Maria Herrera won Race Two of the World Women’s Circuit Racing at Cremona Circuit, in Italy. Riding her Klint Forward Racing Team Yamaha YZF-R7 on Pirelli control tires, Herrera won the 12-lap race by 0.202 second.
Her teammate, Roberta Ponziani was the runner-up.
Beatriz Neila was third on her Ampito Crescent Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R7.
American Mallory Dobbs was 12th on her Diva Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 and American Sonya Lloyd finished 21st on her Team Trasimeno Yamaha YZF-R7.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Herrera weathers the storm at Cremona Race 2 to take second win of the 2025 WorldWCR season. Herrera in Race 2 makes it two wins in 2025, and 8 wins in her WorldWCR career so far.
The final instalment of 2025 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship action at Cremona is in the books as the grid has seen the chequered flag on their Race 2 on Sunday afternoon. After Leading the race from the first corner, Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) held off a harrowing final-sector attack from Beatriz Nelia (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) to win her first race of the weekend, and the second win for her team of the weekend. Behind her, Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) took P2, and Neila behind her in P3.
LAST LAP DRAMA: Herrera counters a late move by Neila to protect P1
After just two laps, a pack of five riders separated themselves from the rest of the pack, led by Herrera, who rode hard to stay ahead the pack behind her. Beatriz Nelia and Roberta Ponziani closed down the distance in the closing laps bit by bit, until the final lap where the pair of riders behind her made their move. In the final turns of the race, Neila passed Herrera on the outside, going bar to bar with Herrera on the switchback, trading paint as Herrera cut inside to regain her P1 spot. The contact was slight, and deemed a race incident by WorldSBK FIM Stewards, however unfortunately for Neila, Ponziani picked her moment well and followed Herrera through to claim P2, shuffling Neila to P3.
SANCHEZ & LEWIS CONTEND FOR PODIUM POSITIONS EARLY: Finish P4 and P5 respectively
Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) and Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) tailed Herrera in the podium battle early on in the race before their pace falling off, Sanchez finished just over 2 seconds behind Neila and the podium positions, and Lewis a comfortable 15 seconds ahead of Astrid Madrigal in P6. Madrigal did well to maintain her spot at the front of the second group, even separating from them by a margin of a more than three seconds by lap 7 of 12, however the five riders ahead of here were even farther ahead at 5.570s by the same lap.
RUIZ AGAIN CHARGES INTO TOP 10: Finished P7 after P11 starting position
Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) finished in P7, once again charging up the grid from her P11 start position, and recovering from race incident contact with Chilean rider Isis Carreno (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) which saw the Chilean crash out on Turn 12 of Lap 2. Chloe Jones (GR Motorsport) claimed another top 10 finish, improving on her P11 in Race 1. Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-YAMAHA) nearly cracked the top eight, finishing half a second behind Jones to tie the French rookie’s second-best result of the season. Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) took the final position of the top 10, making it two top ten finishes on the weekend at Cremona.
The top six from the WorldWCR Race 2: Full results here!
1 Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team)
2. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) +0.202s
3. Beatriz Nelia (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) +0.288s
4. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) +2.445s
5. Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) +8.557s
6. Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) +15.232
Fastest lap: Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) 1’40.005
Championship standings:
1. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) 90 points
2. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) 77
3. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) 69
4. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) 56
5. Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) 39
6. Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) 34
Catch up on WorldWCR’s last two rounds with full session uploads and tune in next time out at Donington Park July 11-13th, watch live with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
More from another press release issued by dorna:
Herrera extends her championship lead with a Race 2 win at Cremona.
Race 2 Highlights
- Hungry for the win after just missing out in Saturday’s Race 1, Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing) got the job done today, just snatching victory in Race 2 despite the last-gasp efforts of closest rival Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha).
- Championship leader Herrera put in a dominant performance, leading from start to finish. A zealous Neila saw an opportunity to pass Maria through the last sector but was unable to make it stick and, in running wide, opened the door for race 1 winner Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing), who just pipped the Spaniard to second place.
- Lapping within a second of this leading trio, Sara Sanchez (Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) caught the leaders by the mid-race point but was unable to match their pace to the line, concluding fourth.
- Sixth in Race 1, Carl Cox Motorsports’ Avalon Lewis did well to stick with Sanchez during the first half of Race 2, losing just a little ground in the latter stages but assuring herself of final fifth position.
- Forced to run a somewhat solitary race, Mexican rider Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) concludes a very positive weekend with a strong sixth place finish and another 10 championship points.
- Spain’s Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) took seventh, ahead of a determined Chloe Jones (GR Motosport), who climbed from twelfth to eighth. Also finishing inside the top ten today were rookie Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-YAMAHA) and Australian rider Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing).
- Klint Forward Racing teammates Ponziani and Herrera are the highest points scorers of this Cremona round, having banked a precious 45 each.
- Emily Bondi (ZELOS Trasimeno) did well to reach the points zone today, placing thirteenth despite having to serve a double lap penalty due to irresponsible riding in Race 1.
- Competing as a wildcard at home track Cremona, Italian Denise Dal Zotto (Affinity Sports Academy Rokit Rookies) more than held her own in her second WorldWCR race, improving on her Race 1 result with a fourteenth-place finish.
- Madalena Simoes (FB Racing Team) and Isis Carreno (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA) both failed to reach the line after crashing in the early stages. Neither rider was injured.
Championship Standings:
- Thanks to her results this weekend, Herrera extends her championship lead to 13 points
- A consistent Neila holds second, with a tally of 77
- Ponziani’s strong showing at home round Cremona sees her move into third place (69 points)
- Sanchez (56) and Madrigal (39) round out the top five.
Key Points:
Pole position: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) – 1’41.152
Race 1 winner: Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team)
Race 2 winner: Maria Herrera
Race fastest lap: Roberta Ponziani(Klint Forward Racing Team) – 1’40.005 (Race 2)
P1 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team
“I changed the strategy a little today and was happier because I was able to push and felt comfortable on the bike. I tried to build a gap but when I saw that we were a group of four or five riders, I knew I had to be calm, relaxed, and try to do my best until the last corner. When I saw Beatriz in front of me, I knew I had to overtake – I braked later and it was difficult but I managed the last corner and was able to win. I feel good about where we are in terms of the championship, because now we head to round three at Donington, a track I enjoy and where I have good memories.”
P2 | Roberta Ponziani | Klint Forward Factory Team
“I think we had almost the perfect weekend, even achieving the fastest lap in Race 2. Today’s race was a bit tougher than Race 1; yesterday I had more control, while today the pace was very fast, and Maria was really strong. I made a good start in Race 1 but today not so much and then I made a small mistake on the last lap and wasn’t able to exploit the slipstream. But second is a really good result. A great weekend for me and for the team, and of course for the championship; I’m really happy.”
P3 | Beatriz Neila | Ampito Crescent Yamaha
“I’m happy because I ran a good race, better than yesterday, and my feeling with the bike was better. I tried in the last sector to get past Maria but in the end, I finished third. I’m very happy anyway, as the result is important for the championship standings. I want to thank the whole team and all our partners who support us. We’re second in the championship with more points than we had at this point last year, so I’m happy, and proud because I’ve made a good step. I’ll work hard over the next weeks to be as strong as possible for the next round at Donington.”