Reigning WorldWCR champion Maria Herrera joined the Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team for the 2026 season. Her mechanic is Lucrezia Vercelloni, one of few women working in a technical role in the WorldWCR series.
The WorldWCR experience
Both Maria and Lucrezia have been a part of WorldWCR since its inception, in 2024.
Lucrezia: “WorldWCR is a very interesting environment in which to work because we essentially all ‘share’ a garage so there’s a real collaborative spirit. It’s like we’ve created a small community of our own inside the WorldSBK paddock. It’s great to see how the women riders support each other too, offering advice and helping each other. The Italian and European championships are a great platform, but here you have a lot more eyes on you. There’s a lot of interest, also because it’s a relatively new championship.”
Maria: “People sometimes think women riders are slower or less aggressive, but I’ve been very impressed. It’s a challenge every year. We’re at the limit with the bike in WorldWCR, and this year the level is incredible! The bikes are the same for everyone, which levels the playing field. So, you must fight harder and be more precise with certain details than is perhaps necessary in another category, like MotoE or WorldSSP.”
A New Dynamic
2026 brought a fresh challenge, as Maria adjusted to a new team, while Lucrezia faced the pressure of working with the reigning champion.
Maria: “I hoped to do a pre-season test to get to know the team, but it wasn’t possible and so we came to the first round without really knowing each other. But in the end, it was easy and I immediately felt good. It helped that I already felt fast at the first Portimão round, so I was calm and relaxed. And I’m still riding an R7 of course. Switching teams can be tricky, but I know I just have to trust myself and get on with it. I work with one mechanic and one technician, so it’s just the three of us, and I feel very comfortable.”
Lucrezia: “Maria brings so much experience of course. There’s a little more pressure perhaps, but it’s normal to feel a little under pressure when you work with a high-level professional. You always try to do your best and know you’re being closely watched, but that also pushes you to do even better. I think she teaches us, just as we can teach her certain things. Maria’s very good at what she does, and the crew chief, a former rider, is able to steer her in terms of communication, to better understand what she’s feeling on the bike.”
Working in Sync
The working relationship between Maria and Lucrezia is relatively new, but there is already a mutual understanding.
Maria: “Last season, my father noticed Lucrezia in the paddock and told me he thought she was very good, very hard-working, so I was pleased to hear I’d be with her this season. I know she is doing a great job and that all the details are taken care of, so I’m more relaxed. I need this kind of person with me, I think. Away from racing, I know Lucrezia trains and takes part in competitions of her own, so she is disciplined. When you love what you do, you’ll always put in 100% effort, and she gets that. Lucrezia is also very calm and doesn’t talk too much! We understand each other, I think.”
Lucrezia: “As an athlete myself, I understand the preparation required, the fear of disappointing people, the desire to do well. And I get it when Maria feels under pressure. There are similarities between my race work and my streetlifting, I think. In both cases, I must be fully focused and able to tune out distractions. And I need to manage my emotions. At the track, we strive to create a calm atmosphere so that Maria too remains calm. A rider’s emotional state plays a huge role in their performance after all. But Maria’s a professional; once the visor goes down, she’s totally focused on the task at hand.”
The Value of Experience
Both women have learned valuable lessons during their time in WorldWCR.
Lucrezia: “I had to learn to manage the tension and the pressure, as we’re under more scrutiny in WorldWCR. I’ve definitely raised my game since coming to this championship and know I’ve grown, personally and professionally. Winning races means there’s always lots to do, as the goal is to constantly improve our performance. We work on the bike but, as we’re not the ones riding it, it’s fascinating to see how the machine reacts to the modifications we make. It’s a continual learning process.”
Maria: “As a rider, you need to be calm on track. I was more nervous in 2024, the first WorldWCR season, but I feel comfortable with the bike now, and am stronger than I was. I also feel more consistent in every session, whether it’s practice, warmup or the race, which I think is key. I need to change my strategy a little for race 2 and drop a little weight to help myself along the straight, but generally I’m more confident this season.”
Changing the Landscape
Maria and Lucrezia continue to break barriers in motorsport, but have there been challenges along the way?
Maria: “After leading the 2013 CEV Moto3 championship, they didn’t give me the opportunity to step up to an official team. I just didn’t get that chance. I’d been leading the championship, and everything was good, so I feel the lack of opportunity had to do with me being a woman rider; I believe we face more obstacles, at least in the beginning. But over the years, I’ve always got on well with my teams. One or two riders were difficult or might be overly aggressive in response to me overtaking them in a race. But generally, I’ve felt that other riders and paddock staff respect me.”
Lucrezia: “Fortunately, I’ve always worked on teams that welcomed me and were willing to teach me. We’re all here to work, to achieve a goal, and I’ve never come up against any walls. I would say it’s a very positive environment. Sometimes people offer help because they assume that, as a woman, I’m not physically capable of doing something, but that’s okay and I don’t really get offended. There are not many women technicians in WorldWCR, just me and a couple of others. I think some girls are self-conscious about working in this world, but if they see women carving a path here, maybe they too will have the courage to give it a go.”
Maria: “I’d like to see more female technicians of course! I think women can do any job they want, technician, mechanic, anything. Things are improving step by step, and there are now more female mechanics in the MotoGP paddock too. When I started racing, women only worked in organizational areas, travel or hospitality.”
Life in a Different Gear
Away from the track, Maria revels in quiet time to herself, while Lucrezia turns to fighting as an outlet.
Maria: “I paint. It’s something I’ve enjoyed since I was at school. During the pandemic I started to post about my painting on Instagram and people asked if my art was for sale. My mum wanted to keep it all for herself, but I eventually started to sell some pieces. I don’t think about anything when I’m painting; it’s the only way I can relax. I’m a very active person and always have so much going on in my head, but when I paint, I just sit and don’t think. I sketch at the track too, and on the plane. That’s how I like to start a race weekend!”
Lucrezia: “I was a self-professional MMA athlete and now do competitive streetlifting, a strength sport. In the past I worked as a mechanic in a workshop and would take time off to go racing but right now, I’m taking a break from that to focus on my training and competitions, as we might be headed for the European championships. I recently competed in Italy and it went really well – I placed second in my category and second overall.”
Building the Future
As they continue to develop in their respective careers, Maria and Lucrezia share their goals for the future, from competing at the highest level to supporting the next generation.
Lucrezia: “The focus is on my race work right now. I’m definitely open to working in another category in the future, WorldSBK perhaps. It’s another world, different bikes, different work rhythms, but would be a very interesting technical challenge. It’s a dream of mine to work on bigger bikes.”
Maria: “Next year, I hope to keep pushing in this championship. Then, beyond WorldWCR, I want to help and support young women, also via the Spanish Federation. It’s something I already do actually, as my goal is to pass on everything I know to a new generation. This is very important to me.”
