Karolina Danak: From gymnastics and horse riding to motorcycling and the WorldWCR

With a few exceptions, female riders from Spain dominated the 2026 WorldWCR – just as they had in 2024 and 2025. Occasionally, England’s Chloe Jones, Italy’s Roberta Ponziani, Thailand’s Muklada Sarapuech and – until her serious crash – France’s Lucie Boudesseul were in contention for the top places. Overall, however, the podium places were predominantly claimed by Maria Herrera, Beatriz Neila and Paolo Ramos.

What these riders have in common is that they all have many years’ experience, particularly the speedy Spanish riders.

It is only natural that the standard of riders with less experience is lower. Nevertheless, it is astonishing how quickly some of them have managed to achieve a respectable performance. Take Karolina Danak, for example, who only began her racing career three years ago.

“As a young girl, I took part in gymnastics competitions, and then, at around the age of 12, I took up horse riding,” revealed the Polish rider. “My sister trained me; my horse was full of energy and – just like me – still inexperienced in competitive riding. We competed in national events, including the Polish Championships. When I stopped show jumping, I knew I wanted to keep competing – that’s just the sort of person I am. My father rode a motorbike and gave me a scooter in 2023. Soon after, I told him I’d like to have a go on a ‘proper’ motorbike – and as soon as I got on one – starting with smaller bikes – I was hooked. I wanted to race and I wanted to win.”

There isn’t a particularly strong racing culture in Poland, which made it harder for the 18-year-old to get started. However, Danak had the financial means to travel to Spain regularly.

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“In 2024, I took part in a race in the Polish Championship, but I crashed and injured myself. This was followed by a break of about six months before I started training again at the end of the year. From then on, I devoted myself entirely to motorcycling and my training. 2025 was then my first full season,” said the teenager. “I raced in the Spanish Championship, where I was named ‘Rookie of the Year’, and also competed in the ‘Coppa España 600’ to gain further experience. I was also able to win races in the women’s classification and learnt quickly. I always try to give 100 per cent in everything I do – but I hadn’t expected to end up in the WorldWCR so quickly.”

However, as a rookie, Danak only took part in four of the six WorldWCR events, but finished her first World Championship season in 14th place with 29 points.

“We don’t have much time to get to know the circuits. Assen and Balaton were completely new to me, and qualifying didn’t go quite as well as I’d hoped. But that’s all right; it’s my first year here, and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy ride,” emphasised the Polish rider. “The standard is very high – the riders are extremely fast and extremely well prepared. I’m actually pleased that the standard is so high, because it means I learn all the more. This year the focus was on learning and gaining experience – next year we’ll definitely be stronger. I’m convinced that I can compete at the front of the field.”