The riders racing the third round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship were enjoying the glorious sun in Teutschenthal, Germany where they went bar-to-bar for valuable championship points.
The WMX world championship has thrown some curve balls over the years. Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot had bad luck last year with another rider crashing in front of her while she was leading the championship, while it has been the defending world champion MXFontaRacing Syneco’s Kiara Fontanesi who has been in the wars early this season.
Coming into the WMX round of Germany, Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Courtney Duncan had the red plate and took the lead early on in race one. The kiwi was looking in good shape to take her fourth race win of the season, but crashed and took a while to rejoin.
She did brave her way to 12th but was injured and didn’t line up Sunday. Meanwhile, the 2008 WMX World Champion Livia Lancelot capitalised on Duncan’s misfortune and took her first race win of the season, but had her work cut out for her in the second race after a bad start and took a hard-fought victory for a perfect 50 point score and her first WMX overall victory of the season.
Silver Action KTM Racing’s Amadine Verstappen took the holeshot Sunday in Race 2 with the four-time FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Kiara Fontanesi hot on her heels.
Fontanesi wasted no time in taking over the lead and went to work while the last round winner, Nancy Van de Ven moved into second and set her sights on Fontanesi.
Meanwhile the moto one winner, Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot was asleep on the gate and got off to a shocking start. Nevertheless the French superstar knuckled down and carved her way through the pack with ease.
By lap two, Lancelot had gone from outside the top 15 into sixth where she found herself battling with Larissa Papenmeier for fifth. Papenmeier has won a WMX round here in Teutschenthal before, so she knows the lines and runs a hot pace. But after a couple of laps of cat and mouse Lancelot eventually got the job done and moved into fifth.
At the halfway mark, Fontanesi, who had a comfortable lead, got caught by a gust of wind on one of the biggest jumps out here and landed on the side of the down ramp before rag dolling down the track. Amazingly, Fontanesi got up straight away but was a bit beat up and pulled out.
With Fontanesi out of the challenge, Van de Ven inherited the lead but got dropped back to second by the local lady and former world champion Steffi Laier who was revelling in the rough and rutty conditions.
Meanwhile Lancelot was on a mission and chomped down the gap that the leaders had pulled. Her lines were dialled and she managed to make light work of both Van de Ven and Laier to take the lead with three laps to go.
Lancelot lit the candles for the second time this weekend ahead of Laier, Van de Ven, Papenmeier and Julie Dalgaard.
This weekend in Germany was the Livia Lancelot show as the French lady who owns and rides for her own team, Team One One Four Kawasaki, won both moto’s for her first overall victory and the red plate. German Steffi Laier did the locals proud with a 2-3 result for second overall while Yamaha’s Nancy Van de Ven uncorked her third bottle of bubbles this season in third.
WMX Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:25.647; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:04.121; 3. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:11.856; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:23.478; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:31.349; 6. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Honda), +1:01.150; 7. Madison Brown (AUS, Yamaha), +1:27.840; 8. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:30.741; 9. Mariana Balbi (BRA, Kawasaki), +1:32.959; 10. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +1:33.976.
WMX Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:40.132; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:03.120; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:09.645; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:42.125; 5. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, Honda), +0:49.643; 6. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:51.075; 7. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), +0:59.929; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +1:07.130; 9. Emelie Dahl (SWE, Yamaha), +1:10.109; 10. Madison Brown (AUS, Yamaha), +1:19.290.
WMX Overall Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 50 points; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 42 p.; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 36 p.; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Madison Brown (AUS, YAM), 25 p.; 7. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 21 p.; 9. Mariana Balbi (BRA, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 20 p.
WMX Championship Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 136 points; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 125 p.; 3. Courtney Duncan (NZL, YAM), 102 p.; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 96 p.; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 88 p.; 6. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 77 p.; 7. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 69 p.; 8. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, HON), 67 p.; 9. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 63 p.; 10. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 59 p.
WMX Manufacturer: 1. Yamaha, 142 points; 2. Kawasaki, 136 p.; 3. KTM, 107 p.; 4. Suzuki, 99 p.; 5. Honda, 98 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 18 p.
