With the dust settling after an electric round at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) has put the paddock on notice as she looks to be one of several contenders vying for the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship crown. The Spanish 19-year-old talent took home a P2 podium from the season’s first race, as well as a Race 2 win, to ring in the new season.

STRIVING FOR MORE: “Without the poor start, I may have been able to stay with Maria at the front”

The #58 was fast from the jump, landing P2 in the Tissot Superpole session behind defending Champion Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR). Her 1’52.988s time clocked in four-tenths slower than Herrera, the only rider whose time was within a second of the #6. Race 1 was a good official permanent-rider entrance to the Championship, as while she was unable to keep up with the 13-time race winner, who went on to finish nearly five seconds clear, Ramos made up from a bad jump off of the line and confirmed where she stacks up against the competition, regaining and later defending her P2 grid position for a silver-medal finish on the podium.

On her Race 1 podium, Ramos said: “The start of the race was difficult, but I’m happy with the result. I was able to overtake the people who passed me at the start of the race. I’m happy with the result because, in my first race as a permanent rider, I finished second. Without the poor start, I may have been able to stay with Maria at the front, but I’m happy nonetheless.”

PICKING HER MOMENT: “I tried to manage the race the best I could. I was thinking a lot about when I should overtake”

Determined not to let Herrera run away again in Race 2, Ramos took to the tarmac with a renewed determination. Despite her lack of experience in the paddock – only having participated in a single wildcard in 2025’s final round – Ramos was hungry for her second race win in the category. Ramos kept Herrera well within striking distance, never more than a quarter of a second away, and of the race’s 11 laps, on Laps 5, 8, and 9, the #58 was less than a tenth behind the leading #6. As the rookie rider measured the defending Champion, gauging her pace and studying her riding style until the final sector of the final lap of Race 2, when Ramos at last made her move. Ramos shot past Herrera on Turn 11 and held off her compatriot to power to her first WorldWCR win as a full-time rider.

On what the win means to her, Ramos said: “I’m super happy to be here, winning in my first weekend as an official rider is incredible. I won at Jerez, but to win again was amazing. I’m super happy. I tried to manage the race the best I could. I was thinking a lot about when I should overtake, so I’m super happy because the race went incredibly well. I learned a lot, how to manage the race and some small details about the track, it’s incredible to battle with those girls. It was important for me to win Race 2; the Championship is now between Maria, Bea, and the others. I’m super happy. In Jerez, I couldn’t battle with them, but to be able to battle with them now is amazing. I don’t know Assen as a track, so let’s see how it will be.”

Catch the next round WorldWCR round by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook!