began her career at a very young age, following in the footsteps of her father, who raced Superbike in Mexico .
"I always watched MotoGP with my father and it was something that always grabbed my attention," she told the organizers of the Women's World Championship, talking about her beginnings in the world of two wheels: "My first ever memory is with my father and me on my first motocross bike. It was a PW50 on a supercross track. I crashed and I didn’t want to carry on anymore on the bike, but then my father picked me up, gave me a kiss and we continued. I was six years old and it was the first time I’d got on a motorcycle. At age eight more or less I started competing. My father always had motorcycles in the house, so it was something very normal for me."
Speaking about how friends and family reacted to her interest in racing, she added, "At the beginning they were surprised. Being into motorcycling surprises some people and as a woman you can already imagine the crazy reactions. It’s interesting to think back on that time."
After improving her technique and speed in the Supercross context, Madrigal arrived in the Mexican National Superbike Championship at the age of 13, continuing the path of growth until she became Latin American, Iberoamerican and Pan American Champion. Achievements that then led her to race in 2023 in the ESBK Supersport 300 in Spain and to become the first Latin American woman to race in the SSP300 World Championship, as a wild card supported in the Round at Aragon that same year.
A path that she hopes will allow other young female riders from Mexico and the Americas to one day make it to the World Championship.
"For many years I have been involved in promoting motorcycling in Mexico and Latin America. I have helped many girls fulfil their dreams and improve on and off the tracks. So I feel I have helped make the Women's World Championship possible by making noise," said the young Mexican, FIM ambassador to Latin America. "What advice would I give to young girls who aspire to compete at the highest level in racing? Keep working with clear goals. Above all, have fun and enjoy the process."
Inspired by sports icons such as Ayrton Senna, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan, Astrid explained that she grew up a lot studying the style and riding technique of such phenomena as Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Marquez and, after initial encouragement from her father, developed her racing skills at the elite level under the tutelage of ITALIKA Racing director Jorge Perez, including participating in the Road to MotoGP program.
That for motorcycles, however, is not the 24-year-old's only passion. A great lover of animals, Madrigal is in fact involved in a foundation that works to improve the health and welfare of stray dogs and has helped create a facility that now houses more than 300 dogs.
