The Legacy of WMX Champions – what does that mean for young female rider’s? From the first Women Motocross World Cup in 2005 through to the affirmation of Women Motocross World Championship in 2008, a total of 6 inspiring women have won the coveted WMX Title to the present day.
Such auspicious facts bode well for extracting all knowledge, experience, insight, and self-determination learnt by these amazing women who have carved their names in Motorsport history for younger generation of women to aspire to.
Starting with the females racing the Women MX World Cup in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Germany’s Steffi Laier – WMX Champion 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and Katherine Prumm – WMX Champion 2006 and 2007 along with field of rider’s competing over 2 – 3 Rounds, were instrumental for elevating the status of women racing at Grand Prix’s.
These women broke precedent, racing on the same circuits as iconic rider’s of Stefen Everts, Kevin Strijbos, Josh Coppins, Ben Townley and the rest. And, in fact, Prumm not only won 2007 Round 1 in Teutschenthal, Germany which will host WMX Round 4 this season, but also prompted then organizer’s – Youthstream’s President Luongo Giuseppe – to elevate the Women’s World Cup to a World Championship.
From 2009, women raced an increase of 5 to 7 Rounds, with French rider Livia Lancelot claiming her first Title in 2008. In 2009, 2010, and 2011 Steffi fought back to top step of the podium 3x, with fellow rider Larissa Papenmeier claiming her first podium of P2 overall, along with Italian rider Kiara Fontanesi proving a new force to be reckoned with, taking P2 overall in 2011.
With younger women developing skills to match the best women rider’s of the world on track, the rise of Fontanesi dominated WMX for 4 consecutive years. Winning the Championship in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, the record was broken in 2016, with Lancelot claiming victory at Assen GP, Netherlands.
2016 produced major turning point in the evolution of WMX, namely the debut entry of NZ’s Courtney Duncan up-ending the top contender’s from previous years with her dominant performance at Qatar winning both motos.
It was not just the speed of Duncan which took everyone on track and track-side by surprise, it was the mere fact a rider from so far away, could train and lock in all preparations to come out swinging at her first WMX GP race. And, there was more to come – after sustaining an injury from a crash in Round 3 at Teutschenthal, Duncan missed the next 2 Rounds then came back and won the Final Rounds 6 and 7 at Switzerland and Assen, Netherlands.
The shift in dynamics on the track flowed over to WMX 2017 which was a real doozer. Dutch rider Nancy van de Ven had proved more than equal to her competitors, finishing P2 overall in 2016, making the Final Round 7 at Villars-Sous-Ecot a breath-taking experience. Final standings were – never to be repeated since – Fontanesi winning on 233 points, Lancelot on 232, Duncan on 231 taking P3 on count-back from Van de Ven on 231 as well.
With Livia making the decision to retire from WMX and later on to fulfill her role as manager for Team Honda 114 Motorsport, Fontanesi led the charge in 2018 winning WMX Title #6. The following 3 seasons were whitewash of Duncan’s flying streak, winning her first WMX Title in 2019, to be repeated in 2020, 2021, and 2023. And, finally, Nancy van de Ven claimed her first WMX Championship Title in 2021 – so deserved having been WMX Vice-Champion for the previous 4 seasons.
Such massive moments for women racing WMX Championship over the course of 19 years prompts sharing these experiences to younger females navigating their own pathways in the discipline. Ask the questions: how did Steffi and Katherine prepare to race on GP tracks? How did Livia remain focused to win her first WMX Title in 2008 and then her second 8 years later in 2016?
And, how did Kiara race with such determination to win 6 Titles, with such victories fueling the desire for Courtney and Nancy to have the same taste of victory in 2019 through to present day? Such points of discussion open the dialogue between WMX Champions and the next gen of rider’s keen to stamp their names in the books of WMX history.
Header photo: Alexandra Massury competing in WMX Round 1 2024 Image: MXGP.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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