The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship’s second season is heating up as the fastest women on two wheels get set to take on Cremona in what will be their second event of the season!  Going into this season, Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) was one of, if not the title favourite, as she distinguished herself with her Riders’ Championship runner-up effort. The only rider who was able to win more races than eventual Champion Ana Carrasco (Honda Racing World Supersport), Herrera will look to continue solidifying her claim to the title.

ROUND 1 SUMMARY: one win for Herrera, one for Neila…

The #6 started out the 2025 season as many suspected, taking the season’s first pole, then winning Race 1 at Assen, however it doesn’t look like it will be an easy cruise to lifting the Championship trophy in Jerez for Herrera, as 4^th place finisher in 2024, Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) looks like she has the pace to hang with Herrera, even managing a late overtake in order to take Race 2 and draw level on points. While the pair are currently even on points, few could deny Herrera's pedigree, and her instinct in podium battles is part of what allowed her to triumph six times to Carrasco’s four in race wins in 2024.

HERRERA ON 2024 TITLE FIGHT: “I wanted to continue until the last race in Jerez because I wanted to fight until the end”

2024 was a tremendous year for Herrera and for the WorldWCR in general, charismatic riders and the very high level shown by Herrera and others earned it increasing popularity from week to week. Herrera fought through a neck injury suffered at Cremona in the fourth of their six rounds, complicating her campaign to be named champion, however she took away many positives for the second-place finish, and looks to have applied those lessons well so far in 2025.

Discussing her injury, recovery and the end of last season, the #6 stated: “I wasn’t able to ride for five months because of a big injury I suffered at Cremona last year. I wanted to continue until the last race at Jerez because I wanted to fight until the end, but for sure after Jerez I took a break for the five months to recover. I’m more or less 100%, now I’m still in some pain when I get off the bike, but I am able to ride at my maximum and was happy to participate in training, the test here at Cremona, and in the Dutch Round. I’m happy to continue training and to improve this year.”

OVERCOMING SETBACKS: “I pushed myself to the limit to try to overcome challenges and I learned a lot in the process”

Herrera’s 2024 hardships look like they will bear fruit if 2025’s first round is any indication, and while certainly her commitment to the Championship battle is beyond question, she makes it clear that she appreciates the position she is in at a level that goes beyond sports. While just 28 years old, her experience as a rider has made her one of the references for other younger riders on the grid, and her six-time race-winning speed in 2024 aside, her understanding of the sport at a high level propels her even faster around the track.

“I’m very happy to continue in this Championship to support the other girls and WorldWCR, it is very important to us and for the visibility of women’s sports in general. I don’t feel pressure because in this category it is very difficult to show your true potential. I want to enjoy racing more this season, I feel like last year I was very focused on winning, I wanted to show I was the fastest. I learned a lot because I pushed myself to the limit, my bike, my body, my mind, because I knew I was very fast on the braking point and in the corners, where as Ana would recover a lot of time on the straights. I pushed myself to the limit to try to overcome that and I learned a lot in the process. I want to enjoy every race like I did in the past.”

BEING A ROLE MODEL: “Try to enjoy, don’t feel pressure because while there will be stones in the way”

The Spanish rider has been racing since she was six years old, racing as an amateur with the support of her friends and parents. The Toledo native first got her start in JuniorGP™ in 2012. She would go on to garner experience through time in Moto3™, WorldSSP300, MotoE™, and World Supersport before her debut in WorldWCR in the Championship’s inaugural season in 2024. She has transformed into an idol for many young riders, male and female; a shining example of exemplary conviction and commitment showcased by the #6 in her riding through her neck injury in 2024 and fight until the end and compete with eventual champion Carrasco.

On her unique position as a competitor and a role model, Herrera said: “To be a role model is difficult but a definite pleasure when little girls come up to you and tell me ‘I want to be like you’. I want to be a role model to them, and I strive to be that. Advice I try to pass on to them is that things can be difficult, but try to enjoy, don’t feel pressure because while there will be stones in the way, this sport is amazing, just enjoy the journey.”

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