WorldWCR: Current champion Herrera claims the first pole of the season ahead of rookie Ramos.
The opening round of the 2026 Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship is officially in play at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, as 25 tenacious riders gear up for action in the first of the season’s races.
Superpole Highlights:
Current champion Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) quickly asserted her influence in the first qualifying session of the 2026 Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, storming to pole at the Portuguese track with a time of 1’52.572.
Starting her rookie WorldWCR season as she clearly means to go on, Paola Ramos maximised the 25 minutes of track time to secure second (1’52.988), a good eight tenths clear of her Klint Racing teammate Roberta Ponziani, who qualifies third with a time of 1’53.710.
Hot on the heels of the leading group, 2025 championship runner-up Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) and rookie Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa) set almost identical lap times to finish fourth and fifth.
The only non-European to qualify inside the top ten, Australian Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) hit the ground running to set the sixth fastest time.
French rider Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-YAMAHA) will be joined on the third row of the grid by Spaniards Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) and Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team).
In what is looking to be an extremely competitive 25-strong field, Natalia Rivera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) rounds out the top ten today.
With rookie Ramos having topped the timesheets in morning practice ahead of Herrera, the scene is set for a probable head-to-head contest between the two Spaniards in this weekend’s races.
P1 | Maria Herrera | Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR | 1’52.572
“The team has given me extra confidence, and we are in a strong position to do well, I’d say. As for the Superpole, I had a clear plan; I knew I could do a 1’52 immediately and that’s exactly what I did. Paola is coming up strong though, so I think we’re in for a tough battle and some fun racing this weekend. She was there in practice and Superpole, and it’ll be the same in the race for sure. If we don’t slow each other down, I think Paola and I can make the difference. It’s hard to build a gap at this track because of the long straight, but I know I have good pace and good consistency, so I’m happy and feel ready.”
P2 | Paola Ramos | Klint Racing Team | 1’52.988
“I felt so good today, both in myself and on the bike. We’re doing a really good job as a team, and I think I can still improve in some points of the track. I don’t know this circuit well, I only tested here once a few days ago, but I like it and it’s a lot of fun to ride. Maria and I were fastest in that test so I kind of expected to be quick today and guessed that qualifying might be quite close. I think I have good pace and that we can run a good race tomorrow. Let’s see…”
P3 | Roberta Ponziani | Klint Racing Team| 1’53.710
“Today went pretty well. We came into this round a little on the backfoot as we weren’t able to make the most of the recent test unfortunately. We’ve improved today but there’s still a decent gap between me and the leaders. We’re on the front row anyway, which is an important result, and we’ll try to make the most of tomorrow’s warm-up too. My goal in the race will be to try and stick with Maria and Paola over the first laps, as from what we’ve seen today there might be a bit of a chasing group. I’ll do my best.”
Superpole Results
1. Maria Herrera (Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) 1’52.572s
2. Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) +0.416s
3. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) +1.138s
4. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) +1.569s
5. Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa) +1.577s
6. Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) +1.681s
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