The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship season opener is fast approaching as the world’s fastest women on two wheels get ready to do battle in 2026. To that end, over the winter break, Maria Herrera joined Natalia Rivera in the Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team garage, and the squad have officially launched their team ahead of this upcoming season.

Herrera has been one of the biggest names in the Championship from the very start of WorldWCR. The inaugural 2024 campaign saw her win half of the season’s 12 races and take podiums away from another three. A disastrous final-race crash dashed her hopes of a title comeback as Ana Carrasco (Honda Racing World Supersport) won the inaugural season’s Riders’ Championship before her 2025 move to WorldSSP.

2025 brought with it a thrilling shootout for the title between Herrera and her main rival for the crown, Beatriz Nelia (Ampito Crescent Yamaha), who took their battle down to the final race of the season. Herrera found another gear last season, landing six wins again, and increasing her podium tally to 10. Apart from breakout performances from Chloe Jones (Monster Energy Racing Yamaha) and Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94 Yamaha) which shuffled the #6 to fourth place, Herrera’s only other time missing the podium was in the final race of the season, in which she wisely rode at her own pace to P6 to lock down the title. She rode into Parc Ferme after Race 2 at Jerez a World Champion at last, as she held off Neila by a narrow five points.

LASER-FOCUSED: “The level of the Championship continues to increase, so consistency and attention to detail will be crucial”

Now, as hype continues to build for the 2026 WorldWCR season opener at Portimao, the Spanish star looks to take on the campaign from a different box. She has changed the sky-blue leathers of the Klint Racing Team for the royal blue and yellow of the Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team. She joins Spanish youngster Natalia Rivera in the garage as the pair get set to face off against her same title rivals such as Beatriz Neila, Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) as well as intriguing rookie prospect Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) who put her name in lights with a surprise Race 1 P4 and Race 2 win as a wildcard at the season finale at Jerez.

Looking ahead to WorldWCR’s third season, Herrera said: “We are about to begin a new season, and I am very pleased to start this chapter with the Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team. They are a highly professional and experienced organisation and have established themselves as a reference point within the WorldSBK category. I believe we share the same working philosophy and performance objectives, which is fundamental for building a strong and competitive project together. As reigning WorldWCR Champion, our objective is clearly to defend the title. We are aware that the level of the Championship continues to increase, so consistency and attention to detail will be crucial throughout the season. Together with the team, we will focus on maximising performance at every round and maintaining a high standard from the start. I am motivated and fully committed to achieving our goals in 2026.”

PODIUM ASPIRATIONS: “Last year was an important learning experience for all of us... Now it’s time to take the next step”

Returning with the team atop their Yamaha R7 bike, Natalia Rivera showed lots of growth in her rookie season. Having proven her level in 2024 in the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup, she finished each of her four wildcard appearances in the top 12 that season. In 2025, she grew by leaps and bounds from the start of the season on, flying as high as a pair of P6 finishes at Magny-Cours. With a World Champion now in her box, the 19-year-old looks to learn all she can to break into the fight at the front in 2026.

On her upcoming sophomore WorldWCR season, Rivera said: “I’m really excited to start this new season and to continue working with the team. Last year was an important learning experience for all of us, and we made constant progress throughout the Championship. Now it’s time to take the next step. We finished 2025 close to the front group, and the goal this season is to be there consistently and fight for our first podium. I feel more confident, more prepared and more determined than ever. Having Maria as a teammate is a huge opportunity — she’s a benchmark in this Championship, and I want to learn everything I can from her. I’m hungry to improve and ready to prove myself.”

Get set for 2026 by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and follow the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.