The Pirelli Portuguese Round gave fans and onlookers the hotly-anticipated 2026 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship season debut, and the riders unveiled their Championship’s third season in thrilling fashion at Portimao’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) started 2026 as she finished 2025 – on top – as the defending Champion won Race 1 and nearly topped Race 2 before she was overtaken on the final lap of their Race 2.

PRE-RACE JITTERS: “I was more nervous than normal before Race 1. I think in future races I’ll be able to sleep better”

Throughout the offseason and into preseason testing, Herrera has been hailed as the title favourite for 2026. After making up for her 2024 title disappointment last season, she kicked off the season with a 1’52.572s time in the Tissot Superpole session to open 2026 from pole. The starting grid turned out to be the closest anyone could get to her as she put more and more space between her and the riders behind her as her margin grew lap by lap at the front. By the end of Lap 1, she was already 1.6s ahead, up to 3.8s by Lap 5, and closing the contest with a whopping 4.6s lead by the end of the contest.

On bagging the first race win of the season, Herrera said: “The race was amazing because I think it was the first time I could make a gap from the beginning. I pushed from the beginning, when I was seeing lap times in the 1’52s range, which gave me a lot of calmness and confidence in my pace. I’m very happy with the work the team and I did, and I think we can continue to improve. It’s very important to me to have started the season like this. I was more nervous than normal before Race 1. I think in future races I’ll be able to sleep better going forward than I did the night before the first race, and I’m happy to start like this.”

A THORN IN HER SIDE: “Paola was studying me all race, she was able to see the one weak point I had on this circuit, and she overtook me there”

Unlike Race 1, where Herrera was able to run roughshod over the rest of the field, both Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) and Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) kept to within a second of the #6 the entire race. Despite Ramos’s lack of experience in the paddock, having just completed a sole wildcard in 2025’s final round, Ramos was hungry for her second race win in the category after taking her first at Jerez’s Race 2 last season. Herrera was unable to put distance between the surging rookie and ended up seeing the #58 go by her on Turn 11 of the final lap. P2 was clearly not the result the defending Champion had in mind, but a P1, P2 double podium to kick off your title defence is far from a poor way for the 13-time race winner to ring in 2026.

On her Race 2 P2, Herrera said: “Race 2 was difficult because I was pushing hard from the beginning, but the wind was very strong, especially on the straight. Paola was studying me throughout the race; she saw the one weak point I had on this circuit, and she overtook me there. I had a good race otherwise, good pace, I have to keep improving, but for the first race, I’m very happy to start like this.”

Catch the stunning WorldWCR fight at the front featuring Herrera next round at Assen by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook!