{"id":6216,"date":"2026-04-17T19:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grtracingteam.com\/?p=6216"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:16:31","slug":"worldwcr-assen2026-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grtracingteam.com\/en\/worldwcr-assen2026-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-Back Pole Position for Herrera on Friday at Assen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Herrera secured another pole position at the legendary TT Circuit Assen for the Terra&Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team, delivering an outstanding qualifying performance to claim her second pole of the season. Natalia Rivera also showed strong pace in Superpole, finishing ninth at the chequered flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s action began with Free Practice 1 at 12:15 local time, where Herrera immediately demonstrated impressive speed. Setting quick laps on used tyres, the Spanish rider topped the timesheets with a 1:47.613 in the 25-minute session. Teammate Natalia Rivera also delivered a solid performance, finishing sixth fastest with a time of 1:50.173.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herrera carried this momentum into the Superpole session. After setting the early benchmark, the 29-year-old improved further with a decisive 1:47.031 lap, securing pole position and a front-row start for Saturday\u2019s Race 1. Rivera also had a strong qualifying session, running in the front row during the early stages. However, she struggled to improve later on and ultimately finished ninth (1:48.730), earning a third-row start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both riders will return to the track on Saturday morning for Warm-Up 2 ahead of Race 1, which is scheduled to start at 12:00 local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Herrera \u2013 P1 (1\u201947.031)<\/strong>
\u201cIt\u2019s great to be on pole again. It was very close, and it\u2019s always exciting when the competition is so tight. Overall, I feel good, and it\u2019s the best possible way to start the weekend. Now we head into the races with confidence. We know it will be a tough fight, so we need to be ready to battle. Looking at the weather, I think we\u2019re prepared even if it rains, although I\u2019d prefer a dry race for the show.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalia Rivera \u2013 P9 (1\u201948.730)<\/strong>
\u201cOverall, it was a solid qualifying session. It\u2019s a shame we couldn\u2019t improve more towards the end, but the wind made things difficult. For most of the session, we were in the top five, and I was hoping to stay there. Still, it was a positive result, and we\u2019re not far from the front group. The goal now is to get a strong start and stay with the leading pack to deliver a strong Race 1.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n