Race 2 Highlights:
With the bit firmly between her teeth, Spanish rider Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) put together an incredible last lap to score her maiden WorldWCR race win today.
Race 1 winner Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) took an early lead with Neila and rookie Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motorsports) hot on her heels and Sara Sanchez (Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) not far behind.
This leading group remained as one, quickly breaking away from the rest of the field and building a significant advantage. The Spaniards each took turns out front, but it was polesitter Neila’s turn to shine today, with #36 just snatching victory across the line from Herrera, second, and Sanchez, third.
Lewis was unlucky to suffer a crash at the final turn while lying fourth, a disappointing end to a very positive debut weekend for the New Zealander. The rookie was fortunately unhurt in the incident.
A chasing group made up of Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team), Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team), Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing), and Chloe Jones (GR Motosport) fought hard to achieve a top five finish. The Italian ultimately got the better of her rivals to cross the line fourth, with the Spaniard, the Australian and the Brit crossing the line just a fraction of a second behind.
#15 Jones rounds out the Dutch round as the highest scoring rookie, having amassed 19 points across the weekend’s two races.
Ponziani arguably put in the strongest performance of the day, making an incredible recovery after slipping to sixteenth through the first turns. Quick to react and establishing a strong rhythm, the Italian climbed twelve places to boost her points tally with a convincing fourth-place finish.
Rookie Lucie Boudesseul (GMT94-YAMAHA) and Pons Italika Racing FIMLA team-mates Astrid Madrigal and Isis Carreno completed the top ten, their hard work resulting in more precious championship points.
Despite rain earlier in the morning, the track had essentially dried in time for the women’s 12-lap race, though lap times remained around one second slower than in Race 1.
Championship Standings:
Herrera and Neila are tied at the top, each with 45 points
Sanchez follows close behind, her double podium this weekend making for a tally of 32
In fourth place is Ponziani, who banks 24 points with two top five finishes at Assen
Relph and Jones are joint fifth, each with 19 points
Key Points:
Pole position: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) – 1’48.146
Race 1 winner: Maria Herrera
Race 2 winner: Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha)
Race fastest lap: Beatriz Neila – 1’47.685 (race 1)
P1 | Beatriz Neila | Ampito Crescent Yamaha
“My first WorldWCR victory feels amazing and means a lot to me as I’ve been working really hard all winter. Today’s race was a bit harder as the wind was so strong, and it was particularly tough out front. I was thinking about the last lap all race long, and today I was able to get it right, staying on track and avoiding the mistake I made yesterday. So, I’m really proud of myself and super happy. I want to thank everybody for their support, especially Johnny (Rea). He’s been giving me great advice and yesterday he sent me a message of encouragement, which gave me what I needed to win today. So, thanks Johnny and you can be sure that I plan to fight hard to achieve more pole positions and victories this season.”
P2 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team
“Honestly, I’m happy because I almost crashed at one point; the grip was different after the rain. I think I managed the race the best I could, also considering that the front group was bigger than yesterday. There were points where I could build a tiny gap, but the wind was very strong, which made the slipstream even more important. I did my best anyway. I knew Assen would be a difficult one, with the straights making it hard to build a gap, and Bea was very fast through the final sector, so for me this is a good result. As for the next Cremona round, I felt good in the test there and set a lap record, so I feel confident for round two.”
P3 | Sara Sanchez | Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team
“I’m a bit happier than I was after Race 1, because I was able to stick closer to Neila and Herrera. At the start it was a bit crazy as we needed to understand if the track was actually wet or not. I want to say a big thank you to my team for all their hard work, also on the grid. I’m happy to be back on the podium and now we’ll focus on Cremona, where we’ll do our best to finish top three again.”
Race 2 Results
1. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha)
2. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) +0.173s
3. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) +.423s
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) +19.732s
5. Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team) +19.919s
6. Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) +20.203s
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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldWCR
