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.
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. Photo: MNZ/Carl Cox Motorsport
Lewis was confirmed 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 process of trial and error.
“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 come back to racing to do WCR like we 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 size of the task.
Avalon Lewis in action at Morgan Park Raceway, Queensland, Australia. Photo: MNZ/Craig Mayne
“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 targets for the weekend 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.”
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. Photo: MNZ/Carl Cox Motorsport
About Avalon Lewis
Avalon Lewis (née Biddle) is a New Zealand-born motorcycle racer based in Brisbane. She began road racing at 13 and went on to win the Women’s European Cup in 2015 and 2016, and in 2019 became the first woman to win the New Zealand Supersport 600 Championship. She made her WorldWCR debut as a wildcard with Carl Cox Motorsport in 2024 and finished eighth overall in her first full season in 2025.
About Carl Cox
Carl Cox is a world-renowned DJ, producer, and lifelong motorsport obsessive whose passion for racing runs as deep as his influence on global dance music.
Best known as one of the most influential figures in house and techno, Carl has spent decades headlining the world’s biggest stages, from Ibiza residencies to global festivals. Away from the decks, he is just as consumed by speed, engineering and competition. Motorsport isn’t a side hobby for Carl, it’s part of who he is.
His love of two wheels started young, faded during the rise of his DJ career, then came roaring back in later in life. Since then, he’s immersed himself fully in the racing world as someone who genuinely understands the machines, the risks and the people who race them.
Carl is a regular at iconic events like the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Phillip Island, where he’s as comfortable talking gearing, lines and setup as he is music. He has long-standing friendships with legends like Valentino Rossi, supports TT greats such as Michael Dunlop, and is one of the sport’s most passionate advocates for sidecar racing, a discipline he loves for its danger, teamwork and raw spectacle.
Whether it’s behind the decks, in the paddock, on pit lane or down the quarter mile, Carl Cox brings the same energy, curiosity and commitment. DJ, racer, supporter, collector, fan, he doesn’t separate the worlds of music and motorsport. He lives both, flat out.
About Carl Cox Motorsport
Carl Cox Motorsport is a global, multi-discipline racing organisation founded and led by Carl Cox, built to support riders and teams across two, three and four wheels.
The programme spans motorcycle road racing, sidecars, circuit racing, drag racing and emerging categories. Carl remains an active competitor himself, particularly in drag racing, ensuring a direct connection to the culture, risks and realities of the sport.
A cornerstone of the programme is the Carl Cox Motorsport Cup in New Zealand, an affordable, one-make series designed to lower the barrier to entry and provide a genuine pathway into higher levels of competition. The Cup has been running for over a decade and has helped develop riders such as Avalon Lewis, who has progressed from the series onto the international stage.
In 2026, Carl Cox Motorsport continues to expand its global footprint, combining grassroots development with support for elite-level competition, while embracing innovation and new forms of racing. At every level, the mission remains the same: back the people, respect the sport, and stay true to the culture that makes motorsport special.
About FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR)
The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR) is the first world championship for women in circuit racing. Organised by the FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization, it was announced in 2023 and launched in 2024, racing alongside the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at selected European rounds.
Every rider competes on identical Yamaha YZF-R7 machinery, fitted with a Yamaha GYTR race kit and Pirelli Diablo tyres and maintained centrally by JiR, putting the focus squarely on rider talent. A full-time grid of 24 riders contests six rounds and 12 races each season.
Ana Carrasco claimed the inaugural title in 2024, and María Herrera was crowned champion in 2025. The 2026 title will be decided at the Pirelli Spanish Round at Circuito de Jerez, 16-18 October. Every race is streamed live and free on the WorldWCR YouTube channel.
