On the 20th of September 2026, under the Darwin sun in the Northern Territory of Australia, Daniela Guillén crossed the finish line of the final race of the FIM Women's Motocross World Championship season and became World Champion. She did it by winning both races on the day. Not managing, not protecting a gap but riding on the attacking. That is the kind of champion Daniela Guillén is, and it is exactly the way she has raced all year.

This is the story of how she got there.

The Rider and the Team

Daniela Guillén races for the Mequitec GASGAS Spanish Racing Team. One of the most competitive setups in women's motocross and a team that has been alongside her throughout her development as a world-class rider. Heading into 2026 she was direct about what she wanted from the season. She was happy with her pre-season preparation, felt more mature and confident than in previous years, and while she had a clear goal to win she was committed to taking it one race at a time.

That balance between ambition and patience became the defining quality of her 2026 season.

Round 1 — Lacapelle-Marival, France

The season opened in France and Daniela showed her hand immediately. A P2 in race one was the kind of start to give her an understanding of where she stands without burning out in the opening moto. She came out of race two determined to push harder, and it paid off. P1 across the line. The overall victory was hers.

It was her first WMX overall win of the 2026 season, and the champagne that rained over the Lacapelle-Marival podium was well deserved. She left France with the red plate.

Round 2 — Teutschenthal, Germany

If France had been a statement, Germany was an exclamation mark. Daniela arrived at Teutschenthal with a target on her back and raced like it meant nothing. Race one, P1. Race two, P1. This time with a commanding lead. The women's class was described as super intense this year, and she reflected afterwards that it was the first holeshot she could remember taking since her world cup racing days. Back-to-back overall victories. The championship lead extended and of course, more champagne.

Round 3 — Great Britain

Every championship has its turning point. For Daniela in 2026 that moment came at the British round, where Kiara Fontanesi, six-time World Champion and the most formidable rival women's motocross has, took the red plate from her. The Italian showed he experience and relentless pressure. Daniela left Great Britain no longer the championship leader. Two points behind. One wrong result from real danger.

Round 4 — Arnhem, Netherlands

If the British round tested her resilience, Arnhem tested her character. She arrived in the Dutch sand two points behind Fontanesi, with two rounds remaining and everything still to play for.

Race one was off to a difficult start, Daniela found herself in thirteenth position. Nearly the entire field ahead of her. She was seventh by the end of the first lap. Fourth by lap two. Third by lap five. And on lap ten, having tracked and applied relentless pressure to the rider ahead, she made the move stick for second place. It was one of the best individual rides of her season.

Race two brought a different kind of drama. She built a seven-second lead before the most frightening moment of her championship campaign. A front wheel dig-in on lap ten that sent her to the ground hard. "I crashed so hard," she said afterwards. Two laps remained. Barker had moved through ahead of her. Two points separated P2 from P3. Two points that could decide whether she left the Netherlands as championship leader or not.

She got up. She hunted Barker down and retook the position before the flag.

"Those two points in the championship are so important for me," she said at the finish. P2 overall for the round, but more importantly the red plate was back and she was heading to Australia six points clear of Fontanesi.

Round 5 — Darwin, Australia. The Championship

Six points. One round. Two races. Kiara Fontanesi on the other side of the equation.

Race one on Saturday played out under the kind of pressure that ends championship campaigns. Daniela started third, with Fontanesi tucked in between her and the leader ahead. She did not wait. Before the first lap was complete she had moved through Fontanesi and then through race leader Fransson to take the front position. Clear track. She used it all the way to the flag winning by four seconds. In the closing laps Fontanesi dropped from second to fourth, and a six-point lead became thirteen.

Race two on Sunday was about finishing the job, and the moment the title was truly decided came before Daniela had even made her move. Fontanesi, who needed the race win, crashed on the opening lap and remounted in twelfth. She fought back to seventh. The title was out of reach.

Daniela hunted anyway. She moved through the field, tracked down the leader, reeled in a six-second gap across four laps and swept into the lead on lap nine. She won by 2.841 seconds and set the fastest lap of the race in the process.

She went to Australia and won the title by racing the way she has raced all season. At the front, on the attack, with everything she had.

"I'm really happy. I started a little bit off but then I pushed and I won. I think other riders don't push, but I wanted to push and get the win here in Australia. It was important."

The Numbers

Five race wins. Three overall victories. A top three finish in every single one of the ten races across the season. A lead lost and reclaimed. A final round won in the most emphatic style possible.

2026 WMX Final Championship Standings

What This Means

This is Daniela Guillén's first WMX World Championship. It has been a long time coming. Seasons of consistency, of coming close, of learning the difference between being a title contender and being a title winner. This was her year.

She has been supported by Plews Tyres throughout this campaign, carrying the brand across five rounds on three continents and delivering a world championship. For a brand built on the philosophy of Made To Win, it is hard to imagine a more complete expression of what those three words mean.

Congratulations, Daniela. Spain has a new World Champion.