Jerez, Race 2: Ramos secures a one-two – World Champion Herrera put on a show

After Maria Herrera won the 2026 Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship – WorldWCR for short – with a fifth-place finish on Saturday, the Spaniard had another chance in the second race to finish on the podium ahead of her compatriots. To do so, however, the 30-year-old needed to show more pace than in the first race.

This is because the starting grid for the top nine positions is based on Saturday’s fastest lap, whilst positions 10 and below are determined by the Superpole order – and Herrera started the final race of the season in seventh place.

The all-Spanish front row featured Paola Ramos, who had been outstanding on Saturday; Beatriz Neila, already confirmed as runner-up in the world championship; and 18-year-old Yvonne Cerpa. Behind them on the grid were Chloe Jones, Natalia Rivera and Emily Bondi. Lucy Michel remained in 15th on the grid.

The eleven-lap race got underway at 12:00 under cloudy skies and at 20 degrees Celsius. Ramos entered the first corner in the lead, followed by Cerpa, Rivera, Neila and Herrera. In Turn 1, Sara Sanchez and Pakita Ruiz collided and crashed. However, Line Vieillard was deemed to have caused the incident and was handed a double long-lap penalty.

After lap 1, Herrera was second behind Ramos. The 30-year-old then made short work of the Race 1 winner, who was also overtaken by Neila. Roberta Ponziani caught the eye in seventh place with the fastest lap of the race in 1:51.967 minutes. Lucy Michel followed in 13th place.

It didn’t take long for Ramos to regroup; she took the lead again with a time of 1:51.747 and followed that up with a 1:51.382 on the fourth lap. Neila kept up with the pace, but Cerpa and Herrera fell 1.2 seconds behind.

Ramos rode into a frenzy and went faster and faster, clocking 1:51.102 mins. In the chasing pack, Herrera also slowly found her rhythm, but the world champion was unable to match the pace of the top two.

Muklada Sarapuech put in a fine performance, having been somewhat disappointing on Saturday when she finished ninth. The Thai rider started from 12th on the grid and was battling for fifth place on lap 7. Lucy Michel was battling with Emily Bondi and Vieillard for 10th place.

With three laps to go, the race became exciting once again. The lap times of the leading Ramos began to slow, whilst Herrera stepped up the pace and was now just 0.9 seconds behind. Chloe Jones also found her rhythm whilst riding in the Spaniard’s slipstream.

On the final lap, Ramos, Neila, Herrera and Jones were separated by just 1.1 seconds. Whilst Ramos, showing great fighting spirit and nerves of steel, secured the final victory of the season ahead of Neila, Herrera made a mistake. The experienced Spaniard took such an extreme racing line through the final corner that Jones was able to overtake her on the outside. The Englishwoman finished third on the podium, whilst Herrera came fourth.

For Lucy Michel, the 2026 WorldWCR ended with a solid twelfth place.