Courtney Duncan, riding out of New Zealand, made a big impact in the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Women’s Triple Crown season opener, winning both Moto 1 and Moto 2, each by a commanding margin. Adding to Duncan’s remarkable performance is the fact that she pilots a Yamaha YZ 125 Two-Stroke. In Moto 1, Team Honda’s Sayaka Kaneshiro finished second, followed by MTF’s Mackenzie Tricker in third.
Duncan layed down the law on her 125 against a full field of 250F’s
Duncan got the lead early in Moto 1, followed by Kaneshiro in second and Tricker in third. KTM rider Alexah Pearson settled into fourth and was followed by Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson in fifth. Patterson started to move up the pack during the contest, making it up to third mid-race, but before the end she unexpected pulled off track with an issue, leaving her to finish 30th.
Duncan continued her charge, building a gap of over 20 seconds on Kaneshiro.
In Moto 2, Patterson returned determined to redeem herself after the disappointing result in Moto 1. She quickly moved to the head of the pack, but Duncan was close behind in second and within six minutes had passed Patterson for the lead. Once out front, Duncan again displayed her superiority over the field, creating a gap that grew to over 14 seconds by the checkers.
Patterson held on to finish second, followed by Kaneshiro in third and Honda rider T-bug Higgins in fourth. KTM rider Jacqueline Strong rounded out the top-five in Moto 2.
Duncan leaves Hangtown with the lead in overall points, eight ahead of Kaneshiro. Higgins sits third overall followed by Tricker in fourth and Strong in fifth.
Women’s Motocross Triple Crown Points 2013:
1. Courtney Duncan, 50
2. Sayaka Kaneshiro, 42
3. T-bug Higgins, 36
4. Mackenzie Tricker, 35
5. Jacqueline Strong, 31
6. Alexah Pearson, 29
7. Mariana Balbi, 28
8. Sara Pettersson, 25
9. Hailey Larson, 23
10. Jessica Patterson, 22
