Nancy van der Ven finished third at the fourth round of the women’s motocross world championship series in Loket. The Yamaha rider finished third in both heats, and added handsomely to her world championship tally.
Van der Ven had a good start in the first race and soon found herself in second place. She tried to haul in Kiara Fontanesi, but could not do so. In the process, Courtney Duncan caught and passed her, leaving a disappointed Van der Ven in third. Moreover, she had bumped her ankle, meaning she would have to bite through the pain in the second race.
Van der Ven’s bike soos out at the start of race two, and she had to pay catch up. She worked her way up to third and started closing in on Duncan, but some lappers got in the way and she finished third again. She earned a bag full of points, and is still in the running for the world title.
Nancy had mixed feelings after the event: “I came forward strongly in the first race, but made some mistakes when Courtney Duncan sat behind me. I hurt my foot badly when I jumped short on a step up. I could still keep the pace, but some arm pump later on made me decide to let them go. In the second race I soos out on the start gate and had to fight to third from far back. I’m halt to be on the podium, though.”
With two rounds in the series left to go, things are tight in the championship run. The next round is at Assen in the Netherlands in September.
Overall Grand Prix in Loket:
1 Courtney Duncan 47 Pnt
2 Amandine Verstappen 40 Pnt
3 Nancy van de Ven 40 Pnt
4 Kiara Fontanesi 37 Pnt
5 Livia Lancelot 34 Pnt
World Championship Standings after four rounds:
1 Courtney Duncan 155 Pnt
2 Kiara Fontanesi 152 Pnt
3 Livia Lancelot 148 Pnt
4 Nancy van de Ven 143 Pnt
5 Larissa Papenmeijer 122 Pnt
