Round four of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship in Teutschenthal saw some great action for the German fans who came in numbers despite difficult weather conditions.
The round was won by one of their own, Larissa Papenmeier. The German won for the first time since 2021 and what better way to do it than on home soil for the rider with the longest career in the championship?
Contenders for the 2024 crown were whittled down a little with the news that New Zealand’s defending champion Courtney Duncan will miss most of the season, if not all with a knee injury sustained through the week while practising.
In race one, it was the home star Papenmeier who swept across to take the Holeshot and the lead with it in front of Daniela Guillen and Lynn Valk and Kiara Fontanesi.
Championship leader Lotte Van Drunen had a bad start compared to her usual standards and passed the line of the opening lap in sixth position.
During the opening lap, the German took the outside line in a corner while Guillen stormed on the inside to take the lead. Then a lap later it was Fontanesi, who maybe after seeing Guillen earlier, repeated the same move than the Spanish to take the second place.
Van Drunen managed to get herself quickly up to fifth on lap two and charged Valk to move up to fourth a couple of laps later. Things got tougher for Papenmeier with the Red Plate on her tail.
Van Drunen was attacking Papenmeier after 15 minutes, but the German repeatedly shut the door. The German crowd made a huge noise as Papenmeier held off the series leader.
However, Papenmeier put on a valiant effort but had bow on lap 10 of 12 when she struggled in some ruts before a jump as Van Drunen got the momentum to move up to third.
Meanwhile, Guillen was comfortably at the top as he pulled away from Fontanesi. The Spanish rode superbly and controlled it from the front controlled the pace until the end to win the race.
Fontanesi with her best race of the season at that time put a great option for the overall win. Van Drunen was way behind the top two and had to settle for 3rd in the end with Papenmeier behind in fourth.
The leading five riders with Valk in fifth did a good a job to get a chance to get on the podium.
With the rain falling in the morning, race two was bound to be an exciting one. It was Valk who took the best start in front of an excellent Papenmeier who seemed to get an extra push and help by her home fans who made themselves heard the whole weekend. Both riders swapped places a couple of time in the first corners but Valk took the advantage and the lead.
Sara Andersen started very well in third while Guillen saw herself in fifth but crashed in the opening lap and picked herself up in 12th with no front guard to work with.
Meanwhile, Fontanesi quickly went up to fourth while Van Drunen with another bad start was up to sixth at the turn of the opening lap. However, Van Drunen started her comeback and passed April Franzoni on lap two for fifth. She then kept going and charging at the front.
Andersen fell down the standing with Fontanesi and Van Drunen passing the Dane over the course of two laps. On lap seven of 10, Fontanesi was virtually on the top step of the podium when she fell down and picked herself up in seventh and ended up in eighth.
Valk at the lead was racing for the top spot of the podium while Papenmeier eyed the second place. Guillen charged up to seventh on lap four after her mistake in the opening lap and managed to get up to fourth in the end.
With three laps to go, suddenly Van Drunen started to attack Papenmeier for second but the German stayed strong to keep the second spot and deny the young Dutch talisman.
In the end, while Valk won the second race, she got a two-place penalty for not respecting a waved yellow flag during the race and lost two places, which demoted her from the podium for a 4th overall.
That fact consequentially gave the race win to home hero Papenmeier, and therefore winning the overall on home ground with a 4-1. It was her first win since 2021 which added to the emotion.
Second on the podium was the Spaiard Guillen who fought back heroically after falling at the beginning of race 2 to finish 4th. Closing the podium was red plate Van Drunen, securing her lead in the championship with a solid weekend.
“It was really tough, especially on home soil,” Papenmeier enthused. “I heard the fans and I was super nervous as I heard them every lap. On Saturday was already good for me and I was satisfied with it. Today, with the tough conditions, ruts were deep and you had to stay focus and find your lines.
“I’m really speechless, I don’t know what to say! The fans were incredible and supported me so much. It’s a dream come true to win on home soil!”
Third place overall was enough to see Van Drunen retain her championship lead.
Photo courtesy Honda
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RESULTS & STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4:
WMX – Race 1 – Classification:
1 Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), 25:53.959
2 Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +0:13.081
3 Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Yamaha), +0:35.636
4 Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Honda), +0:42.721
5 Lynn Valk (NED, KTM), +1:04.139
6 Malou Jakobsen (DEN, KTM), +1:34.248
7 Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +1:38.025
8 April Franzoni (FRA, Honda), +1:51.739
9 Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +2:05.135
10 Danee Gelissen (NED, Yamaha), +2:17.874
WMX – Race 2 – Classification:
1 Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Honda), 25:47.493
2 Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Yamaha), +0:02.518
3 Lynn Valk (NED, KTM), +-1:54.990
4 Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), +0:50.791
5 Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +0:56.323
6 Danee Gelissen (NED, Yamaha), +1:23.927
7 April Franzoni (FRA, Honda), +1:40.336
8 Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +1:41.761
9 Malou Jakobsen (DEN, KTM), +2:37.167
10 Lucy Barker (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s)
WMX – Overall Classification:
1 Larissa Papenmeier (GER, HON), 43 Points
2 Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 43 Points
3 Lotte Van Drunen (NED, YAM), 42 Points
4 Lynn Valk (NED, KTM), 36 Points
5 Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 35 Points
6 Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 30 Points
7 April Franzoni (FRA, HON), 27 Points
8 Malou Jakobsen (DEN, KTM), 27 Points
9 Danee Gelissen (NED, YAM), 26 Points
10 Alexandra Massury (GER, KTM), 18 Points
WMX – Championship Classification:
1 Lotte Van Drunen (NED, YAM), 183 Points
2 Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 175 Points
3 Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 141 Points
4 Lynn Valk (NED, KTM), 141 Points
5 Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 123 Points
6 Larissa Papenmeier (GER, HON), 122 Points
7 Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 101 Points
8 Malou Jakobsen (DEN, KTM), 94 Points
9 Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 89 Points
10 April Franzoni (FRA, HON), 79 Points