Warrior Queen: Lotte van Drunen Shines in AMA WMX with Heart and Grit

A battling Lotte van Drunen starred in last weekend’s AMA WMX round: there were problems, but the first podium arrived!

The absolute debut in AMA WMX at Thunder Valley didn’t go as expected, but in the encore at the High Point National in Pennsylvania she clinched a hard-fought first podium. Lotte van Drunen, queen of the WMX World Championship for two years, finished last weekend’s round as a leading protagonist: pole position, 2nd in Moto 1, and a superb 4th place comeback in a chaotic, troubled second moto—enough for 3rd overall. With a crystal-clear “I never give up!” the Dutch super champion shines across the ocean too, a big injection of personal confidence as she returns to the world championship campaign, which didn’t start perfectly due also to some unlucky episodes. But let’s recap her stellar weekend in the USA.

"Being able to fight up front with the setup I have is incredible." Remember that the WMX champion lined up more or less with a stock bike put together in a very short time by Slader Racing just before her debut in Colorado on June 12-13, and only a week later came the High Point round. No matter: the 18-year-old motocross starlet was determined to make a much bigger impact and did not disappoint the team, her family on the road, or the fans who supported her. She topped qualifying, then finished second in the first race behind another Pro Motocross debutant, Mayla Herrick, who celebrated her birthday from the top step of the moto podium. Then it was time for Race 2, and all hell broke loose... Lotte van Drunen herself summed it up.

"Can you imagine risking sending a stock bike off track, risking either getting the holeshot or ending up last? Well, I took the risk and I got the holeshot. But my holeshot device got stuck." Readers who follow MotoGP know all about the many issues with these devices: different, but apparently troublesome in other disciplines too. "I tried to release it, realized I couldn’t, and decided to manage it, then the red flag came out," the Dutch rider continued. "I unscrewed the holeshot device and noticed the bike was leaking oil (I’d lost the oil plug). My mechanic did everything to get me oil in time, I started last without the holeshot device and finished 4th, 3rd overall."