Larissa Papenmeier: 100 legendary Grands Prix and a WMX World Championship farewell amid tears and applause

Larissa Papenmeier bid farewell to the Women’s Motocross World Championship with an emotional final home GP.

The decision to leave the Motocross World Championship, but with a 100th GP—becoming the first woman to reach this milestone—in front of her home crowd. Larissa Papenmeier wanted to bow out this way, taking 9th overall at the German GP but, above all, receiving a goosebump-inducing ovation from the fans in Teutschenthal, who saluted her with full honors. The 36-year-old from Bünde boasts 11 national titles in her career, while on the world stage she came close to the crown in 2009, finishing behind compatriot Stephanie “Steffi” Laier. On top of that, add victories, podiums, and several third places in the overall WMX standings, the most recent in 2022.

“It’s not ‘goodbye,’ it’s ‘see you later.’” Larissa Papenmeier wrote this in a brief social post, also admitting that “The last laps of Race 2 were heartbreaking; I started crying under my helmet.” The tears had already begun to fall during the pre-GP interview: when it was confirmed that Germany would be her final GP, “Lare423” couldn’t hold back the intense emotion. “It’s tough, but I’ll enjoy every second,” the German arrow promised through tears—and that’s exactly what she did.

And so it ended, with a 9th place in the GP and the ovation of the home crowd, a very long chapter in the life of this superb motocrosser. A world-level career that began in 2005 and saw her always at the top. A life of dedication, sacrifice, alas injuries, comebacks, victories, that brought to the World Championship the little girl who, driven by a powerful passion for motocross, raced her first event at 6 years old and went on to write her great story. And with her 100th GP—the first female motocrosser to reach this milestone—she cements her place among the legends of WMX.

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