In celebration of International Women’s Day 2022 and women around the world - we thought we would highlight some of the most empowering female motorcyclists you should keep track of (pun intended) on Instagram. Here's our favourite motorbike riders you should follow.
Dominika Grnova @dominika_rides
Born in Slovakia and raised in Greece, Dominika bought her first bike in 2016 after believing she would never ride one due to social gender norms.
In 2017, she had her first race where she was invited by ITV4 to compete in the DirtQuakeFlat Track Race in Adrian Flux Arena, and won Second Place in the ladies class with a Yamaha XT250.
Fast forward to 2022, Dominika now embodies the roles of a rider, sports presenter, model, and an ambassador. She also recently joined the Quad Lock team as our first ever female ambassador! Not stopping there, Dominika is also the founder of @ladiesfirstintro - a company providing motorcycle courses dedicated to female riders.
Kinga Tanajewska @onherbike
“Life was never the same again” – Kinga was gifted her first bike by her parents after graduating from high school. Born in what was known as Communist Poland, Kinga immigrated to Australia where the start of her tours began.
Beginning with a solo ride around Australia called the ‘Tour De Oz,’ Kinga has built a cult following on her Youtube channel where she now documents her travels around the world on her bike ‘Chillie’ (a BMW F800GS).
Maria Costello @mariocostellombe
Maria Costello is a British motorcycle racer that broke history as the first woman to stand on the podium at the Isle of Man TT in 2004.
Since then, Maria has encouraged other women around the world to feel comfortable riding a motorcycle by creating women-only track-days, ‘Woman on a Motorcycle,’ where she mentors young riders in the European Junior Cup, and hosts women-only skill days.
Vanessa Ruck @thegirlonabike
Born and raised in London, Vanessa has built her brand on the goal of making the most out of her life and helping others do the same. After getting into a bicycle accident that left Vanessa unable to cycle to work, it led her to pursue motorcycling and thus birthed the beginning of ‘The Girl On A Bike’.
Making an effort to share both the good and the bad days, Vanessa embodies transparency with her audience to dismantle the “too perfect” and unrealistic bounds of social media.
Her love for motorbikes has taken her all over the world from Bolivia, Ukraine, Sardinia, to Iceland; sharing her journey online to prove that anyone can get up and enjoy life on two wheels and normalising girls on motorbikes.
The Throttle Dolls @thethrottledolls
Nina, Maria and Erica first became The Throttle Dolls one day sitting in Erica’s garage (namely called the Doll House). The three Australian best friends now document their motorbike journey online, relishing in the symphony of engines and sisterhood.
Acknowledging how lucky they are for the female riders that have paved the way for them and other females - The Throttle Girls continue to empower other women to get out there and get their licence. “You don’t need to be an expert in order to get your licence… if you’re keen then all you’ve got to do is make the booking.”
Chantal Doortje @chantal.doortje
Described by Chantal herself, she is a “biker lady from the Netherlands” who has built a large following of people admiring the amazing shots of her on the track.
Of course, as a partner to Yamaha Moto, Chantal rides a Yamaha R6 RJ09 and a Yamaha R6 RJ15 with her dream motorbike being the Yamaha R1.
When she is not riding her motorbikes, she is exhibiting her other passion of creating art through paintings and tattoos showcased on @chantal.doortje.art.
Ana Carrasco @anacarrasco_22
24-year-old Ana Carrasco is a Spanish motorcycle racer who began riding motorbikes at the age of 16. Previously, Ana won the 2018 Supersport 300 World Championship riding a Kawasaki Ninja 400 - being the first woman in history to win a World Championship in solo motorcycle racing.
The journey was not easy as she faced isolation when she first joined the Moto3 World Championship, where she acknowledged the lack of support and acceptance for female riders such as herself.
Now she seeks to show the world that “a woman can be just as good as a man,” paving the way for the next generation of female riders and empowering women on the track and online.
