Paola Ramos won FIM World Women’s Circuit Racing Race 2 Sunday morning at Portimao, in Portugal. Riding her Klint Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 on Pirelli control tires, Ramos won the 11-lap race by just 0.053 second.
Maria Herrera was the runner-up on her Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha YZF-R7, and Beatriz Neila got third on her Ampito Crescent Yamaha YZF-R7.
American Mallory Dobbs got 17th on her YVS Sabadell Diva Racing Yamaha YZF-R7.
race 2 wwcr
ChampionshipStandings WWCR
More from a press release issued by WorldSBK:
Ramos stuns defending Champion Herrera with a last-lap overtake to win Race 2 at Portimao. A hotly-contested three-horse race broke out in the final WorldWCR contest of the round.
The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship’s season-opening weekend is officially in the books! Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) sent her first round as a permanent rider out with a bang, winning the race with a dramatic last- lap overtake for her second career win. Joining her on the podium, Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) caps off a dominant performance at the Pirelli Portuguese Round’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve from P2 for her 21st WorldWCR podium. Taking home the bronze medal and capping off the all-Spanish rostrum, Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) took P3.
PICKING HER MOMENT: Ramos showed the composure beyond her years as she struck in the last lap for the race win
Ramos chased Herrera into T1 after she took the holeshot. The front three of Herrera, Ramos, and Neila stacked up on the timesheet in the early running in the same way they finished Race 1. By the start of Lap 7, the trio had put more than five seconds between the podium positions and the rest of the pack. Neila had fallen back by a few bike lengths, while with five laps left to ride, Ramos lurked just a tenth behind Herrera, waiting for her moment to strike. That moment came on Turn 11 of the final lap, a clever feigned move to the outside, then cutting inside to take P1 from Herrera caught the defending Champion lacking. Ramos held off the #6 as she charged across the line; Herrera was, as a result, shuffled to P2 on the rostrum ahead of Beatriz Neila, who took home her 16th consecutive podium as she landed in P3 for the second time this weekend.
PONZIANI THE BEST OF THE REST: The Italian takes P4 for the ninth time in her WorldWCR career
Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team), Natalia Rivera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) and Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa) started on the second row and fought throughout the first half of the race until Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) and Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94 Yamaha) made a move on Yvonne Cerpa to shuffle the rookie to P8 on Lap 3. Later on, however, the French rider crashed on Turn 2 of the sixth Lap as she had nearly completed her move to pass Ruiz. Ponziani fought off Ruiz to defend her P4 finish, with Ruiz crossing the finish line in P5. While she had been shuffled aside by the #46 and #94 before the French rider’s unfortunate crash, Cerpa’s P6 is a strong result to take away from her first WorldWCR Race 2.
RIVERA GOES P7: The Spanish youngster records her second-best WorldWCR result
Natalia Rivera started well, clinging to her P5 grid position early on before Roberta Ponziani overtook her on Turn 8 of Lap 2. Rivera gradually slid backwards until she settled in P7, closing her weekend with a pair of finishes within the top eight. Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) emerged victorious in a battle with Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) to take P8 from the final race of the weekend, crossing the finish line +0.217s faster than the #64 behind her. Rounding out the top ten, Muklada Sarauech (EEST NJT Racing Team) closed her wildcard weekend with a strong P10 finish after taking P11 in Race 1. The Thai rider will be one to keep an eye on in the future as her WorldWCR wild card appearance comes to a close. Farther back, Chloe Jones’s Race 2 started rough with a Jump Start penalty assessed by FIM WorldSBK Stewards, resulting in a 2x LLP, which sent her to an ignominious P14.
The top six from the WorldWCR Race 1: Full results here!
1. Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team)
2. Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) +0.053s
3. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) +0.238s
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) +17.808s
5. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) +17.842s
6. Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa) +18.080s
Fastest lap: Beatriz Neila, 1’52.637s – new race lap record
Championship standings
1. Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) 45 points
2. Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) 45
3. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) 32
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) 23
5. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) 20
6. Sara Sanchez (Hadden Racing Team) 18
Rewatch all the action at Portimao and keep up with WorldWCR throughout 2026 by subscribing to theWorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook! Be sure to tune in next round at Assen on April 17th!
