WorldWCR Stories: "I haven’t had a role model... I’d like to reach the podium" – Ran Yochay
Going deep into the route to the World Championship, we catch up with Ran Yochay, who is putting a new country in the motorsport arena as well as setting sights on big goals
With two rounds done in the 2024 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, patterns are starting to form as we get a true indicator of who we can expect to be at the sharp end in this inaugural season. One rider who had a spectacular UK Round was Ran Yochay (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team), with a double top six finish and a first top five in Race 2. We caught up with the 21-year-old Israeli, to get to know her path to the World Championship a little bit better and to see what her aims are.
EARLY STEPS AND BEING A ROLE MODEL: “I started riding by accident!”
Looking back at where the journey all began, Yochay said: “I started riding by accident really; I got a small bike with stabilisers, did a few laps and a fell in love with the feeling of the bike. About a week later, my dad already got a bike for me. He was so excited about the fact that I loved it so it was a dream come true for both of us. He was racing way before I was born in rally cars, both as a driver and a navigator/co-driver. Israel doesn’t have a big history in motorsport, it’s really in the beginning. It’s been really big journey to go out of my country and learn things and how they work here. It’s been difficult because I haven’t had a role model; I’m proud to represent my country in this World Championship.”
However, in terms of competition, it was motocross and enduro that got her attention before her dad opened Israel’s first asphalt race circuit: “I started my career in motocross and I was racing there until I was 15, both in enduro and motocross. My dad opened a race track in Israel, an asphalt circuit. That was my first time trying a road bike and I was starting to get interested also on the roads.”
FIRST EMOTIONS AND SETTING TARGETS: “It’s a dream come true; I would like to reach the podium”
Reliving the feeling of receiving the confirmation that she’d be on the WorldWCR grid in 2024, the emotions were happy ones: “When I got the message from WorldSBK that I was in WorldWCR and that I was in the official list, it was just incredible. I got the email and I couldn’t believe it; it’s a dream come true. Of course, I would like to reach the podium and maybe keep myself in the top five but the top ten, by the end of the season, would be a really good result.”
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