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Courtney Duncan Ends the Season With a Double-Win
Courtney Duncan and Big Van World MTX Kawasaki rounded out the season with a two-moto victory in the final round of the 2022 FIM World WMX Women’s Motocross Championship at Afyonkarahisar in Turkey.
The Kiwi girl, more than a second per lap faster than any of her rivals in practice, confirmed her domination and that of her KX250 with another clear holeshot in the second moto of the weekend. She was then content to maintain a slender lead through the early laps on a tricky slick surface after the organisers had done an excellent job of track-watering to combat any threat of dust in the warm conditions; as the track dried out she moved further-and-further clear to eventually complete a perfect two-moto maximum score with a winning margin of four-and-a-half seconds at the finish. The double-win gave her her second GP victory in the three rounds she was able to contest this year after a collarbone injury during practice for the second round of the series had cost her a realistic shot at a fourth consecutive title since joining the Big Van World MTX Kawasaki team in 2019; the victory in Turkey was her twelfth GP win from 19 starts during that period.
Courtney Duncan: “It was nice to finish the season on a high with pole and 1-1. I got another good start and led already coming out of turn one today; I just maintained that and had fun. The broken collarbone in Portugal kind of dampened the season but we couldn’t dwell on it, got back to work as soon as possible and came back with some strong performances to win in Spain and here. I’m enjoying my riding so much at the moment so I’m looking forward to going home to New Zealand and doing some races out there, then I come back to Europe next year and hopefully can chase the championship again and get that number one back for Kawasaki.”
Belgium’s Amandine Verstappen rode another solid race on her 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki to advance from ninth at the first turn of race two to take over fifth by half-distance and maintain that position to the finish. Her brace of fifth-placed moto-finishes earnt sixth overall over the weekend and also in the final series standings for 2022.
Amandine Verstappen: "It was a pretty good GP even if I was only able to post eighth in the timed practice session but the lap times were really tight so I knew I had the speed. Both starts were tough for me but in each moto I rode a very good opening lap to regain positions and could then battle for top-five positions with the other girls. I finished fifth with good lap times in both races, but I’m a little disappointed to miss the podium by just a few points as that was my goal this weekend. Now we will focus on the last three rounds of the French Championship; the goal will be to continue my winning streak."
