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WMX, MXGP OF SPAIN - intu Xanadú - Arroyomolinos, SPAIN, 6 Mayo 2023

Another victory for Courtney Duncan in Spain

Courtney Duncan took her Big Van World MTX Kawasaki to an overwhelming victory in the first moto of the Spanish round of the FIM World WMX Women’s Motocross Championship at Arroyomolinos.

The New Zealander, victorious at this venue on each of her two previous visits, already gave notice of her intentions during practice as she lapped three-quarters of a second faster than any of her rivals and in Saturday afternoon's first twenty-minute-plus-two-lap moto she quickly advanced from a cautious third-placed start to take over the lead before the end of the opening lap. Moving clear of her chasers at the rate of two-seconds per lap she led comfortably by a quarter-of-a-minute by half-distance and eventually cruised home twenty-eight seconds ahead of the runner-up. The twenty-five points for moto-victory also moved her to the head of the championship standings by five points going into tomorrow's second moto.
 
Courtney Duncan: "Getting pole was a good start to the day because that's not my string point. I made my way quickly into the lead on the first lap of the race and just rode smart, stayed consistent and pulled a little each lap. I've always had good results here so let's hope that continues tomorrow. I've been working hard with the team the last few weeks, got some good seat-time and I'm really happy with the bike. Everything's trucking along well."
 
Dutch teenager Lotte van Drunen, carrying the red plate of the series points-leader at the start of the day, set fifth-fastest time during practice and quickly moved forward from seventh to fifth in racing. A loss of momentum on a slight rise on lap two pushed her momentarily back to ninth but the fifteen-year-old maintained her composure to recover to seventh at the finish. She now trails Duncan by ten points heading into race two.
 
Lotte van Drunen: "It was quite a tough day, I didn't find a good feeling with the track in the morning but it was coming better in timed practice for fifth-best time. The race just didn't go as planned; I was making a lot of stupid mistakes, then I crashed down to ninth before coming back to seventh. I just couldn't find my rhythm today. I think I was too focused; I just need to relax and have more fun, then the results will come by themselves."