Roberta Ponziani shares her thoughts on racing World WCR heading into Round 4 at Balaton Park, Hungary, this weekend. Currently standing P4 overall, the Italian rider has proved a force to be reckoned with winning Race 1 at Cremona circuit in May followed by P2 in Race 2 – much to the delight on home fans cheering track-side.
With racing tight up front, Roberta’s maiden win in World WCR’s second season not only confirmed her ability to produce best possible performance on the track, but also reinforced her strength of character to race for the win under pressure from equally competitive rider’s. Results state the gap between Roberta’s P1 and current Championship leader – Maria Herrera in P2 – was a mere 0.150 with her fastest lap of 1’40.496 at 212.2 km/h.
The Opening Round at Assen along with Round 3 at Donington Park proved another test of mental tenacity as Roberta adjusted to racing a new track in the Netherlands and suffered a disqualification in Superpole in the UK – 2 weeks ago. Neither undeterred nor willing to succumb to disappointment, Roberta dug deep starting from back of the grid at Donington Park for Race 1, finishing a credible P10 followed by P6 in R2.
Roberta: ”So far the championship has been full of ups and downs. In Assen I had some difficulties with the new track and a contact in Race 2. In Cremona it was a perfect weekend with a first and second place, and in Donington a disqualification in Superpole ruined the whole weekend. I thought I could be more consistent this year, that will be the goal for the next races!”
With consistency uppermost in Roberta’s mind, racing 2025 World WCR has pushed #96 to further develop her skills as a rider, maintaining track position within close window of lap times. Race 2 at Donington Park was super close with the top 6 rider’s within 1.326 seconds – Roberta holding P6 – making for a thrilling Round 4 at Balaton Park, this weekend.
Roberta: “In Cremona I felt really good, I managed to do everything I had planned and everything went exactly how I wanted! At Donington Park, my goal for that race was to recover as many positions as possible, but also to push hard to get a good grid position for Race 2. Unfortunately, a technical issue complicated things even further. Balaton is a tough track. Almost all the girls have done testing there, so I won’t have much of an advantage, but strategy during the race will definitely be important to avoid attacks in the final chicanes”.
World WCR Round 4 at Balaton Park circuit, July 25 – 27. Header photo: Roberta Ponziani Image: World WCR Graphics: MXLink
Words: Sharon Cox.
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