Cremona saw the first official event of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship on Thursday April 3^rd, the first of a pair of testing days to help the grid tie down loose ends on their Yamaha R7 machines ahead of the first race weekend of the season. On April 11-13^th the WorldWCR grid will take to the track at Assen as a part of the racing action at the Pirelli Dutch Round where they will have their season opening races. On the first day of testing, 2024 runner-up Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) distinguished herself again as one of the fastest around the paddock, finishing the day in P2 behind only Beatriz Nelia (Ampito Crescent Yamaha).

Day 1, split across four 20-minute sessions, saw Herrera immediately fast on the track, leading most the day after earning P1 from her teammate Roberta Ponziani. While she was pipped later in the day by Nelia in the final FP4 as all three went under the existing lap record, the test was a clear proof of concept that Herrera is capable of fighting for race wins as she did in 2024 when she claimed six victories; more than anyone else on the gid.

Herrera was pleased with her pace atop her bike while she would have liked to top the session, she said: “I feel quite good, I wanted to push hard at the end of the last session, but the problem was I caught the group, and they stopped so I couldn’t do a fast lap. I think I have a good gap for tomorrow but for sure the level is high this year and we have to work hard to restart after five months off the bike.”

WorldWCR’s return to this track in particular for preseason testing means more to Herrera than most. Last season she crashed here at Turn 11 of Race 2, spoiling what could have been a stellar hat-trick weekend after topping the Tissot Superpole session and Race 1. While she went on to race at the season’s subsequent and final two rounds at Estoril and at Jerez, her neck injury suffered in the crash lingered, bothering Herrera as she went into the offseason. Her restful regimen clearly has not cost her any speed, as if she is a close P2 with all the rust of 5 months off the bike, the idea of her fully back up to speed may be a daunting competitor for the season to come.

“My preseason was five months in the bed,” laughed Herrera. “My neck hurt after the crash here, I struggled at Estoril and Jerez with my neck, but I wanted to end the season strong, fighting until the end in Jerez. I had a big injury in the crash here in Cremona, so I started my season in February-March so I need to train more.”

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