Alice Minta off to stunning start in motorcycle career
South Shropshire Motorcycle Club’s Alice Minta has enjoyed a remarkable start to her career in adult motorcycle racing, writes Dan Stacey.
The 19-year-old, from Shawbury, was crowned the women’s British champion and women’s European champion, as well as being part of the GB team who won the Trial des Nations.
Despite all her success, she is still not a professional athlete, and there is no guarantee Minta can continue her meteoric rise without the help of sponsorships.
“To be crowned three-times champion in one year is a special feeling that doesn’t happen every day, but despite these credentials I am still not a professional athlete,” Minta explained. “I’m trying to balance work life with training and events and there’s just not enough hours in the day.”
Her impressive victories are the result of years of training, but as she enters the adult competition it has been increasingly difficult for the Shropshire-based rider to fund her passion.
“This is where personal sponsorship really helps athletes like me progress in my sport,” she explained. “It contributes towards many of the costs, allowing more hours of training and improving my skills, and less hours working to afford to compete.”
The Shropshire-born motorist has competed in British championships since the age of six, working her way up through the youth series and winning every class along the way.
She took some time to adapt to life in the adult competitions, but after seven events Minta was crowned 2023 women’s British champion in July.
And shortly after her first success, Minta also won the women’s European Championship, held in three host nations – Italy, Norway and Sweden.
Despite only winning two of the six events, it was the 19-year-old’s consistency and composure that saw her build a strong lead over her closest rivals.
She recorded podium finishes in all, but one of the rides, enough to see her crowned women’s European champion by a convincing margin of 75 points.
The highlight of her year came at the World Championships, a series of 10 events held across five nations – Portugal, Spain, Japan, Italy, France.
After finishing fifth in the individual championships, Minta also competed as part of a Great Britain team in the Trial des Nations.
In the event, teams of three men and three women are chosen by their national governing bodies to represent their country and compete together against the other nations.
Despite stern competition from favourites, Britain came out victorious against 10 other nations at the event in September.
After a wonderful season on the bike, Minta is now focused on securing vital sponsorship money that will allow her to defend her titles during next year’s campaign.
