Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) bounced back in a big way at Balaton Park after a sour weekend at Assen. The 19-year-old Spaniard took her second FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship win of the season in her first trip to the Motul Hungarian Round’s Balaton Park Circuit, and the third of her nascent career in the category.

She was unable to break Maria Herrera’s (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) pole position stranglehold she has demonstrated so far this season, clocking in 0.562s slower than the #6’s lap record-setting 1’52.264s to sit P2 on the Tissot Superpole session timesheet. Both Ramos and the Championship leader, however, were hit with penalties for slow riding by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, sending them each three positions farther back, meaning Ramos saw lights out from P5.

BOUNCING BACK FROM INJURY: “It’s good for my confidence, I know I can stay here on the podium”

Race 1 was shortened to nine laps after Emily Bondi (FT Racing Academy) crashed on the warm-up lap, delaying the start of the race. When the race got underway, Ramos and her teammate Roberta Ponziani had their hands full early on keeping up with Herrera and Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha), who flew forward to fight for the race win. The margin behind the lead pair hovered around 1.3s in the early laps, cut to just under a second on Lap 4, and to a mere two tenths as they made a late charge forward. Unfortunately for the Klint Racing Team duo, they were unable to overcome their rivals. Fortunately for Ramos, however, she managed to score P3, providing her with an important bundle of points after missing out in the last round.

On her Race 1 P3, Ramos said: “It’s not the result that I wanted, but it’s good. After the penalty and the injury in Assen, we know we need to improve in some areas. It’s good for my confidence, I know I can stay here on the podium. It was a race with a big group. I think races here tend to go that way.”

SUNDAY SPECIALIST: “It’s amazing to have won the race and set a new fastest lap record. I was smiling underneath the helmet”

After claiming P1 on the grid for Race 2 by setting the fastest lap of Race 1, Ramos defended her pole position and claimed the holeshot into Balaton Park’s opening complex. By Turn 5, first Herrera, then Neila made their way past Ramos, before Ramos fell one position further to P4 after Thai rider Muklada Sarapuech (EEST NJT Racing Team) passed the Spaniard for P3 on Lap 9. Ramos fell to eight tenths from P1 by Lap 3, before finding her composure and starting a mad dash to the finish. She cut the gap to six tenths by Lap 6, three tenths by Lap 9, where she retook P3 from Sarapuech and dropped a circuit-record 1’51.935s on a decisive Lap 10. She outbraked the Championship leader on the run into Turn 1, before she overtook the race-leading Neila on Turn 5, kicking off a battle for the race win as they began the last lap trading overtakes. Ramos went around the outside with a gutsy Turn 9 move, only for Neila to respond on Turn 11. Rounding into the final sector, Ramos sprung a decisive move on Turn 15 to claim the top step of the podium.

On her Race 2 triumph, Ramos said: “I really enjoyed the race, especially the last lap. On Sunday, we made some changes to the bike, and I felt a lot better. It’s my first time here, and it’s amazing to have won the race and set a new fastest lap record. I was smiling underneath the helmet; I enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward to Misano, I’ve never raced there, but I have trained there. Let’s see how things go. I have nothing to lose, I just need to enjoy, learn, and fight.”

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