Lotte van Drunen of the Beursfoon KTM team scored a sensational podium finish at the first elimination round of the 65cc European championship series in Slovakia. After a third place finish in the first moto, the young lady held second position for a long time in the final race, and eventually finished fourth after an on track incident. Her second place was eventually restored by the race jury.
The beautiful track looked picture perfect on Friday. Some torrential rain turned the circuit into a quagmire on Saturday, and the organizers decided to scrap Saturday’s qualifying sessions. The deeply-rutted track presented a huge challenge, but Lotte Qualified third nonetheless.
Lotte took the initial lead in race one after a great start. She was quickly relegated to second, and fought for all she’s worth to keep the position. She stood her ground (wo)manfully, and crossed the line in third position. Lotte again surged to the lead at the beginning of race two. After one lap, she lost the lead, and for a long time held second position. She was eventually passed by two riders who had continued racing at full pace under a yellow cautionary flag. Lotte was initially classified in fourth position, but the race jury decided that the other riders had gained an unfair advantage, and reinstated the young lady to second position.
Lotte was classified second overall for her labours, and this is her current standing in the championship series as well.