Maria Herrera topped FIM World Women’s Circuit Racing Superpole qualifying Friday afternoon at Portimao, in Portugal. Riding her Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha YZF-R7 on Pirelli control tires, Herrera lapped the 2.85-mile (4.49 km) course in 1:52.572 to top the field of 25 riders and earn pole position.
Paola Ramos was the best of the rest with a 1:52.988 on her Klint Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 , and her teammate Roberta Ponziani earned the third and final spot on the front row with a lap time of 1:53.710.
American Mallory Dobbs got 20th on her YVS Sabadell Diva Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 with a time of 1:56.093.
More from a press release issued by WorldSBK:
FIGHTING FOR P1: Herrera resists Ramos challenge to secure Portimao pole. The two Spaniards were duelling it out for pole position at Portimao, with Herrera coming out on top against Ramos.
The fight for the first pole position of the 2026 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship went in favour of Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) as she beat Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) by four tenths at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The Pirelli Portuguese Round marks the start of the third WorldWCR campaign and Herrera started her title defence exactly how she would have imagined by claiming P1 for Saturday’s Race 1 grid.
HERRERA VS RAMOS FOR POLE: A step ahead of the field in Superpole
Herrera wasted no time in throwing down a gauntlet as she set a 1’52.923s on her first flying lap, despite seemingly having traffic heading through the final corner. That lap alone was over a second quicker than her rivals, with Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) slotting into P2. That margin would have been the biggest gap between first and second in WorldWCR history, although Ramos was able to reduce it to just 0.187s as the final runs started, before closing it further again. However, Herrera set a 1’52.572s to cement her place on pole at Portimao and take her seventh pole in the category as she smashed the lap record. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) fended off a host of riders to take a front row start for the season-opener, posting a 1’53.170s.
NEILA CLIMBS THE ORDER: The #36 rescues a second-row start
Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) salvaged a second row start with her last lap in the 25-minute session. The #36 set a 1’54.141s to secure P4 ahead of rookie Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa), who impressed as she claimed P5 in her first WorldWCR weekend. Talya Relph (Full Throttle Racing) did provisionally post a front-row time but found herself demoted as the session progressed, eventually settling for P6.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN: Boudesseul heads the third row
Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94 Yamaha) will go from the third row in Race 1 after securing a P7 start ahead of Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) in eighth. The #64 posted a 1’54.324s to move onto the third row and she’s joined by Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) in ninth. Natalia Rivera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) completed the top ten with a 1’54.727s.
The top six from WorldWCR Superpole, full results here:
1. María 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
Don’t miss the first race of the 2026 season at 12:00 Local Time (UTC+0) on Saturday –
watch it for FREE on the WorldWCR YouTube channel!