Two-time WMX World Champion Courtney Duncan is continuing her return to world championship racing in impressive fashion, moving up to third in the standings after another determined showing at Teutschenthal in just her second Grand Prix back following a long layoff due to health issues.
The New Zealander missed the entire 2025 season after being diagnosed with pericarditis, a serious heart condition that forced her into months of complete rest before she could even begin a gradual return to training. The extended recovery period meant a carefully managed build-up back to full fitness, with her return to racing this season marking the end of one of the most challenging phases of her career away from the track.
Now back aboard a stock DRT Kawasaki KX250, Duncan is steadily rebuilding race fitness and rhythm, while already showing signs of the form that delivered her four WMX world titles between 2019 and 2023.
Her MXGP of Germany weekend again highlighted both the progress and the ongoing rebuild. The 30-year-old impressed with a third-placed finish in Saturday afternoon’s opening moto of the weekend
Race two showed even stronger promise. A sharp start placed her right in the podium fight early, running as high as second before two crashes disrupted her rhythm. Despite dropping back outside the top 10, she regrouped well to recover to 10th, narrowly missing the overall podium by a single point and finishing fifth for the weekend.
“The first moto was already a huge improvement from last week,” Duncan said. “I made a mistake on the first lap yesterday, and someone took my front wheel, but I made a good comeback with quick passes, so I was pretty stoked with third, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“We were first up this morning, so of course, they had watered the track pretty heavily, and there weren’t so many lines, but I got a really good start and felt good running in second until I made two silly mistakes. There are plenty of positives to take away from this weekend; I just need some more races under my butt to get my speed and race rhythm back. You’re never sure where you are after a long break; I need to get more loose on the bike again, and of course, I’m inevitably still lacking a little fitness. I’m not really looking at the championship, but we’ll get there!”
Despite the setbacks, Duncan’s pace has been a standout feature of her return. After an opening round in France where she fought through the field to finish fourth in race two, her progression in Germany again underlined how quickly she is closing back in on front-running speed.
Now sitting third in the WMX championship standings heading into the British Grand Prix, Duncan’s comeback continues to gather momentum.
