The Pata Prometeon Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team has announced former bLU cRU rider and reigning Women’s European Champion Beatriz Neila will join its line-up in 2024. The 21-year-old university student from Madrid, Spain will contest the inaugural FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship aboard a Yamaha R7.
Selected in 2019 to join Yamaha’s bLU cRU program, which included attendance at the prestigious Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, Neila contested all nine WorldSSP300 rounds that season where her tenacity, dedication and positive attitude shone as she developed her race craft within the Yamaha family.
In 2020 Neila switched her attention to the Women’s European Championship, winning the title at her first attempt and then going on to dominate the series for the next three seasons, each of which saw her again crowned as champion.
The Women's Circuit Racing World Championship was officially launched by Dorna and the FIM at the 2023 WorldSBK season finale in Jerez late last year, utilising the race-proven Yamaha R7 Supersport machine as a single-make series.
For Neila, racing at World Championship level was the obvious next step and, given her experience in the bLU cRU programme and her domination of the Women’s European Championship, a perfect fit for the Crescent-operated squad as they look to contest the new FIM-backed category. She will join the squad alongside six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea and 2020 WorldSSP Champion Andrea Locatelli – an enviable wealth of knowledge to draw from for any young rider.
With strong interest to compete in the new series from around the world, Neila is looking forward to the challenge ahead as she makes her return to the Yamaha Racing family.
The FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship will take place during six rounds of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship with two races per weekend.
Round 1: 14-16 June, Misano World Circuit, Italy
Round 2: 12-14 July, Donington Park, UK
Round 3: 09-11 August, Autodromo Algarve, Portugal
Round 4: 23-25 August, Balaton Ring, Hungary
Round 5: 20-22 September, Cremona Circuit, Italy
Round 6: 11-13 October, Jerez Circuit, Spain
Paul Denning, Team Principal - Pata Prometeon Yamaha:
“The FIM Women’s World Championship is an exciting initiative coming to the WorldSBK paddock, supported by Yamaha as the sole bike supplier of the class, and naturally as a team we wanted to get involved. Beatriz is a young, ambitious rider who has already had success at European Championship level and, with the technical assistance of our team as well as support from Jonathan and Loka, I am sure we can help her to take another step forward in her racing career. Beatriz has a very engaging personality and an ever-present smile, is a dedicated athlete as well as a positive advocate for women in motorcycle racing – she will be a great addition to the team! As we look forward to being part of the Women’s World Championship and see it grow in 2024, we are also sure that Beatriz will be a fierce competitor and a great asset to the partners who join us on this new challenge.”
Beatriz Neila - Pata Prometeon Yamaha:
“Competing in the first Women's Motorcycle World Championship with the Pata Prometeon Yamaha team is a dream come true for me. After winning the Women’s European Championship for four years in a row and I really wanted to move to the world stage – this FIM Women's World Championship is the future and it’ll be a historical moment in motorcycle racing for all of us. My goals for this year are to work hard, enjoy, learn a lot with my team and smile. It’s an honour for me to be part of the blue family once again and I’m super happy! I want to thank all at Yamaha and the team for this fantastic opportunity.”
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