Beatriz Neila topped FIM World Women’s Circuit Racing Superpole qualifying Friday afternoon at Balaton Park Circuit, in Hungary. Riding her Ampito Crescent Yamaha YZF-R7 on Pirelli control tires, Neila lapped the 2.56-mile (4.07 km) course in 1:53.526 to top the field of 25 riders and earn pole position.
Maria Herrera was the best of the rest with a 1:53.866 on her Klint Forward Racing Team Yamaha YZF-R7, and Chloe Jones earned the third and final spot on the front row with a lap time of 1:54.120 on her GR Motosport Yamaha YZF-R7.
American Mallory Dobbs got 18th on her Diva Racing Yamaha YZF-R7, American Sonya Lloyd finished 20th on her Team Trasimeno Yamaha YZF-R7 and Wild-Card Elisa Gendron was 24th on her Pons Italika Racing FIMLA Yamaha YZF-R7.
Results WWCR
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
BACK-TO-BACK POLES: Two in a row for Neila with Championship rival Herrera P2, Jones P3 on timesheets but penalised. The grid is set for Saturday’s WorldWCR Race 1, featuring a front row of Neila, Herrera and Ruiz.
The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship grid took to the Balaton Park circuit for the first Tissot Superpole session across all categories this weekend! Beatriz Nelia (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) takes Balaton Park’s first pole position, followed across the line by title rival Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team).
Neila takes Balaton’s first-ever pole: Three on the season and two in a row for the rider from Madrid
Beatriz Nelia claimed her third pole of the season at Balaton Park, outpacing Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) in P2 by 0.340s with her time of 1’53.526s. Maria Herrera will start from P2 in Race 1, earned through her time of 1’53.866s. Behind the pair of Spaniards, Jones finished in the top three on the timesheets but received a three-place grid penalty for slow riding during Superpole, demoting her to P6 on the grid.
Ruiz sets new standard: Earns WorldWCR career-best P5 grid start
Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) is back in the mix after a slower UK Round than her pacey standard. She finished with a fastest lap of 1’54.537s. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) earned her career-best WorldWCR Superpole result in P5 and a time of 1’54.595s. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) finished the inaugural Balaton Park session in P6, her 1’54.700s time earning her the final spot on the second row. However, Ponziani will start from P3, Ruiz from P4 and Sanchez from P5. Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-YAMAHA continued her good form she displayed at Donington. Boudesseul hovered around P5 until late in the session, when she and her 1’54.763s time were shuffled down to P7.
Strong ride from the rookie: Rivera earns WorldWCR career-high P9
Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) earned another P8 finish to sit on the third row of the grid, propelled there by her 1’55.330s fastest time. Rookie Natalia Rivera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) earned her best Superpole placement of the season, qualifying in P9 thanks to her 1’55.631s lap. Rounding out the top 10, South African Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) set a time of 1’55.889s to lead the fourth row.
The top six from the WorldWCR Superpole, full results here!
1. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) 1’52.526s
2. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) +0.340s
3. Chloe Jones (GR Motosport) +0.594s*
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) +1.011s
5. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) +1.069s
6. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) +1.174s
*will start from P6
Tune in tomorrow for WorldWCR’s Race 1 on Saturday at 12:20 local time (UTC +2). Keep up with Lewis and the other riders in the WorldWCR Championship battle by following WorldWCR on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook, and watch every race FREE on YouTube!
P1 | Beatriz Neila | Ampito Crescent Yamaha | 1’53.526
“This is my second consecutive pole so I’m really happy with that. Qualifying was a little bit tricky in terms of the conditions and traffic, but I got the result I wanted. Balaton seems like a good track for me, as I was able to finish first this morning too. I like the track and will be doing my best to repeat what I’ve done so far in Saturday’s race. It’s a new track for everyone but it looks like Maria and I have a bit of an advantage. I hope there’ll be a group of us in the race, but it may be just the two of us; we’ll see.”
P2 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team | 1’53.866
“This is my first time here as I wasn’t able to test beforehand. I felt good from the outset though and was able to improve my times, lap by lap, throughout the day. In qualifying I think I could have done pole, but a rider hindered me on my fastest lap. I’m happy with the result anyway, as the front row is always positive. We can still improve a little in terms of riding style and bike setup, we’ve already done a lot, but I think we can do more for tomorrow. We need to finish ahead of Beatriz in the race or at least score as many points as possible; I expect a hard fight.”
P3 | Chloe Jones | GR Motosport | 1’54.120
“I’ve had a really good Friday. A lot of the riders hadn’t lapped here before today, while I was able to test here a couple of weeks ago, so I was very fortunate in that respect. It was fairly easy to get back up to speed again today and we had a good practice and Superpole, which hopefully sets me up for a strong weekend. I feel I’ve done my homework and have tried to learn any way that I can, walking the track, looking at other riders’ data, many little things that can help. I’m definitely aiming for the podium; I got a taste for it at Donington and it would be very special if I could do it again here.”