The former (27) is no stranger to the pages of the City Times, having achieved much on the track in years gone by.
After taking a year off from competitive racing due to injury and personal reason, she is back on the track on the 600ccs and continuing where she left off, with many podium places in her class this season.
She is hoping to make a return to the 1 000cc arena next year.
Woodward (15) is one of the most exciting female racers in the country and is impressing every time she takes to the track.
The teenage Benoni Agricultural Holdings resident recently returned from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where she finished first in her class at their national championship event on her Honda CBR 600cc.
The victory ensured that Woodward became the first woman rider to achieve this in Zimbabwe.
Both riders are ambassadors for the Monroe Racing South Africa team, which has a strong focus on developing women in motorsport.
Mitchell is a mentor to the younger Woodward and described the talent she has as “mind-blowing”.
“It is Savannah’s first year on a 600cc and just by looking at her times and how she is progressing we will certainly develop her into a South African champion and beyond that,” said Mitchell.
Woodward, home schooled at Champions, in Farrarmere, has big dreams for herself in the sport and is striving to take her talent overseas, with eyes set on earning a spot at the Red Bull Rookies Cup and then, hopefully, on to MotoGP or the SuperBike World Championship (SBK) series .
She first rode a motorbike at the age of six and has steadily grown from an off-road 50cc to the on-road 600cc class, in which she now competes.
“I like everything about riding and the sport,” she told the City Times.
“It’s the people, the adrenaline and the whole vibe of being at the track that I love
“Oh, and racing against and beating the boys,” she added.
And, beating the boys is exactly what these queens of the track have been doing, with a number of podium finishes in recent races.
Both riders have been putting in a lot of effort to achieve their goals by spending time in the gym to acquire the fitness needed to handle their powerful machines.
With regard to her “comeback year”, Mitchell said that she is incredibly excited to be back on the track and, although she wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to ride and compete overseas, her focus has shifted more towards the development of young riders, particularly girls, to get them competing on the big international stages.
She hopes to achieve that through her Little Miss Rider Academy.
Mitchell’s passion for developing female sports people runs deep and she is campaigning, through her recently launched “Fearless Female” brand, to encourage girls to be adventurous in sport and life.
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