Carl Cox Motorsport has confirmed Avalon Lewis will return to the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR) for the season finale, the Pirelli Spanish Round at Circuito de Jerez from 16-18 October.
The wildcard entry closes out a year the New Zealand-born, Brisbane-based racer has spent recovering from a heavy crash in February that ruled her out of a planned full-season campaign.
Lewis confirmed her place for the full 2026 season in December, after finishing eighth overall in her first full WorldWCR campaign in 2025. Instead, she has spent the year fighting to get back on the grid.
“It feels like a bit of closure,” Lewis said.
“We started this year with the intent to race the full WCR season and put so much effort and preparation into it. We were about three weeks out from the start of the season when it became apparent my injury really wasn’t going to heal in time for me to give it 100 per cent at that level. To be able to go to the final round means we can finish this year how we meant it to be.”
The crash came at the Burt Munro Challenge in New Zealand, in full view of Carl Cox himself.
“I had a big crash in February at the Burt Munro Challenge, and unfortunately I was right in front of Carl, who was there spectating for the weekend. Not what I wanted to do,” she said.
“I didn’t break any bones, but it was a high-speed impact, and I’ve had a lot of whiplash and neck injuries over the years. My neck almost seized up and I had pinched nerves. One day I could be fine and the next I couldn’t turn my head at all. I was also suffering concussion-like symptoms, which were probably mostly coming from all that tension in my neck.”
With no broken bones to heal, recovery became a long trial-and-error process.
“It’s been a long, up-and-down journey,” Lewis said.
“Lots of appointments, trying a heap of different physios and specialists to alleviate the headaches and symptoms. All year, I’ve been trying to get back to racing and do WCR as planned.
“I’ve been riding the Yamaha R7 here in Australia a lot, doing some local race meetings and getting as much track time as possible to monitor how I’m going. I finally feel like we’re back there now.”
The return carries a mix of emotions.
“Excitement, and almost a sense of relief as well, because it’s been such a long year of medical appointments and trying to get my fitness and health back to 100 per cent,” she said.
“I feel like I owe it to our sponsors and supporters, in particular Carl Cox Motorsport, who supported me to do this and have supported me throughout my recovery. It’s not been what we expected, but we can at least go and give it a stab to finish off.”
Carl Cox commented:
“I was trackside at the Burt Munro Challenge when Avalon came off, and that’s the last thing you ever want to see. What’s impressed me most this year is how she’s handled the recovery. It’s been a long, frustrating road, and she’s never once stopped working to get back. That tells you everything about her. Getting back on the grid for the final round at Jerez is a win in itself, and whatever happens on track, the whole Carl Cox Motorsport family is right behind her.”
Lewis rejoins a championship going down to the wire. María Herrera leads Beatriz Neila by 44 points heading into the final two races, with the title set to be decided at Jerez. Lewis knows the circuit, having finished 11th in both races there in 2025, but she is under no illusions about the task ahead.
“The whole field has done a whole year of racing, and I’m coming in for the last one to try and compete with them. It’s going to be incredibly hard,” she said. “Everyone’s also been testing at Jerez, and we couldn’t quite make that happen, so we’re a little bit on the back foot. We have a 25-minute practice, then a 25-minute qualifying, and then it’s straight into the races. There’s basically no time to adjust.”
What she is looking forward to most is simple.
“The fast, flowing corners. The tracks in Europe are just insane, so fast and so perfect. You can use all the track, all the kerbs. I’m looking forward to the challenge of extracting the most out of myself and the bike in such a short space of time.”
Lewis will be backed by a crew drawn from three countries, with her husband and son travelling from Australia.
“It’s going to be really fun to have the crew back together,” she said. “We’ve got people from New Zealand, my family from here in Australia, my husband and son are coming, and we’re meeting our mechanics from Germany over there.”
Her weekend targets are clear.
“To get a top 10 would be out of this world. To finish inside the points, so top 15, would be a good result,” Lewis said.
“Score some points for Carl Cox Motorsport, go have a good weekend and enjoy it as a team, and know that we’ve overcome all the obstacles that were thrown our way this season.”
Header Image: William Joly
