The first of the Estoril weekend’s WorldWCR races was another nailbiter, with championship leader Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) and title contender Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) battling tooth and nail for victory in a race that began in the dry only to conclude in pouring rain.
Herrera’s performance was particularly noteworthy considering she was forced to start the race from the back of the grid due to a technical issue. A lightning start and extremely impressive pace meant the Spaniard was back into the top three in the space of two laps.
Although the race began in dry conditions, rain returned with a vengeance with just five laps to go, the race red flagged on lap 8. Victory ultimately went to Carrasco, separated by just 0.082 of a second from Herrera. Snatching her fourth win of the season, Carrasco is the only rider to have reached the podium in every race held so far.
An impressive Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) stuck close to the two frontrunners, crossing the line just 0.17 of a second from race winner Ana to secure her second podium of the season.
Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) did well to finish fourth. Deemed responsible for causing the Cremona incident that saw both herself and Herrera crash out while fighting for victory, Sanchez was required to serve a long lap penalty during this first race at Estoril, nevertheless placing inside the top five.
Having proved at ease in full wet conditions, Australian Tayla Ralph (TAYCO Motorsport) followed up her recent Cremona podium with a solid fifth-place finish at Estoril today.
Pakita Ruiz (PS Racing Team 46+1) and Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) closed within a second of each other to place P6 and P7 respectively, while Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team), Mexican rider Astrid Madrigal (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA) and Adela Ourednickova (DaftMotoracing by Smrz) rounded out the top ten.
Spain’s Sanchez will be the Race 2 polesitter on Sunday after setting the fastest lap time in Race 1. Sara will be joined on the front row by Neila and Herrera, with Carrasco taking the fourth spot.
