Herrera strengthens title lead with Magny-Cours Race 1 victory - WorldWCR Race Report

The first ever French round of the WorldWCR championship opened with a high-stakes race at Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, that saw Maria Herrera take a controlled and clinical victory ahead of Chloe Jones and Beatriz Neila. It marks her fifth win of the season and a major step towards securing the 2025 title.

Picture from @WorldWCR on Instagram

Jones started from pole position for the first time in her WorldWCR career and held the lead momentarily before Herrera overtook her into Turn 1. Neila also made a strong start, slotting into third ahead of Lucie Boudesseul before a quick exchange of positions saw Jones briefly retake the lead and Neila move into second. At the end of the opening lap, Herrera had worked her way back into second and passed Neila under braking to close out the lap just behind Jones, with less than half a second separating the top two.

The second lap brought early drama as Emily Bondi and Sonya Lloyd went down in a joint incident. Not long after, Sara Sanchez crashed out of the race, ending what had been a strong weekend for the Spanish rider. Her DNF proved costly, dropping her out of fourth place in the championship after running just one point behind Ponziani in the standings.

At the front, the battle tightened. Jones ran wide into the 180 corner on lap three, allowing both Herrera and Neila to move ahead. From that moment on, Herrera took control of the race and began to open a small but consistent gap.

Further down the field, rookie Natalia Rivera was having one of her strongest showings of the year. With eight laps to go, she was holding sixth position just behind Roberta Ponziani and running confidently in clear air. Jessica Howden, who had been handed a penalty for ignoring yellow flags in Superpole, was climbing back through the field and had made it up to 16th from the very back of the grid.

There were strong performances throughout the mid-field. Lucy Michel was up to 13th after a clean and steady ride, while Justine Pedemonte was impressing as a French wildcard in seventh. She spent much of the race fighting off full-time Australian rider Tayla Relph. Another wildcard, Lauren Veillard, was also running inside the top ten in tenth place with three laps to go. Mallory Dobbs was in ninth and finally on track for a strong result after a string of misfortune earlier in the year.

At the front, the race settled into a rhythm with Herrera and Jones consistently setting the fastest times. Neila was still in touch but dropped slightly off the lead pace in the closing laps. Jones continued to push and managed to set the fastest lap of the race in the second last lap, but Herrera responded immediately and pulled out a few extra tenths to secure the win.

In the final lap, Ponziani made a late move on Boudesseul to take fourth. Rivera crossed the line in sixth for what was her best WorldWCR result to date, following a ninth place at Silverstone, while Pedemonte, Relph, Dobbs and Veillard rounded out the top ten.

Race 1 – Magny-Cours | Top 10 finishers

1. Maria Herrera 🇪🇸

2. Chloe Jones 🇬🇧

3. Beatriz Neila 🇪🇸

4. Roberta Ponziani 🇮🇹

5. Lucie Boudesseul 🇫🇷

6. Natalia Rivera 🇨🇴

7. Justine Pedemonte 🇫🇷 🃏

8. Tayla Relph 🇦🇺

9. Mallory Dobbs 🇺🇸

10. Lauren Vieillard 🇫🇷 🃏

Championship standings after Race 1

Herrera’s victory doubles her championship lead over Neila to 16 points, with three races still remaining in the 2025 season. Ponziani and Jones sit third and fourth respectively heading into the next round.

A tough result for Sara Sanchez sees her drop out of contention for the top three, but Rivera’s performance marks a major step forward in her rookie campaign.

Only three races to go in this WorldWCR season. 🏁