Katy Vandeginste, Mamy Gex

Katy Vandeginste is nicknamed "Mamy Gex" in microcosm. She's known for her on-track acceleration and outspokenness. We asked her her opinion on the female motorcycling world, from male/female parity to lack of clothing choice.

In 2018, can a woman on a motorcycle be looked at in the same way as a man?

It's really starting to change, for the good reason that more and more women are riding, young people are getting their driving licenses, and there are quite a few of them on the track too. If you take the 24 Hours of Le Mans Endurance race, the Girl Racing Team put in a great performance, it's an all-girls team, but we don't talk about it much...

I wouldn't necessarily say they're not talked about because they're girls, but unfortunately journalists always talk about the top 3, 4 or 5, and all the others are completely forgotten. We don't even get a presentation of all the crews, even though they're all deserving... It's the same with the GP: the top 5 or 6 get media coverage, while those behind don't really. If you don't perform, you're anonymous.

What can be done to improve the visibility of women in motorcycling? If you were president of the Federation, what would you do, in a very practical way?

What they've done with the Women's Cup is really good, over 80 girls were at the start, it shows that women are competing. I'd do a bit more training. There's Karine Sliz, for example, who does a lot for motorcycling. Sonia Barbot too, she's in Mongolia at the moment on a BMW, but these are still niches, hardly anyone knows about them. In the news, we go round in circles with the same subjects.