Round Three of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship took to the track at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, fondly nicknamed the “Rollercoaster” for its spectacular undulations.
Maria Herrera ( Klint Forward Racing) currently leads the championship, winning three of the four races and 7 points clear of chasing second place Anna Carrasco ( Evan Bros Yamaha Racing) while there is a small gap back to third of 13 points for Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing).
With the top four riders already showcasing success at the track, Herrera having raced several times with WorldSSP and more recently with MotoE this year. Carrasco made history with her first ever female win at the track, the battle at the front was always going to be fierce. As Temperatures soared on track reaching that of 47°C, the Friday free practice saw the same four riders continually at the top of the timing sheets with only the first 5 riders setting lap times below 1.57.
As the Superpole session got underway it was Klint Racing’s Herrera who secured the Pole sitting position with Carrasco just a mere eight tenths behind with Sara Sanchez completing the front row.
On our Britwatch, we look to Sekhmet International Racing Team whom was fielding British rider Jamie Hanks-Elliott in lieu of Lissy Whitemore, who was unfortunately injured at the British Donington Round at the Infamous Craners Curves.
Making her debut on the World Stage on Friday free practice Jamie, being the first time on the Yamaha R7, finished the session in a point scoring position of P15 along with team mate for the weekend, Mallory Dobbs securing P13.
Hanks Elliott had this to say “ A really positive first day, free practice gave me a short time to get to grips with the R7 which I have never ridden before and familiarize myself with the track again. I ended the session P15 which I was happy with, but knew I had more time in me”
With Superpole being later that day, the team carried that momentum into the Tissot Superpole with Hanks- Elliot setting a time of 1:59.509 and Dobbs 1:59.551 securing P14 & P15 ready for Race 1 on Saturday.
The 11 lap Race 1 on Saturday quickly turned into a 4 way battle as expected with Herrera, Sanchez, Carrasco and Neila all breaking away from the rest of the grid and all the while continuously trading places.
Further down the grid, the Sekhmet Pilots both had a great start, Hanks – Elliot launched off the line and moved herself quickly into P11 , unfortunately a last corner crash on lap one saw an end to her race while taking avoidance manoeuvres to prevent colliding with another rider. More bad luck ensued with Sekhmet’s second rider, Dobbs, also being taken out on lap 11 while running in 10th position from the same rider who caused Hanks-Elliots to loose the front earlier in the race.
The battle at the front saw Herrera beat fellow Spaniard Sanchez to the line by a mere 0.060 with Carrasco and Neila battling all the way to the flag for third, the pair separated by just 0.009 of a second across the line with Carrasco taking the 3rd step on the podium.
The fastest time of the race was however set by Sanchez securing her pole position for Race 2 on Sunday. Carrasco confirmed after the race that she rode most of it without 3rd gear so would be looking to improve her position and secure more valuable championship points in race 2.
In a repeat of Race 1, Sunday’s Race 2 was once again the four riders from Race 1 that were out in front and building an early lead over the rest of the grid, however a red on the opening lap sent the riders back to pit lane with a restart race scheduled to take place over 7 laps. It was Carrasco who charged her Yamaha R7 to the stop step of the podium with Saturdays race winner Herrara losing out to P2 as Sanchez made a late pass within seconds to the flag.
With possibly a little praying to the teams namesake Sekhmet, both riders saw the chequered flag with Hanks -Ellliot bringing her World Women’s Circuit Racing debut to a close by securing P17, though we know she will be disappointed after sitting 9th most of the race, however a false neutral on lap 5 of 7 saw Hanks -Elliot fall back to 17th and unable to regain positions with the race distance being shortened.
Mallory Dobbs will be riding the high along with her team after securing a points scoring position of P9 – a position which, after the string of bad luck, no doubt felt like victory.
Maria Herrera continues to lead the championship with 129 points, Carrasco still remains 7 points adrift at 122 and extending the gap to Sarah Sanchez by 14 points as she now sits at 108
Round four of the Championship will take place at Cremona, Italy 20-22 September.
Written by Kerrie McFadden @ First Turn Media
Socials : Kerrie @ First Turn Media. (@first_turn_media) • Instagram photos and videos
Photography: WorldWCR & India Knowlson
