That is a proper way to close out a campaign. The FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship wrapped up its 2026 season on Sunday, October 18th at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia, delivering yet another title fight that stretched all the way to the final weekend for the third consecutive season. For Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha), the championship odds were practically nonexistent coming into Race 1, needing a near-impossible swing to overturn Maria Herrera's (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR) commanding 44-point advantage with only 50 points left on the table.
Yet the Madrid native simply put her head down and did what she has done all year: she delivered. Neila grabbed P3 in the Tissot Superpole session, landing just over a tenth behind the #6 machine. When the lights went out, she wasted no time picking off Herrera on the opening lap. She chased down Paola Ramos (Klint Racing Team) in P1, inheriting the lead when the #58 was slapped with a double Long Lap penalty for a jump start by FIM WorldSBK Stewards. Neila stretched her advantage to an incredible 3.4 seconds by the end of Lap 7 before Ramos mounted a storming recovery charge, pushing Neila back to P2. Meanwhile, Herrera's P6 finish was more than enough to clinch the World Championship crown for the second year in a row.
The words I'd use to describe my season would be: consistent, professional, and calm,
Race 2 brought more of the same relentless fighting at the front. Starting from second, Neila went wheel-to-wheel with the newly crowned 2026 Champion in the early running. The #36 spent the first four laps trading positions with Herrera, pulling more than nine tenths clear by the end of Lap 4. Catching the flying rookie Ramos ahead proved to be a mountain to climb, though. Neila kept the pressure on, staying within a second of the leader for the entire distance. By Lap 8, the gap had shrunk to a razor-thin 0.162 seconds. Even though Neila flew through the final two laps with faster times than Ramos, the rookie slammed the door shut when it mattered most.
"I wanted a last corner move, but she closed the door," Neila said after taking her seventh silver medal of the season. Reflecting on the finale, she added: "The race was super good, more or less the same as yesterday, but Paola and I fought at the front after we created a gap. I'm happy, I did my best, and I finished the race well. The fight at the last part of the race was good. When I saw on my pitboard that the rider behind us was close, I tried to stay calm and to stay with Pao as I was in the podium places. I wanted to make a move in the last corner, but she closed the door and made it impossible. Finishing on the podium in the last race of the season makes me happy."
Considering she jumped to a new team this past offseason, Neila's campaign was nothing short of a masterclass in consistency. She scored 11 podiums out of 12 races. Her only blemish all year came at Donington Park Race 1, where FIM WorldSBK stewards penalised a rival for an incident that forced the #6 off into the grass, snapping an incredible 22-race podium streak dating back to the championship's very first season. Unfazed, she bounced right back to claim her second victory of the year in Donington Park Race 2, following it up with silver in the final two races.
"The words I'd use to describe my season would be: consistent, professional, and calm," Neila summed up. "I see my 2026 in a positive way. I'm not sure what's next. I want to do the same because I'm fighting for women in this sport, so I want to continue supporting this World Championship. For that, I want to try to find the best solution and the best way to arrive at the first race of the season in 2027 and continue the way I've been enjoying."
