Are little Fontanesis on the rise? Who are Chantal Pavoni and Cecilia Polato, wildcard entries in the WMX World Championship

A brief profile of two young Italian motocross riders who this year took part as wild cards in the Women’s Motocross World Championship (WMX).

Who comes after Kiara Fontanesi? The WMX Women’s Motocross World Championship ended with the historic victory of Spain’s Daniela Guillen ahead of our Parma standard-bearer, but beyond her there were other Italian girls who had an opportunity this year. We’ve already told you about the absolute debut of Alessia di Luccia; two other names, however, were comebacks, since their world debuts had already happened. Here’s who they are.

Let’s start with a fun fact: at the beginning of the year she was a contestant on “Caduta Libera,” the Canale 5 show now hosted by Max Giusti and Isobel Kinnear. A decidedly different experience that she really enjoyed! Born in 2006 in Castenedolo (Brescia), she became passionate about motorcycles from an early age thanks to a love inherited from her father and uncle, both amateur riders. At five she tried her first bike during a party, a game that led her to contest her first races at 8. Like many female motocrossers, she began racing alongside the boys: in 2019 she won the Lombardy Regional Championship in mixed races, then took the Italian Women’s Championship in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

In the latter year she also won the Under 17 title on the Bosisio Parini track. In the meantime she made her way into the WMX World Championship: it was 2021 and the track was Arco di Trento (with Husqvarna). We then saw her in Mantua (Husqvarna) in 2022 and in Maggiora (KTM) in 2024. This year, after switching to Honda, she raced for the first time at world level outside Italy, at Lacapelle Marival in France, but as in previous races she finished outside the top 30 and unfortunately far from the points. Then there’s the Megan Racing project, led by Floriano Raspanti, which counts on the Brescia rider as a point of reference, but more generally the Tuscan team is also a sort of “nursery” aiming to develop young female talents in the discipline.

Born in 2007 in Monselice (Padua), she first got on a motocross bike at age 10 out of curiosity. That moment changed her life, with her family always giving total support and following her to every race, together with her mechanic, as the young Venetian always recalls in interviews. A pillar for an 18-year-old girl (she’ll turn 19 in a month) who must balance Science High School with intense training (she also practices other sports to be as well-rounded as possible) and the many trips required by the Italian and European Championships. Highlights of her career include winning the 2024 Italian Women’s 2-Stroke Motocross Championship (the long-awaited step up after two runner-up finishes in the previous two-year period) and the national Under 19 title in the Italian Women’s Motocross Prestige Championship achieved in 2025, a championship in which we also saw her this year with consistent class podiums.

In the meantime, her first opportunities in the WMX World Championship have arrived. Her absolute debut came in 2024 at Teutschenthal, Germany, followed two weeks later by her first home appearance on the international stage, having also contested the Italian GP at Maggiora. In that same year she also raced for the first time at Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, an event she repeated in the 2025 season as her only wild card of the year: it was on this second occasion that she scored her first world point thanks to 20th place in Race 2. This year she again entered a single wild card, debuting in Darwin, Australia: she took 13th overall, not to be downplayed even if we’re talking about a grid with only 16 riders at the start...

Breaking through on an international stage is certainly not easy, but we’ve introduced you to two strong-willed and, above all, young athletes, 20 and not yet 19 years old respectively. The hope is that, with time, Italy will find another leading contender on the international scene.

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