The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) are launching the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR) this year. The inaugural season of the championship will kick off in Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli and comprise six rounds (two races at each round) integrated within the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. A provisional permanent entry list with 24 riders has been announced. We caught up with some of the riders on the entry list, today we give you the fifth installment in this series, the story of British rider Alyssia “Lissy” Whitmore.
Lissy started racing relatively late, but before she actually rode a bike, she had always been surrounded by bikes. “My dad always had motorbikes around when he used to work in the BSB paddock for Vivaldi Racing when Ollie Bridewell was riding for them. My dad’s brother and sister also have bikes. My great-granddad was a scramble racer in the 40s after he came back from the war. But I did football, hockey, trampoline, and many other things, just not bikes, until I was 12, which was rather late.”
Even when Lissy actually had her first rodeo on a minibike, it wasn’t exactly planned for her. Nonetheless, it started her racing career. “It was around Easter time in 2017. My dad took me to a British minibike event with the intent that he was going to ride it. Then he asked me if I would have a go. I said yes. Now almost seven years later, I’m in the Women’s World Championship.”
Two years into Lissy’s racing career, she took her first step in trying to get onto the world stage – she applied for the British Talent Cup (BTC), which is part of Dorna’s Road to MotoGP program. Unfortunately, Lissy didn’t get selected for the Cup, but it did ignite her determination to get more serious with racing. “Before I did the BTC selection, I was still on minibikes. The selection helped me realize that I wanted to move to the bigger bikes. It was a brilliant experience. It’s one of my best memories from racing. I’m still keeping the bib I wore at the event.”
After the selection, Lissy went on to race in club races such as Thundersport GB and collected her first wins and podiums. Eventually, she arrived in BSB in 2021. However, in 2023, Lissy decided to step down from BSB. “I just wasn’t happy anymore. I felt like I was trying my best, but it wasn’t showing through and it was really hard. So I decided to step back and try to have a bit more fun. I was putting too much pressure on myself. Taking that step back was definitely the right decision and it turned a bad situation into a good one because I went away, I did my road racing, I enjoyed my life again, and now we’re ready for WorldWCR. I’m ready to get started knowing that a breath of fresh air was coming.”
Lissy is on the younger end among the WorldWCR riders, she’s the third youngest. But this doesn’t mean Lissy has a disadvantage. “I had trouble in my past that I wasn’t able to be so confident and aggressive. Sometimes I could be a bit hesitant. Now in my road racing, I’ve been in a lot of very close races. I’m not so fearful to get close to people. It’s definitely going to be a hard season. I don’t anticipate anything to be easy. I think it’ll be a big challenge for me after what I’ve done before.”
I’m quite positive. I don’t like looking at the bad things in my life. I always go that little step further trying to be positive about a bad situation.
Behind Lissy’s effort for the WorldWCR stands Maddi Patterson’s Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team. “Maddi and I have heard of each other in passing in 2022. During the 2023 WSBK UK Round at Donington Park, which was also my last race in BSB, she came by and told me about this opportunity in WorldWCR. Seeing it all come together over the past few months is phenomenal. I’ve got this great team behind me to prepare me for the championship. I’m really grateful to be a part of it.”
Maddi asked me what I think about WorldWCR, and I told her I wanted a piece of this. It would be really cool.
With the championship coming up quickly, Lissy is busy with her preparation. “I go to the gym pretty much every weekday. I go to the gym at about 8 o’clock in the morning, and spend two to three hours there, doing cardio and strength. I had a big accident before, so one of my arms isn’t as good as the other one. I’ll need more leg strength to adapt my riding style. I’ll soon be going to Spain for bike training, before that I’ll have a few track days here in the UK. The R7 isn’t too dissimilar to the bike I ride right now. I’ve ridden 600cc and 1000cc bikes. It’s not something I can’t adapt to quickly. I’m watching YouTube videos and playing games to learn the tracks that I haven’t been to.”
When Lissy first started racing, she picked Kevin Schwantz’s legendary number 34 as her racing number. She has been very close to meeting him. Hopefully, she can meet him sometime this year in the world championship. We wish Lissy all the best in her racing and beyond!
The 2024 WorldWCR Calendar
1. Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, MWC “Marco Simoncelli” – 14-16 June
2. Prosecco DOC UK Round, Donington Park – 12-14 July
3. Pirelli Portuguese Round, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve – 9-11 August
4. Hungarian Round, Balaton Park Circuit* – 23-25 August
5. Acerbis Italian Round, Cremona Circuit* – 20-22 September
6. Prometeon Spanish Round, Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – 18-20 October
* Subject to homologation
On April 25, we continue this series with the story of Japanese rider Luna Hirano (平野 ルナ).
Paddock Sorority 
Leave a comment