Otago teenager Courtney Duncan seems to be in a class all of her own at the moment.

The Kiwi international from Palmerston, about halfway between Oamaru and Dunedin, was untouchable on her Yamaha YZ15 at the annual Auckland Motocross Championships at the weekend, winning six races from six starts in two separate categories.

The diminutive 18-year-old scored a hat-trick of wins in the women’s class and also bagged a hat-trick of victories racing against the boys and men in the National 125cc class.

It was another big step on her road to recovery.

Duncan had been sidelined for much of 2013, after suffering concussion while racing in the United States that year, and had not raced at all in her native New Zealand for exactly a year until she showed up at the opening round of the 2014 New Zealand Motocross Championships near Timaru 10 months ago.

She finished an uncharacteristic fourth overall that day and dropped out of the series at round two, ending the four-round series with a National 125cc class ranking of 19th, and that’s something she dearly wants to rectify.

Duncan’s first big ride of this season was at the MX Fest at Taupo over Labour Weekend and there she also dominated both the women’s and National 125cc classes.

Her lengthy journey to Auckland was rewarded with further confirmation that she’s approaching top form again.

“I’m just trying to improve with each ride,” she said.

“I was a long time off the bike and now six months back on it, but there is still a long way to go before I’m satisfied. I think it will take a good year before I’m happy with my form.

“I’m pleased I made no mistakes this weekend and I’ve improved since the Taupo event … that was my goal today.”

Runner-up to Duncan in the women’s class on Sunday was Bombay’s Courtney Lindsay and runner-up to Duncan in the National 125cc class was Hawera’s Nick Hornby.

Duncan will now focus her attention on being prepared for the annual Whakatane Summercross just after Christmas, before tackling the four-round national motocross championship series, which kicks off in Taranaki in February.

© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here