17
September
2018
|
16:09 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Kiara Fontanesi wins Assen MXGP WMX to claim Red Plate

  • Fontanesi wins both WMX races
  • 3 riders in MXGP top-ten 
  • Ben Watson closes in on MX2 podium again

Kiara Fontanesi won both WMX races at the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. The MXGP of The Netherlands at Assen this weekend saw Kiara claim maximum points and move into the lead of the championship. In both races, the Italian four-time champion took the lead on lap five and crossed the line 1.5 and six seconds ahead of the rest respectively. The Yamaha rider chose Dunlop Geomax MX12 rear tyres with MX33 on the front. Kiara had started the event second in the championship to fellow Dunlop/Yamaha rider Courtney Duncan who announced her withdrawal from the remainder of the season due to a foot injury. The double win moved Kiara to the top of the table with an eight point advantage and one round remaining. Amandine Verstappen also moved up the table with the help of Dunlop tyres and now lies sixth.

In MXGP, Shaun Simpson (Yamaha), Clement Desalle (Kawasaki) and Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) took top-ten finishes in sixth, eighth and tenth respectively. Ben Watson came close to another MX2 podium, ultimately finishing fifth.

The next event, the MXGP of Italy, takes place at Imola on 30thSeptember.

Eddy Seel, Dunlop Event Leader:

“It’s great to have Kiara back at the top – it’s just a shame that Courtney has been injured or we could have had a Dunlop 1-2 this year. Eight points is a good lead going into the final round but there is still a big fight ahead in Italy for Kiara to take her fifth title. We are back to soft-medium ground for the last round of the season so our riders will be back to MX33 all-round to confirm their final positions and take the last wins of the year we hope.”