St. Jean and its 30,000 spectators saw the third round of the Women’s Motocross World Championship get underway under sunny weather conditions.
KTM Germany’s Steffi Laier took her second consecutive victory after her debut in the Championship in Mantova; once again it was a double moto win for the German, who topped the podium from Yamaha Van Beers’ Katherine Prumm and home rider Livia Lancelot of GPKR. The latter enjoyed the support of her local crowd but made some unforced mistakes throughout both heats and that cost her the victory. German compatriots Maria Franke of Kawasaki Elf Pfeil and Larissa Papenmeier of Suzuki Inotec rounded off the top five ahead of sixth placed Ashley Fiolek.
1. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 50 points
2. Katherine Prumm (NZL, Yamaha), 42 p.
3. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p.
4. Maria Franke (GER, Kawasaki), 36 p.
5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), 31 p.
Moto 1
Lancelot took the holeshot and pulled away until she made a mistake at the sand section and crashed; Laier took the chance to move up to first and win the moto, while Lancelot held on to finish second despite Prumm’s attacks. After a mistake at the first turn following the start, Prumm settled down for third. Franke and Papenmeier rounded off the top five as Fiolek was eleventh. The American crashed and lost vital time to restart her bike.
1. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 26:18.203
2. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.567
3. Katherine Prumm (NZL, Yamaha), +0:24.469
4. Maria Franke (GER, Kawasaki), +0:58.087
5. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +1:48.872
Moto 2
With a slight rain falling on the race track, Lancelot was again the quickest to leave the gate but Laier took the lead one lap later and simply cruised to victory. Lancelot made a mistake at the sand section and almost stalled the bike, blocking also Fiolek. Prumm exploited the situation and moved up to second, then defended from the attacks of Lancelot who crashed afterwards. Fiolek finished third ahead of Franke while Lancelot recovered to fifth. Papenmeier was sixth.
1. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 25:52.269
2. Katherine Prumm (NZL, Yamaha), +0:03.515
3. Ashley Fiolek (USA, Honda), +0:15.085
4. Maria Franke (GER, Kawasaki), +0:21.191
5. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:52.615
In the World Championship Points Standings
Prumm moved up to the top spot in the Championship standings while Lancelot is now runner up with a gap of two points. Fiolek is third ahead of Franke while Laier is now up in fifth.
1. Katherine Prumm (NZL, Yamaha), 122 points
2. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 120 p
3. Ashley Fiolek (USA, Honda), 102 p.
4. Maria Franke (GER, Kawasaki), 101 p.
5. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 100 p.
6. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), 92 p.
7. Elin Mann (SWE, KTM), 82 p.
8. Elien De Winter (BEL, KTM), 80 p.
9. Marianne Veenstra (NED, Suzuki), 78 p.
10. Nicky van Wordragen (NED, KTM), 63 p.
The next round of both the MX1/MX2 World Championship and the Women’s World Championship will be on in two weeks at Teutschenthal, Germany, on June 29.
