Women’s World Championship kicks off in Portimão: Herrera the favorite, no fewer than four Italians on the grid

The wait is over. In Portimão, the curtain rises on the WorldWCR, the FIM Women’s World Championship. Now in its third edition, it lines up a grid of 24 riders and an ever higher technical level.

The favorite again this year will be Maria Herrera, who will try to defend her title with the Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha team alongside Natalia Rivera. Herrera is by far the most experienced and highly rated rider in the category. In testing she showed she still has a solid margin on race pace, but the competition is fiercer than ever. Beatriz Neila, last year’s runner-up, is banking on technical continuity to close the gap, while Paola Ramos also promises fireworks. The young Spaniard, already a winner at Jerez as a wildcard, makes her full-time debut this year and is singled out by many as the main threat to Herrera’s leadership.

Italy fields a top-tier lineup, led by the experience of Roberta Ponziani. The Klint Racing Team rider, the only one alongside the top Spanish contenders to boast race wins last season, is targeting consistency to firmly insert herself into the fight for the world podium. Alongside her, the Azzurri contingent is bolstered by three talented rookies: Arianna Barale, Denise Dal Zotto and Martina Guarino. For them, the Portimão round will be crucial to quickly adapt to world championship pace and the dynamics of a category where every tenth of a second can reshuffle the first three rows of the grid.

The weekend format remains essentially unchanged. All participants will have a Yamaha R7 at their disposal. After the opening round in Portugal, the 2026 calendar will visit historic circuits such as Assen, Donington, and Misano, offering a variety of layouts that will test both outright speed and tire management over long distances. The Misano stop, in particular, will be the home event for the Italians, in a championship that is proving capable of attracting growing interest.