This Saturday afternoon, the first race of the GP of Türkiye took place.
Daniela Guillen delivered a strong performance. Part of the leading trio from the opening corners, she briefly took the lead before being passed by Kiara Fontanesi. The Spaniard from the Mequitec Racing team reclaimed the top spot on lap five and never looked back. Fontanesi had led for several laps, but Guillen closed in steadily thanks to different lines and finally made her move on the inside. The Italian tried to respond, but a small mistake, make her losing precious ground. Although she pushed until the end, she did not find an opportunity to retake the lead. Championship leader Lotte van Drunen finished third. Lacking the pace to match the front two, she nevertheless secured an important podium finish in her title bid, despite a minor mistake that cost nothing.
Martine Hughes took the holeshot but ran off track while avoiding Guillen in one corner, which dropped her to fourth. The Norwegian then produced a consistent ride to claim her best result of the season and successfully held off Amandine Verstappen. The Belgian, riding for the NewBike Yamaha team, made two strong opening laps to position herself in fifth but was unable to close the gap created in the early stages. Lucy Barker followed in sixth with a convincing race. Always in the right group from the start, the British rider confirmed her ability to fight for the top five.
April Franzoni finished seventh. The Frenchwoman from the SLR Honda team struggled to find her rhythm at first but showed great pace in the closing laps. Excluding the podium finishers, she set the fastest time of the field. Larissa Papenmeier got away well but chose the wrong line in the second corner, dropping several positions. From outside the top ten she recovered well, but time lost in traffic limited her to eighth. The German from the SYE 423 Racing Team had the speed for more but could not recover enough ground. Still building back to full fitness, Malou Jakobsen rode a brave race. The Danish rider from KL Racing started in the top five but slipped back lap after lap. She fought hard to defend her position and made rivals work to overtake her.
It was a difficult day for Shana van der Vlist. The Dutch rider never found her rhythm and lost ground in the championship battle, with rivals closing in. She will be looking for solutions in tomorrow’s race. Behind her, Mathea Selebø continued her steady season with eleventh place, adding valuable points. Danée Gelissen recovered well from a poor start but a mistake cost her time, leaving her twelfth at the finish. Alexandra Massury produced a fine comeback ride to finish just behind Gelissen. The 2022 European 125cc champion gained several positions after a difficult opening lap.
Tyra Bäckström took fourteenth place. After a promising start, the Swede made a mistake that pushed her to the back but she regrouped and climbed back through the field. Returning to the World Championship, Nellie Fransson finished in the top-15, showing good speed on her JK Yamaha Racing machine. Adrija Skudutyte crossed the line in sixteenth after slipping steadily back from a strong start inside the top ten but still picked up important points.
Laura Raunkjaer came home seventeenth for the SYE 423 Racing Team, ahead of Jana Sanchez, who matched her pace for much of the race. Aneta Cepelaková, uncertain to compete after her injury in the Netherlands, managed to finish nineteenth and collect two points. Barbara Aagaard Andersen closed the top 20. After a crash on the opening lap, the Dane pushed hard to secure the final point.
