The MTA team returned to the Moto3 World Championship for the 2022 season, fielding Spanish rookie Ivan Ortola and experienced Italian Stefano Nepa.
For the start of the season, the team announced a partnership with Angeluss Women Sport Management, which was founded by CEO Aurora Angelucci to help improve the presence of women in motorcycle racing.
In the first major step for this partnership in achieving this goal, MTA Racing will run experienced Moto3 rider Maria Herrera as a wildcard at the Aragon GP – with the 25-year-old Spaniard backed by an all-female line-up of mechanics.
“We are very pleased to be preparing to compete with an all-female team just a few months after launching Angeluss, as this proves just how deeply we believe in, and are invested in, our project,” Angelucci said.
“We are proud to do so with a very talented rider like María Herrera, who has raced at world level in various categories - Moto3, Supersport and now MotoE.
“A fighter on track and a positive and cheerful individual, María is a rider who truly represents us.
“In order to support her on track, we have identified a number of technical experts, women who are used to the fast-paced world of racing, and we will make our final selection in the coming weeks.
“We know that time is very tight before the test we have planned and the race weekend, and so collaborating with the Angeluss MTA Team will be important for our squad.
“This wildcard marks a first real step in the operational implementation of the structure we are building and along a pathway that is only just beginning, and affords us the opportunity to send a clear message as to our values. Angeluss is ready to take flight.”
Herrera competed in Moto3 from 2015 to 2017, achieving a best result of 11th in the 2015 Australian GP for Husqvarna.
From 2018 to 2021, she raced in the World Superbike paddock in World Supersport 300 and the World Supersport classes – taking a best of fourth in the former in France in 2018.
She has also contested the MotoE World Cup since 2019, scoring a best of sixth in 2019 and currently 19th in the points for the Aspar squad having scored seven points so far.
Ana Carrasco – the 2018 World Supersport 300 champion – is the only full-time female racer in Moto3, having returned to the class this season with BOE Motorsport.
