First Podium of GP Season for Nancy Van Der Ven

Nancy van der Ven of No Fear Yamaha scored her first WMX podium of the 2018 season at the Portuguese GP. At Agueda, she finished second and fourth in the heats respectively to finish third overall.

After a good start in the first heat, Van der Ven immediately slotted into third spot. After passing Larissa Papenmeijer, she set off in pursuit of Courtney Duncan. She came closer, but a mistake undid all of her good work and finished second.

Heavy rain on Saturday night made the track muddy and slippery for Sunday’s race. Van der Ven slid out on the start grid but recovered to fifth. She passed Shana van der Vlist to grab fourth, but had to toss her goggles, which made it difficult to get close enough to pass. She eventually finished fourth.

“I knew that this would be a race of survival in the first two rounds after my injury,” she said. “In view of that, I am over the moon with the podium here and being only ten points behind the world championship leader.”

There is five weeks time for Van der Ven to recover fully before the next GP in Teutschenthal in five weeks’ time.

Overall Grand Prix Portugal:
1 Courtney Duncan 50 Pnt
2 Larissa Papenmeijer 42 Pnt
3 Nancy van de Ven 40 Pnt
4 Kiara Fontanesi 34 Pnt
5 Amandine Verstappen 31 Pnt

World Championship Standings:
1 Courtney Duncan 90 Pnt
2 Larissa Papenmeijer 87 Pnt
3 Nancy van de Ven 80 Pnt
4 Kiara Fontanesi 74 Pnt
5 Amandine Verstappen 67 Pnt

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