The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship returned to the TT Assen Circuit, where they kicked off their 2025 campaign last season, and the Pirelli Dutch Round provided no shortage of memorable moments. The round had shades of 2025’s season opener, as again Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) and Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) squared up face to face and split the weekend’s race wins, the two races being decided by just a quarter of a second combined.

FORMIDABLE COMPETITION: “She impressed me with her overtake in the corner before, but I was able to outbrake her in the chicane”

The weekend began with Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) again taking pole position ahead of Neila in P2 as she set a new lap record of 1’47.031s in the Tissot Superpole session. The pair dropped the rest of the field early on, already nearly four seconds clear of the rest of the riders by Lap 3; that gap grew to just under 11 seconds by the final lap. Herrera led the pair for most of the battle, Neila taking her time to study Herrera’s tendencies and twice taking a look up the inside on Turn 16, on Lap 2 and on Lap 4, before taking her shot on the final lap. The #36 darted up the inside on Turn 15 for P1, only for Herrera to strike back on Turn 16 moments before the chequered flag to take the first win of the weekend, her second of the season and the 14^th WorldWCR victory of her career.

Looking back on the Race 1 win and her Pirelli Dutch Round, Herrera said: ”I’m really happy with the result! The race was difficult to manage with the restart and then the rain. It was difficult at the start. I was focused on making a gap. Bea was behind me, studying me, but I was strong in the last sector. I tried not to show her any opportunities, I knew she would try to attack on the final chicane. She impressed me with her overtake on turn 15, but I was able to manage it and outbrake her in the chicane. In Race 2, I didn’t manage the last corner well. I thought I closed the door, but I could have done more. Either way, I’m happy with the result.”

BACK IN THE FIGHT: “This victory means a lot to me because I started the season with a lot of problems”

Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 saw the rivals swap grid positions as Neila’s 1’47.150s fastest lap from Race 1 granted her a P1 start. Herrera nullified it from the jump, claiming the holeshot as she went ahead of Neila, who even momentarily fell to P3 as Thai rider Muklada Sarapuech (EEST NJT Racing Team) made a move on Turn 6 for P2. Neila recovered the position moments later. Neila clung to Herrera’s shadow, again studying the #6 until starting the battle in earnest on Lap 5 as she passed Herrera on the outside of Turn 8. The white flag was waved as rain began to fall on track that lap, but neither rider was ready to surrender; Herrera took back P1 on the run to Turn 1 of the next lap, before the pair swapped places on Turn 7 and again on Turn 9. Neila closed to make a move in the chicane but decided against it before they crossed the line to start Lap 7. Neila and Herrera each found another gear on the final Lap 11, both setting their fastest laps of the race, but the #36’s effort was three and a half tenths faster, which, combined with a masterful final chicane move, earned Neila her first race win of the season.

On Race 2 and her weekend in general, Neila said: ”The race was a little difficult with the arrival of rain in the middle of the race, I even thought that they might stop the race with the lack of grip, but in the end I’m happy because I won the race. This victory means a lot to me because I started the season with many problems. I’ve kept pushing and working, and finally, this victory has arrived. I changed my strategy many times. The weather wasn’t very good, so I was initially thinking I should try to make a move early on, but Maria kept closing the door. I thought that if I waited, a time would come, and at the end it did. I’m happy because it was a difficult overtake, but I did it in the end. I started in Portimao with a lot of problems, and now I am getting the flow again, which helps me to relax knowing that the Championship is right there.”

Catch the next instalment of their rivalry at Hungary on Friday, May 1^st by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook!