Australian teenager Meghan Rutledge took a decisive double victory in the opening round of the FIM Women’s World Motocross Championship at the Losail International Raceway in Qatar.

Riding for Kawasaki Bud Racing Monster Energy, the 2013 world number two dominated all weekend in the first round of the women’s series ever to be held outside Europe. After setting fastest time in each of the practice sessions she sprinted to the front immediately in each moto to eventually win by 13 and nine seconds respectively.

“When I got the fastest lap time in the qualifying session it gave me more confidence for the weekend after I had been out of racing for so long with my broken ankle,” said Meghan Rutledge.

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“That first holeshot offered me a good opportunity to win the race, but nobody can imagine my feeling when I crossed the finish line! In the second heat Livia was close at the beginning, but I was determined to win that race also! It’s good to be racing on the same programme as the MXGP and MX2 classes; it’s great to see them racing and it also means that we have better tracks and organisations.”