DIRT NEWS
KIWI DUNCAN STAYS AT THE TOP OF WMX
D
unedin’s own Courtney Duncan has retained
her early lead on the FIM World WMX Women’s
Motocross Championship after a difficult
weekend in the Dutch round at Valkenswaard
Much more comfortable on a circuit which
had been carefully groomed by the track crew
overnight Duncan quickly put memories of
Saturday’s disappointing first moto fourth place
behind her to slot into an immediate second place
on the opening lap of Sunday morning’s race two.
Successfully acclimatising herself to the damp
sandy conditions so different to the tracks she grew
up on, Duncan rode with her usual determination
to take the chequered flag second despite twice
surrendering the position temporarily to one of
14 KIWI RIDER
the local sand experts; her Dutch rival had sneaked
past mid-moto and again on the final lap as they
negotiated backmarker traffic but a determined
Duncan refused to submit and launched back into
second at the very last corner.
The gritty performance could not salvage an
overall GP podium for the weekend in a tightly-
fought leaderboard, but the move means that she
retains the championship lead by five points and
will once again proudly mount the red plate to her
bike at the next round of the WMX series in Spain
on April 18-19.
“The conditions were tough this weekend and the
bottom line is that I need to get better in these
conditions, Duncan reflected.