Donington, Race 1: Herrera knocks Neila off the track and gets the middle finger

The event at Donington Park is the fifth of six race weekends in the 2026 Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship. With 181 points, Maria Herrera leads the overall standings ahead of her compatriot Beatriz Neila, who has 157 points. This means the world champion could already be decided after the two races in England.

World Championship leader Maria Herrera secured pole position in Friday’s qualifying at Donington. She was over half a second faster than Beatriz Neila (2nd). Paola Ramos completed the front row for Race 1 on Saturday. The second row was made up of Tayla Relph, Yvonne Cerp and Astrid Madrigal. Germany’s Lucy Michel started from 17th on the grid.

Several riders went into the first race at Donington with penalties. Line Vieillard was handed a long-lap penalty for causing a crash in the second race at Misano. Sara Sanchez was demoted by six places on the grid – for driving too slowly on the racing line during Superpole. Briton Chloe Jones was also moved back six places on the grid for the same reason.

Herrera got off to a perfect start – she was first into the first corner. The Australian Relph crashed in Turn 1. Then came the drama for Nela: she crashed in Turn 7 after making contact with Herrera, which effectively decided the World Championship.

By the end of the first lap, Herrera had already built up a lead of just under a second over Ramos in second place. Muklada Sarapuech was in third.

Herrera then set the fastest lap of the race. On lap 3, Roberta Ponziani overtook Sarapuech.

Then came Herrera’s penalty: due to the incident with Nela on the first lap, she was handed a double long-lap penalty. From the track side, she gave her rival Nela the middle finger. The two ladies are unlikely to be friends any more.

Herrera’s response: the fastest lap of the race. Sarapuech had reclaimed third place from Ponziani.

By lap 6, Herrera had already built up a lead of over four seconds, though Ramos had to complete a long-lap penalty beforehand.

Halfway through the race, Herrera’s lead was already over five seconds, then she completed her first long lap. Sarapuech was in second place, with Chloe Jones in third at that point.

Shortly afterwards, Jones overtook Sarapuech. Herrera’s lead had grown to 5.5 seconds again, then the Spaniard completed her second long lap. After that, she had a four-second lead over Paolo Ramos, who had fought her way back into second place.

The battle for the podium places was very exciting in the final third of the race – seven riders were battling it out for second and third place. Herrera maintained a consistent lead of around four seconds.

Going into the final three laps, Ramos had opened up a gap of over a second – the Spaniard was now in second place with a comfortable lead. Behind her, Sarapuech, Jones and Ponziani were battling it out for third place.

With two laps to go, Herrera and Ramos were riding alone in first and second place. Ponziani, in third, had also managed to pull away slightly. But Sarapuech didn’t let up and reclaimed third place on the final lap.

At the front, Herrera eased off slightly – she crossed the finish line with a 3.7-second lead. Paolo Ramos finished second, with Sarapuech in third.