Women's Motocross: Thanks all the same, Kiara Fontanesi; the world title goes to Spain

Spanish dominance in speed wasn’t enough—now Motocross is becoming an Iberian stronghold too. On the same day as the Australian GP, the MX2 title sealed by Guillen Farres was echoed by Daniela Guillen’s triumph in the WMX Women’s World Championship. Kiara Fontanesi wasn’t able to overturn the outcome of the championship, but at 32 years old and with six world titles already on her shelf, she has nothing to reproach herself for.

Successes in motorcycling don’t come on their own; they require planning, investment, and policies that nurture talent. And Spain has all of that. Daniela Guillen’s first World Championship is the result of the rider’s crystal-clear class, of course, but also of a virtuous system that, at just twenty years old, has allowed her to climb into the world’s Olympus. It’s not a bolt from the blue, because Daniela had already come close to the crown in the previous two seasons, finishing second and third: now her time has come. “I came to Australia to win, not to manage my championship lead,” Daniela exclaimed as she stepped off the podium. Indeed, the outcome of the final act on Darwin’s red dirt couldn’t have been clearer: dominance in race 1, with her lead over Kiara Fontanesi stretched to 13 points, and a final seal with another triumph in the decisive showdown. The run was formidable: five wins and ten podiums in ten motos, with three overall victories. Chapeau.

Our formidable champion, at 32, with two children and returning from years away, had the immense merit of holding her own to the very end against a rampant rival. The result of this World Championship feels like a passing of the torch, given the different generations. But with Kiara, never say never. In the first moto the Parma-born rider finished only fourth, suffering a notable physical drop at the end when she also had to give way to former world champions Lotte van Drunen and Courtney Duncan. In the decider she crashed immediately, got back up, but couldn’t do better than a futile seventh place. The fact she didn’t give up, despite everything, shows what kind of champion she is.

“It was the worst weekend ever” commented Kiara Fontanesi after the Australian GP. “I really don’t understand what happened. On Saturday I felt terrible physically during the race and I could no longer ride, breathe, or move. Today I was fit to race, but I felt awful on track and was sliding everywhere until I crashed. Then it was really hard to come back and I also lost the motivation to return when I realized the title was no longer possible. It’s a shame not to have been able to fight to the end. Up until this weekend it had been a fantastic season. I had so many positive races, practically everything was going great, but with the problems in the last two races it was almost impossible to fight for the championship. Congratulations to Daniela, she rode brilliantly and it was great to have such an exciting battle with her this year.”

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