The first points from the Prosecco DOC UK Round have been awarded as Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) was the first across the line on Saturday at Donington Park. Despite incurring a penalty for her opening-lap incident with title rival Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha), her win moves her a step closer to hoisting the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship for the second consecutive season. Behind her Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) crossed the line in P2, for her first podium since Balaton. Claiming the final spot on the rostrum, Muklada Sarapuech (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by EEST NJT Racing) earned P3 for her and Thailand’s second rostrum result in WorldWCR after recording the first from Race 2 at Misano.
A POTENTIAL DAGGER TO NEILA’S 2026 TITLE ASPIRATIONS
Herrera defended P1 by cutting the nose of Neila into Turn 1, as farther behind them, Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) took a spill into the gravel from running in the top eight. Several turns later, as the lead group got on the brakes into Turn 6, Herrera drifted to the outside from P1, colliding bar to bar with the #36, and sending the Madrid native tumbling into the gravel. For the incident, Herrera was handed a double Long Lap Penalty by FIM WorldSBK Stewards for Irresponsible Riding. She took her long laps on Laps 6 and 7, and despite the penalties, at the outset of Lap 8, she still had nearly a four-second gap. She went on to cruise to the race win, 3.7s clear of Ramos. Her win and Neila’s DNF means that Herrera can win the Championship if she outscores Neila in Race 2 by a single point. Ramos was similarly penalised by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, her infraction coming at lights out as she was applied a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start for her sixth career podium.
SARAPUECH MAKES IT BACK-TO-BACK PODIUMS FOR HER SECOND MEDAL IN A ROW
Muklada Sarapuech fought in the thick of the podium fight; she struggled to keep her machine under control as frequently running wide prevented her from pulling away in P3, but cleaned things up by the last lap to overtake Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) in the Fogarty Esses and lock down third place.. Behind her, Ponziani makes it back-to-back P4 finishes, crossing the line just a quarter of a second behind the Thai rider. Chloe Jones (Monster Energy Crescent Yamaha) recovered well from her penalised P12 start position, and crossed the line in P5, but after incurring a track limits penalty on the final lap, FIM WorldSBK Stewards applied a one-position penalty to her, sending her back to P6. Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) finished Saturday in P6; however, Jones’ penalty means the #64 matches her best result from 2026 recorded in the season-opening race at Portimao.
RUIZ RECOVERS FROM BACK OF GRID TO P9
Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa-Gradara Corse) fought with the group tussling for P3; however, her pace diminished in the final laps, and she landed the same Race 1 result she earned at Misano’s opening race in P7. Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) crossed the line in P8, a tenth and a half behind Cerpa. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) recovered to P9 from her back of the grid start penalty for improving a sector time under a yellow flag in Friday’s Free Practice, finishing just ahead of Emily Bondi (FT Racing Academy), who continues her improving form by matching her Misano Race 1 result of P10.
The top six from the WorldWCR Race 1: Full results here!
- Maria Herrera (Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR)
- Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) +3.744
- Muklada Sarapuech (EEST NJT Racing Team) +5.313s
- Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) +5.588s
- Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) +6.191s
- Chloe Jones (Monster Energy Crescent Yamaha) +6.300s
Fastest Lap: Maria Herrera - 1'39.357s
WorldWCR returns on Sunday for their final race at Donington Park at 13:00 local time (UTC +1)! Follow along by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook!