Championship leader Maria Herrera secured a front-row start for Race 1 after setting the second-fastest time in Friday’s Superpole session at Misano. Teammate Natalia Rivera will line up 18th on the grid following a 6-grid penalty after qualifying 12th, and now she looks to fight her way through the field during the opening race of the weekend.
Herrera made an impressive start to the weekend, topping the timesheets in Free Practice 1. The Spaniard set a benchmark lap of 1’49.256 in the 25-minute session, carrying strong momentum into the afternoon’s qualifying session.
Confident and competitive throughout Superpole, the 29-year-old displayed both strong pace and consistency. Despite struggling with windy conditions in the closing stages and being unable to improve on her final runs, Herrera secured second place with a lap time of 1’48.007, earning a valuable front-row start for Saturday’s race.
On her first World Championship appearance at the Misano World Circuit, Rivera continued to build confidence throughout the day. The 19-year-old finished 14th in Free Practice 1 with a best lap of 1’52.194 before making a significant step forward in qualifying. Rivera will ultimately start from 18th after a six-place grid penalty was applied following qualifying.
In the 25-minute Superpole session, Rivera pushed hard to maximise her potential and ultimately secured 12th place on the grid with a lap time of 1’49.830. Missing out on a third-row start by only a few tenths, the Spanish rider nevertheless showed encouraging pace and consistency ahead of the races.
The Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team will return to action on Saturday with Warm Up at 09:00 local time, followed by Race 1 at 12:00.
Maria Herrera: P2 (1’48.007)
"It was a positive day overall and we can be satisfied with the work we’ve done. This morning the track was still a little dirty, but we managed to find a good feeling quite quickly and our pace was strong. Superpole started with a lot of traffic on track and I wasn’t able to find clear space until the final laps, but by then the wind had picked up and it was difficult to improve my lap time. That said, our pace is very good and we know tomorrow’s race will involve a larger group of riders, but we are prepared for that. It’s all part of racing and, in the end, we secured a strong front-row start. The race is what really matters, so now we need to stay focused, keep working hard and try to make another step forward. We’re ready to fight tomorrow." Siamo pronte a lottare domani."
Natalia Rivera: P12 (1’49.830)
"Overall, it was a productive but challenging Friday. Although I know Misano well, this is my first World Championship weekend here, so it wasn’t easy to immediately find the right feeling, especially with the track conditions this morning. We made a good step forward between the morning and afternoon sessions, but unfortunately we missed out on a third-row start by just a few tenths. Later on, we were relegated to 18th position due to a penalty. These things happen; it was a decision made by Race Direction and I accept it. Even so, our pace is good enough to stay with the group tomorrow and, with a strong start, we can fight for a good result. We’ll keep working hard to find a little more performance and I’m confident we can achieve that."
