Daniela Guillén Wins WMX World Motocross Championship in Darwin
Daniela Guillén secured the 2026 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship (WMX) title on Sunday at Hidden Valley in Darwin, Australia, making history as the first female Spanish rider to claim a world crown in the discipline. Riding for the Real Federación Española de Motociclismo team, Guillén swept both motos of the final grand prix weekend to seal the championship with 233 points.
A Historic Double-Moto Sweep in Australia
Coming into the final round of the season at the Darwin circuit, Guillén held a slim six-point lead in the standings over her closest challenger, six-time world champion Kiara Fontanesi of the Fontanaracing squad. Rather than protect her advantage, the 20-year-old Spaniard delivered a dominant performance on the track, capturing victories in both Saturday’s opening moto and Sunday’s decisive final race, alongside setting the fastest lap in both encounters, according to MXGP.com.
Saturday’s race saw Guillén battle intense pressure to cross the finish line 4.776 seconds ahead of the Netherlands’ Lotte Van Drunen, who competed for Yamaha. New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan finished third on a Kawasaki, while Fontanesi took fourth. That initial heat stretched Guillén’s championship lead to 13 points.
Overcoming Early Trouble on Sunday
Sunday’s finale tested Guillén’s resilience immediately. As the gates dropped, Fontanesi crashed on the opening lap and dropped back to twelfth place, effectively ending her pursuit of a seventh world title despite battling back to finish seventh overall in the race.
Guillén crossed the finish line first with nearly a three-second gap over Turner’s Yamaha. The double-moto victory cemented her final tally at 233 points—24 clear of Fontanesi. Van Drunen secured third in the overall season standings with 177 points.
A Culmination of Years of Pursuit
The world title caps a steady ascent for Guillén, who began riding motorcycles at just three years old. Prior to her breakthrough in Australia, she finished as the world championship runner-up in both 2023 and 2024, followed by a third-place finish in 2025. Her 2026 campaign featured three grand prix victories, with wins in France, Germany, and finally Australia, underpinned by the consistency that kept the red leader’s plate on her bike throughout the stretch run.
Speaking to local media outlets prior to her departure for Australia, Guillén noted that she preferred to focus on race wins rather than points arithmetic, drawing confidence from fond memories of the Darwin layout where she had previously tasted victory. More than 13,000 kilometers away from her hometown of Lloret de Mar, that preparation paid off.
Spaniards Share Success at Hidden Valley
Guillén’s historic championship was part of a broader Spanish success story at the Darwin circuit. On the same weekend at Hidden Valley, compatriot Guillem Farrés captured the MX2 world title riding for Triumph, marking a banner weekend for Spanish motocross on the international stage.
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