Race Week Wrap Women in Motorsport – WMX Round 4, F1 Academy Round 3, Trials Women GP Round 3, GNCC WXC Round 7, and XCross Hard Enduro in Serbia. A very busy weekend for Women competing in varying FIM and FIA Motorsport disciplines with rider’s and driver’s nailing valuable points standing top of podium.
NZ’s Courtney Duncan pulled off another amazing victory taking 2023 WMX Round 4 with double moto win, not only stamping her mark on retaining the Red Plate, but also extending her points lead in the Championship table.
On hard pack track with rutted lines in R1 on Saturday, to smoother surface for R2 on Sunday, WMX rider’s raced with fierce determination to push their table standings upward with only 2 Rounds to go in a couple of months time.
Full credit goes to WMX 6x Champion Kiara Fontanesi who pulled off 2 – 2 to stand P2 overall, Daniela Guillen for nailing consistent 3-3, with Dutch rider Lotte van Drunen and Germany’s Larissa Papenmeier rounding out top 5. WMX takes long break now, with Rounds 5 and 6 resuming on August 20, at Amhem, Netherlands, and Final Round on September 3 in Turkey.
F1 Academy produced bag of welcome surprises with MP Motorsport driver Emely de Heus taking pole in Q1 followed by winning Race 1, along with ART Grand Prix driver Lena Buhler nailing pole in Q2, matching her effort to win R3 at Barcelona on Sunday. Reverse grid R2 victory was claimed by Emirati driver Amna Al Qubaisi 4 seconds clear of Prema Racing driver Marta Garcia who remains leader of the Championship table.
Yes, it would be better for all following to have race coverage on film/video which provides up-close-and-personal experience on what happens during racing. And, yes, there are talented female driver’s competing across 5 Teams, each willing to make improvements from one Round to the next, as their respective performances will influence their careers heading into new season.
FIM Trials Women GP Round 3 was completed in Japan, with 7x Champion Emma Bristow claiming top step of podium with 2 wins and extending Championship standings to 112 points. Spanish rider Berta Abellan and Italian Andrea Sofia Rabino completed top 3, with Round 4 on July 23 – 24 in Italy.
For certain, the number of females riding FIM Hard Enduro Championship are few and far between. The sole exception is Spanish rider Sandra Gomez, who pursues her passion to face, race, and conquer THE most difficult events in the world. Competing in 2023 XCross Hard Enduro in Serbia in the weekend, Sandra qualified P58 followed by completing Day 1 and Day 2 in Pro class.
Banging out a second win for New Zealand Women racing this weekend was Rachael Archer taking 2023 GNCC WXC Round 7 win at Ohio, America. From winning her first WXC Championship in 2022, to posting 5 straight wins, 2 seconds and leading the Championship table this season, Racheal stays on a roll with 2 more Rounds before the summer break in August. Final 3 Rounds kick off in September, with the talented, gutsy Kiwi keeping her eyes set on the overall prize.
Header photo: Courtney Duncan 2023 WMX Round 4 at Villars sous Ecot, France. Image: @shotbybavo
Words: Sharon Cox.
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