With the sun sneaking through the thick cloud cover that has hovered over the circuit of Teutschenthal this weekend, race two of round five of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship kicked off with the dominating force being none other than the round one winner and early red plate holder, Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Meghan Rutledge.
In race one yesterday German fans were brought to their feet with local lady Anne Borchers taking the holeshot. With the top 10 riders in the WMX championship this year riding faster than ever, the German couldn’t maintain that position and eventually dropped back to a respectable seventh.
Meanwhile the wild card rider all the way from Brazil, Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Marianna Balbi took the lead on lap one and took charge of the first few laps.
As the race approached midway the red plate holder Fonta MX Yamaha Racing’s Chiara Fontanesi dropped the hammer pushing past the SEL supported rider to take over the lead.
With Balbi dropping back to second she was left to deal with a ton of pressure from her temporary Bud Racing Kawasaki team-mate Meghan Rutledge who eventually found a way through in the final stages of the race. Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot crashed while battling with Balbi and Rutledge for second but managed to recover for fourth with Team Dragon Moto’s Stephanie Laier rounding out the top five.
With the drop of the gate for race two, Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Meghan Rutledge was on a clear mission to take back control of the WMX Championship. The Australian wonder took a massive holeshot leading the red plate holder and race one winner Fonta MX Yamaha Racing’s Chiara Fontanesi around turn one. Despite a brief effort to pressure the girl nicknamed “Mad Meg” for the win, the Italian couldn’t match her blistering speed and ended up coming home in second.
Meanwhile another bad start for Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot left her searching for lines to pass as she put in a tremendous effort to inch her way forward. Come midrace, the French superstar had caught up to her long time rival Team Dragon Moto’s Stephanie Laier resulting in a ‘battle of the former champions’ duel for third.
With Laier going wide on a muddy section of the track, Lancelot charged in hard on the gas straight through the middle of the slop to take over the position and maintain it all the way to the finish. Laier kept the 25-year-old honest, but with the waving of the checkered flag, the German lady had to be content with fourth.
Young Dutch lass onboard her YZ125 two-stroke machine rode solid for fifth, while yesterday’s freshest face in the class Marianna Balbi, started strong but appeared to lose her rhythm mid race meaning she would only come home for eighth.
At the end of the weekend, Australia’s hottest export Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Meghan Rutledge took her third WMX overall of the season, while Fonta MX Yamaha Racing’s Chiara Fontanesi did enough for second.
Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot rounded off the podium with Team Dragon Moto’s Stephanie Laier taking fourth and Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Marianna Balbi rounding out the top five.
As for the championship, Fontanesi will hold onto the red plate with a four point advantage over the 19-year-old Rutledge, while Lancelot and Laier, thanks to the absence of Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Natalie Kane, have moved up to third and fourth respectively.
WMX Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), 25:14.984; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:02.089; 3. Mariana Balbi (BRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.382; 4. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:14.826; 5. Stephanie Laier (GER, Suzuki), +0:36.534; 6. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:43.216; 7. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:04.809; 8. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +1:14.309; 9. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), +1:17.946; 10. Marianne Veenstra (NED, Husqvarna), +1:22.139
WMX Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, Kawasaki), 25:53.843; 2. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:23.596; 3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:27.346; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, Suzuki), +0:32.131; 5. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:53.896; 6. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:54.723; 7. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +0:56.322; 8. Mariana Balbi (BRA, Kawasaki), +1:24.928; 9. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), +1:34.913; 10. Nina Klink (NED, KTM), +1:56.632
WMX Overall Top Ten: 1. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 47 points; 2. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 47 p.; 3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, SUZ), 34 p.; 5. Mariana Balbi (BRA, KAW), 33 p.; 6. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 31 p.; 7. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 28 p.; 8. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 28 p.; 9. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Nina Klink (NED, KTM), 19 p.
WMX Championship Standings Top Ten: 1. Chiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 210 points; 2. Meghan Kat Rutledge (AUS, KAW), 206 p.; 3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 187 p.; 4. Stephanie Laier (GER, SUZ), 176 p.; 5. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 151 p.; 6. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 150 p.; 7. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 144 p.; 8. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 120 p.; 9. Marianne Veenstra (NED, HUS), 111 p.; 10. Francesca Nocera (ITA, SUZ), 88 p.
