Paul Denning on Managing a Team in the WorldWCR
- alicejukes
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Paul Denning is a name synonymous with excellence in the motorcycle industry.
His career spans across decades - from his role as Managing Director of Crescent Motorcycles to leading MotoGP and World Superbike teams, Denning knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level. Today, he serves as Team Principal of the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in World Superbike - however there is one major role that, until now, has gone widely unnoticed.
I sat down with Denning to discuss one of his newest ventures, managing a team in the WorldWCR - the FIM’s first all-female circuit racing world championship. In our conversation, I expected his trademark directness - and that is exactly what I got.
WorldWCR Project
When asked how this opportunity came about, Denning was candid: “I didn’t take on the initiative personally.” Instead, the project originated from Yamaha itself. “They called me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve done this deal to support and get the WCR off the ground. It’d be great if our official Superbike team could support.’”
Given that every rider in WorldWCR competes on Yamaha R7 machinery, the request made sense. As Yamaha’s premier Superbike outfit, Denning’s team was a natural fit to help spearhead the initiative. Initially, however, he viewed his involvement through a purely business-oriented lens. “So, I said, OK, fine, it’s going to cost us some money, but it feels like the right thing to do and feels like the right thing to be involved in.”
Denning approached the project with pragmatism. “I honestly thought at the start, you know, cards on the table, that we would be doing it for political reasons - to say yes to Yamaha and to get involved,” he admitted. Although over time, his perspective shifted, “actually, it turned out to be a very satisfying project to be involved in”.
The Search for a Rider
With this new project underway, Denning’s next steps were to find a rider deserving of adorning the Pata Prometeon Yamaha (now Ampito Crescent Yamaha) colours for the 2024 season. Familiar with only women’s motorcycle racing’s two biggest names, Ana Carrasco and Maria Herrera, he sought help from Phillipa Laverty.
Laverty, an influential member of the FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission (CFM), pointed to Beatriz Neila. “She said, oh, you've got to speak to Beatriz Neila. She's crazy. She's great. She's won some European championship races and championships” Denning recalls.
2024 Season with Neila
As Laverty suggested, Neila was a rider with an excellent track record. Participation in the Redbull Rookies cup in 2017, seven races in the World Supersport 300 category and four back-to-back championship titles in the Women’s European Cup set the stage for her inaugural season as a formidable competitor.
However, even with these achievements under her belt, Denning admits his expectations heading into 2024 were measured; “whilst you're right, she'd won four Women's European Championships, the level of that championship was far below what, for example, Ana and Maria had been doing in the past […] so it was quite a step to expect Beatriz to get to that level.”
Denning is referring to Carrasco and Herrera’s participation in global premier classes of racing. Both riders have competed in MotoGP’s Moto3 class and WorldSBK’s Supersport 300 class - Carrasco taking the title in Supersport 300 and Herrera’s additional experience in the MotoE category put them a step ahead of the WCR’s 2024 grid.
Reflecting on Neila’s first year with the team, Denning admits his “expectations were exceeded”. With a fourth-place finish in the championship, - preceded only by Carrasco, Herrera, and Sara Sanchez respectively - and four podium-place finishes, Neila certainly made a name for herself as one of the WCR’s top competitors.
Denning offers an insight into her progression, citing qualifying as a weak point - “sometimes she’d qualify three seconds off, which is a massive gap”. Race pace was strong from the outset, “she’d set the fastest lap of the race and go just as fast as the girls in the front”. It was finding that balance as the season went on that secured Neila her eventual top 4 finish in the championship, along with her remarkable consistency for the duration of the season; “[She] didn't fall much either. I think we had one accident in a practice session in the whole season. So, she's clearly got very good bike handling skills”.
A Learning Curve
The WorldWCR project proved to be a learning curve for both Denning and Neila. Managing a team in this championship presented a distinctly different dynamic compared to Denning’s experience in World Superbike. “When you have a guy like Toprak [Razgatlioglu] or Jonathan [Rea], earning the big bucks with certain levels of expectation, they know what they need to do,” he explained. “They don’t need anything from someone like myself as team principal other than support and to know I’ve got their back in all situations.”
For Neila, the transition to a world championship-level team required significant adaptation. Having spent much of her career in a close-knit, family-run setup, she was accustomed to racing with the support of her father, mother, and sister. “For her, it was often just her dad and her family,” Denning explained. “Win or lose, her mum’s always crying in the garage, and her dad’s bouncing around pit lane like a maniac. It’s an incredibly emotional dynamic and trying to be part of that and make a difference isn’t easy.”
Recognizing that Neila needed more than just technical guidance, Denning worked with her to make a shift towards a more professional and structured approach. One of her main requests for the season was to have the team technicians take over the mechanical duties her father had traditionally handled. Denning recalled, “That’s what she asked for this year - she wanted us to provide technicians who could take her dad out of that role. This way, he could just be her dad, not a mechanic.”
Denning’s approach to Neila’s development has been deliberate and patient, understanding that trying to force too many changes at once could backfire. “There’s a lot to work on with her,” he admitted, “but pushing too hard too fast can be counterproductive.” One thing Denning has noticed is that Neila takes time to process feedback but when she’s ready, embraces it fully. “Two races later, she’ll come to me and say, ‘I’ve been thinking, and I think I should do this,’” Denning shares, “and it’s exactly what we suggested earlier, but when she comes to it herself, she’s all in.”
The Future of Motorsport
Denning’s approach with Neila is just one example of the bigger changes unfolding in motorsport right now. His journey in World Superbike and his leadership in the Ampito Crescent Yamaha team in WorldWCR have given him a front-row seat to the transformation of the sport, particularly in terms of the growing presence and impact of women in racing.
This isn’t just about managing riders; it’s about breaking new ground and challenging old norms. Denning has seen firsthand how women in the paddock are reshaping the sport, even if the path isn’t always easy. From Neila’s personal growth to the ongoing fight for equal opportunities, Denning is deeply invested in creating a more inclusive and diverse future for motorsport.
In our upcoming Perspectives article, Denning will share his thoughts on the future of the WorldWCR, shedding light on the barriers women still face and how he believes the sport can evolve to become more inclusive. His insights promise to be not just eye-opening but a call to action for everyone involved in the sport.
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