The long wait is over, and New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan has packed her bags and returned to Europe this week to continue her Women’s Motocross World Championship (WMX) title defence.
After flying home to Dunedin following the second round of the WMX in The Netherlands back in March, Courtney Duncan had been leading the championship by five points over closest rival Larissa Papenmeier. With the MXGP calendar impacted by COVID-19, she has since been waiting for confirmation that the women’s series would resume.
The 24-year-old now heads back to Europe to prepare for the final three rounds, all set to take place in Italy. The first two races—MXGP Lombardia on September 27 and the MXGP of Città di Mantova on September 30—will both be run on the Mantova circuit’s hard sand surface, following the championship’s new mid-week racing format introduced for 2020.
Duncan will remain in Europe between rounds to train for the season finale at the MXGP of Trentino on November 1, where she’ll aim to have her name re-engraved on the WMX championship trophy for a second time.
“I’d be lying if I said I was happy with just one world championship,” Duncan admitted. “I want another one and that’s what I’m aiming towards. I want to go over there and ride to the best of my ability. I’ll be putting myself in good positions to score some strong finishes and the rest will come.”
