Lotte van Drunen of the Beurspro KTM team finished third during the Rookies Cup in France. She recovered from seventh place in the final race to clinch her podium finish. With the results of all the heats counting, Lotte was classified as third overall for the event.
Lotte and her dad travelled to France on Friday to participate in the Rookies Cup. The area experienced some rainfall in the preceding days and more was predicted for the race weekend. As it was, the Saturday morningprogram was cancelled due to inclement weather, and the race program was adjusted.
Lotte was keen for the event, and posted the second fastest time in her qualifying group. The races were divided into two groups, since 84 riders entered, and the best 22 riders of each group would make it into the final. Lotte left nothing to chance, and grabbed a good start in her race, and started putting pressure on the leader. She pounced on the penultimate lap and took over the lead, which she held to the flag.
Lotte got out of the gates in seventh spot in race two. She quickly made her passes, and was quickly in the lead again. A small error near the end of the race allowed one pursuer to pass her, and she finished second. Lotte tangled with a fallen rider in the last qualifying heat, and had to make her way forward from dead last. She gave it her all, and posted her fastest lap time of the day during this race. With three laps to go, she moved into second, and starting hauling in the leader. She closed a gap of 13 seconds, and eventually came just 0,7 seconds shy of claiming victory.
Lotte was qualifies comfortably for the final. Again she launched in about seventh spot, but barged her way to third within a few corners. The leader had by now scooted off, but Lotte trailed the second placed rider by just a few seconds. She closed the gap in no time, and made a clean pass. The leader was too far gone now, but Lotte finished a good second position, gaining a host of fans in yet another country.
Lotte and her family would like to thank the VRT team for their assistance and hospitality.