2024 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship|
Round Four – Cremona – Sunday
Australia’s Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport), backed up her seventh place on Saturday with a breakthrough podium on Sunday from ninth on the grid to catapult her up the championship ladder to seventh on 54-points.
Tayla Relph – P3
“I’m speechless! I really cannot believe it, also because I made a horrible start and was down in ninth, I think, going into turn 1. I knew I had good pace though, so I did my best and pushed hard, moving up to fifth which is where I was when Maria and Sara crashed. It was a very hard-fought race, and I really worked hard to make passes and work my way up, so it wasn’t an easy podium at all. When I crossed the line, I still didn’t know that I had a podium, but I saw my fiancé cheering and then realised where I’d finished. We’ve sacrificed so much to be here this season, him and I, moving to Europe from Australia. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to come to this championship and compete against world-class athletes, but I’m so pleased to have made gradual progress, round by round, and have finished top three today. I knew I could be strong here at Cremona and we did it! I have great people around me, so a big thank you to my team, my fiancé and everyone who supports me.”
1. Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team)
2. Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) +0.195s
3. Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) +13.676s
Young Kiwi Avalon Lewis (née Biddle) made a spectacular wildcard debut over the weekend, carding eighth place in race one before improving to fifth in race two.
An incredible Sunday race at the Cremona Circuit saw four riders going all out for the win today. Victory ultimately went to Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team), the Spaniard joined on the podium by local rider Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team) and Australian Tayla Relph (Tayco Motorsport).
The race came to a disappointing end for Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team), who led the way together with Carrasco until the very last lap. As she prepared to set up the final corners, Herrera found herself battling not only Ana, but also Ponziani and Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) who had caught the leaders and were equally eager for a top three finish.
A last gasp battle between this quartet of riders unfortunately resulted in both Herrera and Sanchez crashing out through turn 11, which meant that Carrasco was able to secure her third win of the year, while Italian Ponziani celebrates her very first WorldWCR podium, achieved at her home round.
Lying fifth at the time of that last lap incident after working her way up the field from ninth, it was Relph who took the final podium spot, the Australian’s first top-three finish of the 2024 season
Rounding out the top five today were Spaniard Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and wildcard Avalon Lewis (Carl Cox Motor Sports), the New Zealander having put in a strong performance all weekend during her first WorldWCR appearance.
With Sunday’s race win and having scored a total of 41 points this weekend, Carrasco now moves into the lead in the championship standings (163 points), nine points ahead of Herrera
Both Sanchez and Herrera were checked at the circuit medical centre following their crashes. Sara has sustained a right hip abrasion, while Maria has a neck sprain and contusion and will be transported to Cremona Hospital for further assessments.
Deemed responsible for causing the crash, Sanchez has been sanctioned with a long lap penalty, to be served during the next race at Estoril.
Ana Carrasco – P1
“I’m so happy because our target at Cremona was to boost our points total and we’ve done that. It was a really tough race today, but I used the same strategy as yesterday, trying to get out front right from the start of the race. I had a few rear grip issues, but I was able to manage that and am very pleased with the result. Maria and I battled hard, passing each other so many times; it was just unfortunate that she crashed right at the end. All four of us were pushing hard in that final sector, and we all tried to be first into that corner. I hope Maria and Sara are OK of course, but I’m pleased with my results this weekend. It’s also important that we’ve now moved into the lead in the championship with just two rounds to go. It’s nice to see some new faces on the podium too, I’m very pleased for Roberta and Tayla.”
Roberta Ponziani – P2
“I’m so, so happy. I knew I could be fast here, but I didn’t know if I could reach the podium. Yesterday I had trouble overtaking and couldn’t do more than I did, but today I was really determined and went all out to pass and finish top three. I did my best to battle with Ana and Maria, and then Sara caught up to us too and I knew we had a fight on our hands. On the last lap, I tried to use the slipstream and pass both Ana and Maria; I’m just sorry for Maria and Sara of course. I leave Cremona happy anyway, and it was great to be in the fight and feel competitive here. We have two more rounds still to run, and they will be tough because I don’t know the Estoril or Jerez tracks, but we will do our best to fight.”
Crashes for Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team), Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno), Luna Hirano (Team Luna) and Sara Varon (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA) early in the race meant that these riders also failed to reach the finish line.
Having crashed in Saturday’s race, Alyssia Whitmore (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) was transported to Cremona Hospital, where it was determined that there are no serious injuries to her head. X-rays show that Lissy has sustained a fractured right wrist and contusions to the chest, torso and leg areas. Whitmore remained in hospital overnight for observation.
WorldWCR returns for the penultimate round at Estoril on October 13 before the season finale at Jerez the following weekend.
World WCR Race Two Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | A Carrasvo | Yam | 20m19.996 | 214,7 |
| 2 | R Ponziani | Yam | +0.195 | 214,7 |
| 3 | T Relph | Yam | +13.676 | 212,2 |
| 4 | B Neila | Yam | +13.858 | 210,5 |
| 5 | A Lewis | Yam | +14.358 | 206,5 |
| 6 | P Ruiz | Yam | +22.431 | 208,5 |
| 7 | Marrasvo | Yam | +25.144 | 207,3 |
| 8 | E Bondi | Yam | +40.083 | 212,6 |
| 9 | O Ongaro | Yam | +40.445 | 209,7 |
| 10 | L Michel | Yam | +40.586 | 210,1 |
| 11 | A Oarrasvo | Yam | +46.825 | 205,7 |
| 12 | C Liu | Yam | +47.105 | 208,1 |
| 13 | R Yochay | Yam | +47.624 | 208,5 |
| 14 | A Sibaja | Yam | +52.328 | 206,9 |
| 15 | L Kemmer | Yam | +52.523 | 203,8 |
| 16 | I Bramato | Yam | +52.862 | 206,5 |
| Not Classifed | ||||
| RET | M Herrera | Yam | 1 Lap | 210,9 |
| RET | S Sanchez | Yam | 1 Lap | 206,9 |
| RET | L Hirano | Yam | 9 Laps | 204,5 |
| RET | J Howden | Yam | 10 Laps | 210,9 |
| RET | S Varon | Yam | 10 Laps | 207,7 |
| RET | M Dobbs | Yam | / | 210,1 |
World WCR Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | A Carrasco | 163 |
| 2 | M Herrera | 154 |
| 3 | S Sanchez | 128 |
| 4 | B Neila | 107 |
| 5 | R Ponziani | 89 |
| 6 | P Ruiz | 70 |
| 7 | T Relph | 54 |
| 8 | R Yochay | 45 |
| 9 | A Madrigal | 41 |
| 10 | O Ongaro | 40 |
| 11 | C Liu | 31 |
| 12 | L Michel | 30 |
| 13 | A Ourednickova | 27 |
| 14 | E Bondi | 25 |
| 15 | I Carreno | 20 |
| 16 | A Lewis | 19 |
| 17 | N Aswegen | 17 |
| 18 | L Kemmer | 16 |
| 19 | M Dobbs | 14 |
| 20 | L Hirano | 13 |
| 21 | J Howden | 9 |
| 22 | A Sibaja | 7 |
| 23 | K Silfa | 1 |
