De Baets Yamaha Supported MX Team’s Lotte van Drunen placed sixth at the MXGP of Italy to retain her lead in the WMX Championship Standings.
Torrential rain seriously affected round five of the WMX World Championship with Saturday’s Race One red flagged after three laps because of the unrideable track conditions. Therefore, the overall results in Maggiora would be decided by Race Two on Sunday morning.
Even with the bright sun shining on Maggiora, the race track was still considerably heavy going for the sole WMX race. Knowing the importance of a great start, van Drunen lined up near the inside of the gate to reduce the risk of getting caught up in any first-turn chaos. Frustratingly, the plan backfired as Courtney Duncan fell in front of her, which left the Dutch sensation with no option but to stop.
Starting from almost dead last, van Drunen kept a cool head and pushed forwards despite the track being very one-lined and tricky to make passes on. The talented youngster rode skilfully to reach sixth place but with many riders struggling to circulate due to the deep mud, the race was red flagged. This time, the results stood and van Drunen was rewarded with sixth for her phenomenal effort.
Leaving Italy, van Drunen retains her series leader red plates and carries a three-point advantage into her home Grand Prix in Arnhem on August 17-18 for the penultimate round of the season. The venue is certainly a happy hunting ground for the Dutch racer, as it’s where she clinched her first ever WMX GP victory with a stunning 1-1 result last summer.
The heavy rain also affected the racing program for the EMX125 class, where the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team trio of Mano Faure, Dani Heitink and Jarne Bervoets were in action for the seventh round of their campaign. With just a single race to contest on Sunday morning also deciding the overall classification, it proved to be a crucial stop on the calendar.
Strong starts for all three riders set them up well for solid results. Early on, Bervoets ran eighth, with Heitink ninth and Faure 10th. Bervoets then began working his way forward, breaking away from his teammates and moving into sixth with three laps remaining. However, Heitink was on his own charge in the late stages of the race, reeling in Bervoets and making a last-lap pass on his teammate to secure sixth. Bervoets held on for seventh, while Faure came home in 12th.
Ahead of the next EMX125 round in Sweden on August 10-11, Faure maintains fifth in the EMX125 Championship Standings with Heitink moving up to eighth and Bervoets 10th after seven of 11 rounds.
Click here for the WMX and EMX125 results from the MXGP of Italy.
