By Romy Stephens
The world-first Women Riders World Relay (WRWR) rode through Lilydale today (30 August) as part of its Australian leg of the global tour.
Almost 80 female motorbike riders helped transfer a GPS-tracked baton from Lilydale to Wagga Wagga in a bid to raise awareness towards females in the motorsport industry.
The baton has already been transferred by female riders ﹘ also known as Guardians ﹘ through Europe and Asia and it’s been travelling through Australia since 25 August.
Row Murray is the Australian WRWR Media Manager and a Guardian that helped transfer the baton through Lilydale.
She said the women riders have done an incredible job in passing the baton through Australia, with some having to do thousands of kilometres of riding on their own.
“The dedication of some of the riders has been incredible,” she said.
“People have been incredibly passionate and the word has spread.”
The WRWR was founded by UK-based Hayley Bell with a goal to put the motorbike industry on notice that is was time to recognise the global market of females in motorsports.
Ms Murray said she had personally felt the effects of being a female rider in the motorsport industry.
“I really struggled because I’m tall and I’m a bit of a plus-size chick,” she explained.
“I’ve had to buy men’s clothing, pull it apart get in under the sowing machine and resize it just so I can wear it.
“More and more brands, especially in the past two or three years have been doing a really good job.”
The WRWR has nearly 16,000 members globally with 3,500 of those being Australian.
Ms Murray said Australia has led the world when it comes to involvement in the relay.
“We’ve got 612 registered Guardians,” she said.
“Australia has been the biggest country by far in terms of sign up numbers.
“We’ve just got behind it like machines.”
The relay will see the baton passed through 80 countries over a period of about 12 months. It started in Scotland and will finish up in the United Arab Emirates in January next year.
For more information about the relay and different routes visit https://womenridersworldrelay.com/.
