The fourth round of the FIM WMX Championship unfolded in the deep sands of Arnhem, where Dutch fans packed the fences to cheer on their home hero, De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Lotte Van Drunen. The demanding circuit delivered all the ingredients of a classic, fast starts, crashes, comebacks, and a fight for the overall win that went right down to the final corner.
It was RFME Spain National Team’s Daniela Guillén who emerged victorious, taking her first overall win of the season with a stunning last-lap defence against van Drunen. For the Dutch star, it was a bittersweet weekend, victory in Race 1 and a fierce charge in Race 2 weren’t enough to claim the home win she craved, but she still extended her championship lead to 20 points. Shana van der Vlist added to the local pride with two strong third-place finishes, securing the final podium spot on home soil.
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The fourth round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship got underway on the demanding sand of Arnhem, and home fans were treated to a showcase from their star rider, Lotte van Drunen. The championship leader powered through the Fox Holeshot line to take control immediately, while pole-sitter Van Venrooy KTM Racing Lynn Valk saw her race unravel almost instantly with a crash on the exit of the opening corner. From there, Valk came back to 12th showing her sand skills, but troubles only worsened as she was forced to withdraw from the weekend after just a handful of laps, crashing at the hand of the waves section and injuring her tibia.
Van Drunen quickly settled into her rhythm at the front, with Shana van der Vlist and Kiara Fontanesi initially running inside the top three. Daniela Guillen, however, was on a mission. After moving past De Baets Yamaha MX-Team’s Danee Gelissen to climb into fourth, she began to close down on Fontanesi. The Italian, sitting second in the championship and just six points behind Van Drunen coming into the weekend, put up a stubborn fight, but by lap 10 of 13 Guillen found her way through with a decisive move to take over third.
With confidence high, Guillen then wasted no time in reeling in Van der Vlist. A lap later, the Spaniard surged into second, relegating the Dutch rider to third despite her best efforts to hold on. Fontanesi, unable to respond to the rising pace, was forced to settle for fourth. Meanwhile, young Dutch rider Gelissen impressed with her strongest performance of the season to secure a career-best fifth place finish, holding off Britain’s Lucy Barker in sixth who also could be please with that performance.
Out front, there was no doubting the winner. Van Drunen was flawless across the 13 laps, setting the fastest lap of the race and stretching a commanding lead to the flag. She crossed the line more than 18 seconds ahead of Guillen, who took second with Van der Vlist ensuring two Dutch riders were in the top three.
For Van Drunen, it was the perfect start to her home Grand Prix, delighting the orange-clad fans with another dominant display for the queen of sand.
The second WMX race was a nail-biting showdown that went down to the final corner, as Guillén edged out local hero Van Drunen by the slimmest of margins to claim her first overall victory of the season.
It was Fontanesi who launched into the lead off the start, squeezing both Guillén and van Drunen to the inside to grab the holeshot. However, the Italian’s hopes for podium after being fourth in Race 1 quickly evaporated when she was thrown over the bars and into the fencing on the opening lap. She remounted in 21st and rode an inspired and impressive recovery to finish sixth, but her crash handed the advantage to Guillén, who wasted no time in moving to the front.
Behind her, van Drunen took a decent start and overtook Van der Vlist to move second on lap 3 of 12. The gap to Guillén stood at nine seconds, but the Yamaha rider chipped away relentlessly, closing in lap after lap as the two title rivals pulled clear of the field and of course Van Drunen, pushing hard and urged on by the partisan Dutch crowd who roared the full race.
As race went on, van Drunen latched onto Guillén’s rear wheel and the pair delivered a thrilling duel that had the Arnhem fans on their feet. Van Drunen made several attempts to find a way through, including a final bold move in the first turn of the last lap but she buried the front end too deep and lost vital ground. Guillén held her nerve superbly and crossed the line just 0.159 seconds ahead, taking her second race win of the year and sealing her first overall victory this season.
Van Drunen had to settle for second on the day, a heartbreaking result for the Dutch star who was desperate to deliver victory at home on the sand, her favourite surface. Despite the disappointment of missing out by just 0.159 seconds, she could take consolation in extending her championship lead from six points to twenty. Van der Vlist, meanwhile, delivered another strong and consistent ride to finish third in both races and secure the final podium spot.
Just behind the podium trio, Britain’s Lucy Barker impressed with a career-best fourth overall, thanks to consistent 6-4 finishes while Kiara Fontanesi battled back from her spectacular Race 2 crash to salvage fifth overall and keep herself in the fight for the championship podium.
Daniela Guillén: “I think it’s so special to win here and to take my first overall victory. I started well, felt good, and just kept pushing and found my rhythm. With all the lapped riders it was a little bit difficult, but I managed to stay focused. I’m really happy with the result and I want to say thank you to my team, they did such a good job this weekend.”
Main Photo: Daniela Guillen
Top Photo: WMX Start Arnhem
Bottom Photos: 1. Lotte van Drunen; 2. Shana Van der Vlist
WMX – Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Yamaha), 25:45.719; 2. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), +0:18.402; 3. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +0:20.668; 4. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +0:23.880; 5. Danee Gelissen (NED, Yamaha), +0:47.275; 6. Lucy Barker (GBR, KTM), +0:48.212; 7. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Honda), +1:00.750; 8. Sara Andersen (DEN, Yamaha), +1:01.779; 9. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, Yamaha), +1:15.587; 10. April Franzoni (FRA, Honda), +1:24.939
WMX – Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), 24:36.867; 2. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Yamaha), +0:00.159; 3. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +0:53.524; 4. Lucy Barker (GBR, KTM), +1:19.654; 5. Danee Gelissen (NED, Yamaha), +1:21.388; 6. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +1:23.203; 7. Martine Hughes (NOR, Kawasaki), +1:23.905; 8. April Franzoni (FRA, Honda), +1:36.566; 9. Sara Andersen (DEN, Yamaha), +1:46.324; 10. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, Yamaha), +1:52.012
WMX Overall – Top 10 Classification: 1. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 47 points; 2. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, YAM), 47 p.; 3. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Lucy Barker (GBR, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 33 p.; 6. Danee Gelissen (NED, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Sara Andersen (DEN, YAM), 25 p.; 8. Martine Hughes (NOR, KAW), 24 p.; 9. April Franzoni (FRA, HON), 24 p.; 10. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, HON), 24 p.
WMX World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, YAM), 180 points; 2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 160 p.; 3. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 159 p.; 4. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 123 p.; 5. Lynn Valk (NED, KTM), 118 p.; 6. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 108 p.; 7. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, HON), 108 p.; 8. Danee Gelissen (NED, YAM), 106 p.; 9. Martine Hughes (NOR, KAW), 95 p.; 10. April Franzoni (FRA, HON), 92 p.
WMX Manufacturers – Top 10 Classification: 1. Yamaha, 182 points; 2. GASGAS, 178 p.; 3. KTM, 151 p.; 4. Honda, 112 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 95 p.; 6. Fantic, 44 p.; 7. Triumph, 40 p.;
Photo: WMX Podium Arnhem Round
All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
MXGP OF THE NETHERLANDS QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1680m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 20°
Weather conditions: Sun and Clouds
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