Table of Contents
These women you want to follow closely in 2024!
As you must already know, being a woman in the world of motorsport means putting in extra efforts in order to make your place. Fortunately, the situation is improving day by day even if it is not yet perfect. Every year, several women stand out at the controls of different motor vehicles.
The year 2023 was no exception! I decided to introduce you to some of these girls who exceeded their limits last year and who will be ones to follow in 2024. Who knows? Maybe I’ll introduce you to your next inspiration!
Sabrina Blanchet: Queen of the Ice Ring
A year ago we could read this headline on the front page of several media:
A Quebec woman snowmobile world champion!
Who was not proud to read these lines? I remember that I was very much so. Following a 10-lap final race on the Eagle River oval in Wisconsin, in front of 11 opponents (all men), Sabrina aka Super Girl, won this title in the Vintage 440 Super Mod category. Aged 27, she became the first woman to win the “Vintage” snowmobile world championship in this category.
I had the chance to see her at work at the Ski-Doo Grand Prix in Valcourt and I was quickly impressed by this little strand of woman who doesn’t let herself be imposed on. Despite a weekend that didn’t go as planned, I saw her walk with her head held high and greet the fans without showing any of her disappointment. A champion’s attitude, indeed!
Unfortunately, due to poor conditions this year, Sabrina will not be able to defend her title in Eagle River. The event has been postponed and it will be held on the same weekend as the GPSV, i.e. February 9-10-11.
It was not without a pang in the heart that Super Girl announced, on her networks, that she and her team “Samson Racing” had had to choose between the two events and it was the Quebec meeting that won the draw .
“After consideration, the Samson team decided to participate in the Ski-Doo Grand Prix event in Valcourt. I think we had to be there. For our sponsors, friends, family and especially because it is the only event in Quebec. » -Explains Sabrina, January 5 on her Facebook page.
She will nevertheless have the opportunity to win the title in the “Pro Champ” category during the 41st anniversary of GPSV and you don’t want to miss that!
Let’s go Supergirl!!!
Eve Brodeur: A decade of victories
Who doesn’t yet know the queen of WMX in Canada? In 2023 Eve Brodeur won her 10th championship title in the women’s category of the “Triple Crown” series, the Canadian motocross championship. Only 24 years old, she practices her sport all summer with fervor in addition to studying at university to become an occupational therapist. We can say that she is not idle!
The holder of a total of 17 titles in the world of Canadian motocross recently announced that she was returning to her first love by signing a contract with the KTM Canada – KTM Red Bull race team, for the next season. She will therefore join big names from the world of MX in Canada such as Kaven Benoit and Jess Pettis or even Jean-Sebastien Roy who is now “race team manager”.
It was also on a KTM that we were able to admire Eve during the late Montreal Supercross in 2018 where she finished on the highest step of the podium in the women’s category. Let’s see what 2024 has in store for our undisputed motocross champion.
Are we going for an eleventh victory? Let’s go!!!
Felicia Robichaud: From Cornwall, Ontario to San Juan, Argentina
It was in 2023 that Félicia won her 6th WXC “National crosscountry” title organized by the Fédération des motocyclistes de piste du Québec.
Still filled with emotions from this victory, she flew to Argentina to make history. Accompanied by her compatriots Natasha Lachapelle and Emma Sharpless, these Canadians were the first women to represent the East of our country at the ISDE, a 6-day Enduro-cross competition in extreme conditions.
Do you want an example? A day’s journey can last between 7 and 8 hours, with temperatures around 36 degrees, dust and a lot of injuries. After only one day, only Félicia is still in the saddle since her teammates were forced to abandon.
Despite a fall on the 3rd day which required her to go to the hospital to have more than 20 cactus thorns removed from her arm as well as a black eye on the 4th day, the Ontarian managed to finish the race even if it did not obtain the expected results.
She is quite a warrior who has surpassed herself to be able to represent her country. I can’t wait to know what his next feat will be.
Formula One Academy: A first season which is already bearing fruit
In February 2023, the Formula 1 organization announced the debut of a 100% female motor racing series.
Subsequently, one by one, the pilots were presented to the general public for a total of 15 young women, each as talented as the next, and masterfully directed by the unwavering Susie Wolff. It was a season of 7 races at the end of which we crowned the very first champion, the Spanish Marta Garcia.
For the 2024 season, F1 has announced that 10 drivers from the Formula One Academy will be nominated by F1 teams and each of them will then become a hope for this team.
Note that the Williams team has already named Lia Block, daughter of the late Ken Block, as driver for the next season and McLaren has added Bianca Bustamante, who finished 7th in 2023, to its development program.
In addition, the F1 Academy has reduced the cost of the driver contribution from 150k to 100k euros for the season. All this with the aim of making the dream more accessible. It’s an extraordinary opportunity and it brings us a little closer to the day when we will see a woman on the starting grid of a Formula 1 grand prix.

Malene Cottew: Norway at its best
If you’re a fan of snocross you probably know the reigning PRO AM women’s champion? If not, let me introduce you to Malene Cottew, a 30-year-old Norwegian who has won everything in her path for three years at the AMSOIL snocross championship.
It was during the 2020-2021 season that she obtained her first title, thus dethroning Megan Brodeur by only ten points in the general classification.
During the last season, she obtained 14 victories out of 16 and finished on the highest step of the podium, despite a broken coccyx, with a lead of 79 points over her closest rival. For the 2023-2024 season she hopes to repeat the feat and thus obtain the record for the number of titles held by the same athlete in the PRO AM Women category.
We will have the chance to see her in action this season at GPSV because, for the first time in years, the snocross championship will cross the border. The event will feature the fourth stage of the competition and promises to be a spectacle not to be missed.
Let’s wish Malene achieves the feat for a fourth consecutive season.
You go girl!!!
In conclusion…
There are thousands of promising women in the field of motorsport around the world. I could have presented them to you for a few hundred pages.
It’s important to continue to encourage them, to present role models as I have just done, to follow their careers via the media, to come and chant their names during important events… All of this allows other young girls to realize that it is possible! To say to themselves: if they can do it, I can do it too. Even if it’s not at a competitive level, even if it’s just for the love of the sport, TRY IT!
Are the women I just promoted aware of the impact they have? I can assure you they are. They all want their sport to last over time and for the next generation of women to increasingly take their place. They may be the first, but they definitely don’t want to be the last.
I wish you a year 2024 filled with action, adventures and discoveries! With the info I just gave you, I’m not worried.
See you next time!