Chloe Jones (22) doubted herself, then conquered her demons

Having finished third in the 2025 WorldWCR, Chloe Jones was regarded as a regular top-three contender this year, but the 22-year-old only managed to secure a podium finish at the start of the second half of the season at Misano. She secured another third place at the season finale in Jerez, snatching victory from under the nose of the newly crowned world champion, Maria Herrera, with a daring overtaking manoeuvre in the final corner.

“This weekend has reminded me why I keep lining up on the grid, why I keep fighting and why I’m not prepared to give up on myself or on what I’m capable of,” said the English rider at the end of a difficult season. “It wasn’t the season I’d dreamed of, but I kept fighting, kept learning and kept giving it my all, even when it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Finishing fifth in the World Championship, Jones – who hails from Northampton – certainly didn’t have a bad season. As well as her two podium finishes, she recorded six further top-seven results. And she was consistent: Jones finished in the points in all twelve races, a feat achieved by no one else apart from Herrera.

“There were so many moments this year when I doubted myself, questioned everything and wondered whether all the hard work would ever pay off,” Jones admitted. “It was a season full of pressure, setbacks and emotions that I had to contend with, and sometimes I made things harder for myself than they really needed to be. To go from 14th in the championship after the first race to 5th, and even to finish on the podium in the final race, means more to me than I can put into words. Not because I wanted to be exactly there, but because I know what it took to get here.”

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Jones next year. She almost fell through the cracks as early as 2026 when her team, GR Motorsport, folded. At the time, the well-connected Corinne Lowes – wife of Bimota rider Alex Lowes – pulled the strings behind the scenes, and Jones secured a place with the Crescent team with support from Monster. However, with the switch from Yamaha to CF Moto as the standard bike for 2027, the Englishwoman is once again facing the same problem: because Paul Denning’s team is affiliated with Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship, it will be withdrawing from the Women’s World Championship.