Maria Herrera admitted that she put “more pressure” on herself to become a back-to-back WorldWCR champion after sealing the title in Race 1 at Jerez.
Qualifying second on the grid to rookie Paola Ramos, Herrera knew a top 10 finish would be enough to ensure the defence of her WorldWCR title, which she also won in a final showdown in Jerez last year.
The Spanish rider admitted to feeling nervous “in the second lap” after falling slightly behind eventual race winner Paola Ramos and title rival Beatriz Neila, with the two riders having far better pace throughout the race.
Ramos, however, received a double long lap penalty for a jump start, which saw her relinquish the lead to Neila, while Herrera was scrapping with her team-mate Natalia Rivera and Roberta Ponziani for the final spot on the podium.
The 19-year-old Spaniard recovered after the jump start and joined far in front of the third-to-fifth place runners, and set her sights back on Neila in the lead.
On the final lap, Ramos passed Neila – who had no defence – for the lead and secured her third win of the campaign.
Herrera, meanwhile, dropped back behind both Rivera and Ponziani before battling to the line against Yvonne Cerpa and Chloe Jones. Knowing she had the title in the bag, the 30-year-old crossed the line in sixth, but was promoted back to fifth after a post-race penalty for Cerpa.
Maria Herrera dedicates ‘intensive’ WorldWCR title to ‘very important’ awareness cause
“I knew I had the pace, but I feel the nerves in the second lap,” Herrera told media including Motorsport Week.
“I say ‘okay, Paola, have a good pace. Bea has to want to push with Paola, so no problem. If I manage the gap [to them] and the gap behind me because the group, it was close every time, I just wanted to finish because I felt nervous, and it’s easy to do a mistake.
“The year was very intensive. I think I put more pressure on the lap time. I did one second less in every race, in every track.
“For me, the level is high. Every girl is improving a lot. In Jerez you can see it’s a big group, so it’s very difficult to continue with the same mood every year.”
Herrera’s world championship celebrations also featured a tribute to breast cancer awareness, with a banner being raised during her champion’s lap.
“It’s very important, because I have many friends, also the main sponsor of the team, have this,” Herrera explained of her dedication to the
“So it’s very, very close to me, and I want it to dedicate this championship. It’s very important to serve this cause and [raise] more money for this.”
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