Lotte van Drunen of the Beursfoon KTM team enjoyed a strong debut in the Open Dutch Championship 85cc big wheel class. In the first race of the final championship event at St Isidorushoeve, she recovered from a bad start to finish fifth. In the second race she had a better start, but battled to find her rhythm initially. She recovered to finish sixth.
Since Lotte claimed the 65cc big wheel title already in Varsseveld at the penultimate event, she opted to switch to the 85cc big wheel class for the last round of the Open Dutch Championships. She will skip the 85cc small wheel class and jump straight to the big wheel bikes for the 2020 season. The track at St Isidorushoeve suited her, and she posted the third fastes training time. Since the track had become quite gnarly during the course of the training sessions, she went to check it out before the start of the races.
Lotte battled off the start in her first ever 85cc big wheel Dutch Championship race, and she was also boxed in. She rode innovative lines, and this helped her to gain some positions. With half the race gone, she had worked herself into fifth position, and against some of the best 85cc sand riders around, she held her own to finish fifth.
After some rest, sustenance and replenishment liquid, Lotte checked out the track again before the second race. Her brothers gave tips freely, and boosted her confidence, This time she was ready for the start, and claimed her first holeshot in the bigger class. She battled to find a rhythm initially, though, but this improved as the race progressed, and she finished in a strong sixth position. This represented a remarkable debut for the young lady in a very competitive class, and proves that she will be a force to be reckoned with in 2020.
Lotte will focus on getting as much strength and skills as possible on the bigger more powerful bike during the off season. She will participate in the Vlissingen beach race next weekend.