This Sunday morning, the second round of the GP of Türkiye took place, marking a turning point in the race for the title.
Starting in the lead, Kiara Fontanesi set a strong pace from the very first laps. Despite the pressure applied by Guillen, the six-time WMX world champion held on to win the second race and secure the overall victory in Türkiye. The Italian, however, was handed a five-point penalty for failing to respect a yellow flag and remains second in the championship, 16 points behind the leader. Daniela Guillen once again tried everything to take the win. The Spaniard from the Mequitec Racing team kept the pressure on Fontanesi but never got close enough to attempt an overtake. Second place looked like a strong result, but following a post-race protest, reportedly from another rider, Guillen received the same penalty as Fontanesi.
Martine Hughes made her return to the podium, three years after her first. Thanks to an excellent second race, the Norwegian achieved her best result in a long time. Comfortable on the Afyonkarahisar track, she overtook Papenmeier to move into third and held off a late charge from van Drunen to secure her place. Lotte van Drunen had a more difficult second race. The De Baets MX team rider was outside of the top ten in the opening laps and needed time to move past her rivals. Less at ease on hardpack than in the sand, she gradually worked her way forward and finished fourth. Although she missed the podium, the penalties given to her two title rivals allowed her to limit the damage. She now goes into the final in Australia with a 16-point advantage and looks closer than ever to a second world title.
Larissa Papenmeier finished fifth in the race and sixth overall. The SYE 423 Racing Team rider gets the holeshot and is passed by Fontanesi in the second corner. Passed by Guillen and then pressured by Hughes, she fought hard to defend but was eventually overtaken. Later on, she also lost out to van Drunen. Despite this, Papenmeier once again proved her consistency and her talent. Lucy Barker delivered another convincing performance. Battling in the top ten, she made several overtakes and claimed sixth place. With this result, the British rider moves into the top 5 overall of the GP and confirms its growing consistency.
Danée Gelissen produced a strong ride after her mistake in Race 1. Determined to bounce back, the Dutchwoman stayed in the right group and overtook van der Vlist late in the race to secure seventh place and ninth overall in her final GP of the season. Shana van der Vlist couldn’t hold off Gelissen. After a good start, the Dutch rider suffered arm pump, which slowed her down, and she eventually finished eighth overall. She nonetheless remains fourth in the championship. Amandine Verstappen finished ninth after a crash in the early laps. The NewBike Yamaha rider recovered well to save a top ten finish. Seventh overall in Türkiye, she climbs to sixth in the championship. Malou Jakobsen rounded out the top ten both in Race 2 and in the overall standings. The Danish rider, rider of KL Racing Team who started further back than in Race 1, managed to fight her way through to complete a solid weekend.
Tyra Bäckström also had a strong race. After a perfectible start, the Swede gained several positions over the lapses. Mathea Selebø finished twelfth and, thanks to her two solid rides, claimed eleventh overall ahead of Bäckström. Nellie Fransson capped off her weekend with another points finish. Quick off the start, the JK Yamaha Racing rider battled hard with the group ahead of her and enjoyed her best GP so far.
Jana Sanchez delivered a good second race for the Mequitec Racing Team. She finished fourteenth, just ahead of Laura Raunkjaer, who crossed the line fifteenth for the SYE 423 Racing Team. Behind them, Barbara Aagaard Andersen recovered from a poor start to take sixteenth and valuable points for her.
Aneta Cepelaková claimed seventeenth place and more useful points before heading to Australia. Alexandra Massury looked set for another solid performance but a crash cost her time and positions. Adrija Skudutyte also endured a difficult second race, crashing twice despite showing good speed. Cecilia Polato completed the top 20 and earned her first world championship point of the season.
April Franzoni suffered a big fall which ended her season.
The final round will take place in two weeks in Australia, with around ten regular riders expected on the entry list, joined by competitors from Australia, New Zealand, and potentially other countries.
