It was a day of peaks and pits at the sixth and final round of the 2015 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship.
Making up the ‘peaks’ were the performances of Yamaha riders Nancy Van de Ven and Kiara Fontanesi who both came away winners, while it was the pits for the championship leader Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot who had the title slide through her fingers after a mechanical failure on the sighting lap meant she couldn’t even start the final race.
It was set to be the greatest race of the season. Two of the best female motocrossers in the world, both champions in their own rights, were supposed to go head to head for the 2015 WMX title. Only four points separated the two, Lancelot led, and it was expected to be intense but instead of being the nail-biting finale we had awaited, it ended before it even began when Livia Lancelot’s bike ceased on the siting lap.
The FIM rules state “5.17 – Each rider can bring one motorcycle only in the Skybox waiting zone; the one that will be used for the race”. Lancelot changed bikes, which meant she was not permitted to start and had to watch Fontanesi cruise to what should have been a hard fought victory, easily.
Putting the championship drama aside, the stand out performer this weekend was Holland’s young WMX prodigy Nancy Van de Ven who took her first race victory yesterday and then put in another epic performance today for the win and her first ever WMX overall.
Fontanesi had a hard time clearing her head after Lancelot had been refused to race, but managed to do enough for second. Meanwhile Motocross Marketing Silver Action KTM’s Amandine Verstappen was hauling on the opening lap after she took the holeshot but was pushed back to third by Van de Ven and the world champion, Fontanesi.
France’s Justine Charroux ended up flying the flag for the French with a solid fourth place while Denmarks Julie Dalgaard rounded out the top five.
At the end of the weekend, the top five overall replicated the results of race two. Nancy Van de Ven topped the box in convincing fashion with a double race victory while Kiara Fontanesi stood on the second step and Amandine Verstappen rounded out the top three.
After what was an emotional and dramatic end to a thrilling championship, Yamaha MXFontaracing’s Kiara Fontanesi wrote her name in the history books as the first female to claim four FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship titles on the bounce.
Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot had to settle for a heartbreaking second while Nancy Van de Ven rounded out the season in third.
WMX Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), 24:37.678; 2. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:02.838; 3. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:22.746; 4. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:54.174; 5. Justine Charroux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:15.897; 6. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +1:18.672; 7. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), +1:33.061; 8. Joana Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:35.921; 9. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, Honda), +1:36.285; 10. Kimberley Braam (NED, Kawasaki), +1:38.679.
WMX Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), 25:13.129; 2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:14.787; 3. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:18.139; 4. Justine Charroux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.198; 5. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, Honda), +0:34.395; 6. Emelie Dahl (SWE, Yamaha), +0:37.942; 7. Francesca Nocera (ITA, Suzuki), +0:39.133; 8. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), +0:57.943; 9. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +0:59.600; 10. Joana Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:15.094.
WMX Overall Top Ten: 1. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 50 points; 2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Justine Charroux (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, HON), 28 p.; 6. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), 27 p.; 7. Joana Goncalves (POR, YAM), 24 p.; 8. Emelie Dahl (SWE, YAM), 22 p.; 9. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 20 p.
WMX Championship Top Ten: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, YAM), 260 points; 2. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 242 p.; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 229 p.; 4. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 176 p.; 5. Genette Vaage (NOR, KTM), 150 p.; 6. Justine Charroux (FRA, YAM), 147 p.; 7. Francesca Nocera (ITA, SUZ), 127 p.; 8. Virginie Germond (SUI, SUZ), 104 p.; 9. Madison Brown (AUS, YAM), 99 p.; 10. Marianne Veenstra (NED, HUS), 92 p.
WMX Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha, 283 points; 2. Kawasaki, 250 p.; 3. KTM, 207 p.; 4. Suzuki, 180 p.; 5. Honda, 144 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 92 p.
