De Baets Yamaha Supported MX Team’s Lotte van Drunen has been crowned the 2024 WMX World Champion today at the seventh and final round of the series in Turkey. Arriving in Afyonkarahisar with a healthy 17-point lead, van Drunen rode two smart and consistent races aboard her GYTR-kitted YZ250F to place fifth overall and become the youngest ever WMX World Champion.
Words | Press release
With three GP victories and five race wins this season, the Dutch sensation was the class of a talented field of female racers in 2024. After placing second overall at the season-opener in March, van Drunen won both races at the heavy sand track of Riola Sardo in Sardinia for round two, taking her first win of the year and moving to the top of the Championship Standings.
Demonstrating her superior ability on a variety of race tracks, a second win soon followed in Spain before she placed third at the hardpack circuit of Teutschenthal in Germany. In the deep mud of Maggiora for round five, the 17-year-old placed sixth – her lowest result of the season but one that secured vital championship points to maintain her series lead.
After a nine-week summer break in the calendar, and a point-scoring ride in MX2 at the MXGP of Flanders, the WMX title race resumed at van Drunen’s home GP in The Netherlands. The Arnhem circuit was the venue for her career-first GP victory in 2023, and she replicated the two race-winning results to dominate the GP and create a 17-point lead ahead of the final round in Turkey.
Knowing consistent results in Afyonkarahisar would be enough to secure her maiden world title, van Drunen placed fourth in Race One on a perfect race track, with her nearest rival, Daniela Guillen, finishing second. Lining up for Race Two on a heavily watered circuit and needing to finish eighth or better to secure the championship, van Drunen rode a cool and calculated race to finish fifth, and with it, became the 2024 WMX World Champion.
In securing the coveted crown in the 16th running of the WMX series, van Drunen also won the WMX Manufacturer’s World Title for Yamaha and becomes the third female alongside Kiara Fontanesi and Nancy van de Ven to win the WMX World Championship aboard YZ250F machinery.
“It’s unbelievable. I was nervous at the beginning of the race because it was so muddy out there today. But I’ve done it. I’m still so young, so it’s unbelievable. I don’t think there are very many 17-year-olds that can say they are a World Champion, so this is something that I will never forget.”
