Courtney Duncan has cemented herself in FIM World WMX Women’s Motocross Championship history, with double moto victories in France breaking the record for the most Grand Prix wins with 22.
Her closest competitor over the weekend at the Villars sous Écot track was her long-time rival and 21 career GP winner Italy’s Kiara Fontanesi.
Riding for Big Van World MTX Kawasaki, Duncan beat the six-time world champion Fontanesi in both races to take overall victory in France and extend her overall championship lead by 20 points.
“These French GP wins saw me take over the all-time GP wins in WMX and I’m definitely stoked on that. It was something I wanted to achieve coming into this weekend, so to tick that off is an incredibly good feeling,” said Duncan.
A three-time world champion, Duncan is in dominant form this season with five moto wins from eight starts to her name, including the last two rounds, where she has won every race.
“It’s been an awesome weekend and I’m stoked – pole position, two motos and took over the all-time-wins record in WMX. And the holeshot this morning! When did this girl last pull a holeshot? That felt good!
Courtney Duncan
“The track was super-challenging yesterday but this morning it was completely flat so I knew a start was important. I put in a couple of quick laps to pull a gap and just rode my own race after that to extend my lead in the championship. There’s a break in the series now until August so I head home tomorrow to get back to my normal routine and then fly back later in the summer to prepare for Arnhem.”
“ It’s been a really good year but we have to stay concentrated; we still have a long way to go.”
“I think there’s multiple things that are working for me in 2023. It started off with our pre-season, where I had a really strong build-up in New Zealand. We put a lot of hard work in there and it set me off on the right foot,” she added. “My bike is also super good, especially the suspension, which I did a lot of testing with it in NZ before I left.”
“I’m also another year wiser and it’s good to have a bit more speed. All in all, it’s been a really good start to the season.”
Duncan will spend around a month in New Zealand before heading to the Netherlands, where the penultimate round will be held. “The next race is in the sand, so I will do about a five or six-week boot camp there to get ready for that.”
Kawasaki New Zealand’s Managing Director Shane Verhoeven says: “To say we’re proud of what Courtney has achieved this weekend is an understatement. Taking the WMX GP win record is no small feat when the competition gets fiercer every season.”
“The eye-test is showing the extra hours testing suspension in NZ is paying off and Courtney has shown that, when comfortable, she does not need good starts to win. Thankfully, her rare holeshot in moto 2 must have been very welcome.”
“We looked forward to seeing Courtney back in NZ for the season break and at the Kawasaki stand at Fieldays next month.”
The Current WMX – Championship Top 10 Classification
1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 185 points
2. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 165
3. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, KAW), 150
4. Lynn Valk (NED, FAN), 128
5. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 127
6. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 105
7. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 103
8. Charli Cannon (AUS, YAM), 91
9. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, YAM), 84
10. Giorgia Blasigh (ITA, KTM), 73
*Images thanks to Dixon Racing Team
