Round 2 looms for the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship at Donington Park, UK

It was a fierce start to the inaugural WorldWCR Championship, held last month at Misano World Circuit with many factors unknown of how the Championship would play out in its first-ever round.

Now that we know what to expect in WorldWCR, we head into the second round of the championship with much more knowledge; calming the nerves and angst as we head into Friday’s Free Practice session.

Preparation for the upcoming round at Donington Park has come along well for 27-year-old Australian rider, Tayla Relph, which included test days at both Donington Park Circuit and Portimão, the next stop on the WorldWCR calendar.

Despite physical training taking a back-seat during the past 4 weeks due to ongoing pain from AC Ligament Damage caused by a crash in the opening race at Misano, the most important part is that pain has significantly reduced on the bike for Relph.

“Starting the Championship with Grade 2 AC Ligament Damage in my left shoulder certainly wasn’t on the cards, but it is what I’ve been dealt with and I’ve been doing everything I can to best manage the pain and the injury ahead of Round 2.” Relph said.

“Movement in my shoulder has been progressing well with each day, but I’ve only just started training using my arms as of this week and due to this, we are on the backfoot I guess in terms of physical preparation, but we have done what we can to ensure I didn’t cause more harm to my shoulder while it’s healing.”

The sole Australian on the grid currently sits 15th in the World Championship standings on four points, with hopes to make big gains on the points scoring ladder at Donington Park.

“We had a successful test at Donington Park two weeks ago and I instantly felt more comfortable on-track than I did at Misano; Donington Park is a fast-flowing circuit and suits my riding style, and I hope I can carry our momentum gained at the test into the race this weekend,” Relph said.

“I know my strengths and weaknesses; the Championship allows us to overlay our data with the fastest riders each day and we learned a lot about where I need to improve. This was the centre of our focus during our testing days, so I am positive we can have a much better weekend at Donington!”

This Friday will see Free Practice 1 and Qualifying/Superpole get underway, followed by a warm-up and a 12-lap race on both Saturday and Sunday.