Britain’s Lucy Barker enjoyed a superb home Grand Prix at the Monster Energy MXGP of Great Britain, producing an impressive fourth-place finish in Race Two to secure sixth overall in the third round of the 2026 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship at Foxhill.
Feature Image by Dave Rich
The EMEKS KTM rider made two excellent starts in front of the home crowd, running inside the top three during both races and showing she had the pace to challenge some of the championship’s leading riders.
While Kiara Fontanesi completed a flawless 1-1 to take the overall victory and move into the WMX championship lead, Barker’s performance gave the British fans plenty to cheer on the return of the World Championship to Foxhill.
Barker Shows Strong Pace
Barker made a superb start to the opening race, slotting into third behind Fontanesi and Daniela Guillen through the opening laps. The British rider held her own at the front before the experience of Courtney Duncan, reigning World Champion Lotte van Drunen and Shana van der Vlist eventually moved ahead.
Although Barker slipped back to ninth by the chequered flag, her early pace showed she was more than capable of running with the front group.
You can also watch our exclusive post-race interview with Lucy Barker below.
Race Two brought an even stronger result.
Another excellent start saw Barker emerge in second place behind Fontanesi before Guillen moved through on lap two. Barker maintained a strong rhythm throughout the race and brought her KTM home in fourth place, comfortably her best finish of the weekend.
The result secured sixth overall and capped an encouraging weekend in front of the British fans.
Fontanesi Returns to the Top
While Barker enjoyed a memorable home Grand Prix, Fontanesi was in outstanding form throughout the weekend.
The Italian claimed the holeshot in both races and led every lap to complete a perfect 1-1 scorecard, collecting the 25th Grand Prix victory of her career, her 55th individual race win, and the 130th podium of her remarkable WMX career.
The double victory also sees the FontaMX Racing GASGAS rider move to the top of the championship standings for the first time this season.
Kiara Fontanesi: “It’s a big, big achievement. I don’t think I could ever have imagined being a mum of two and leading the world championship at 32 years old, I still can’t quite realise it. In the first race, the championship is so tight that I couldn’t ride free; I was scared of crashing more than of being passed, so it was a stressful race. But in the second race I got a really good start, felt amazing on the track and didn’t even get tired, those are the races I love!”
Guillen Stays in the Fight
Although she surrendered the championship lead, Daniela Guillen recovered well after a difficult opening race to finish second in Race Two and end the weekend just two points behind Fontanesi in the standings.
Daniela Guillen: “I’ve lost the red plate, but I’m still very much in this championship fight. Today I had a much better feeling than yesterday, I wasn’t at my best before the second race, but I’m happy with how I recovered. Thank you to the team and to everyone who has helped me.”
Duncan Continues Her Comeback
Former World Champion Courtney Duncan continued her encouraging return to racing with second and third-place finishes to secure third overall.
Courtney Duncan: “It’s good, it’s really good. It’s funny, when you get back to that level, you’re almost disappointed you didn’t finish further up! But I’m stoked to be back on the box, it’s been a long time. I think we can be proud of the improvements we’ve made in six weeks. I’m still not quite back to where I need to be, but we’re well and truly on the way. A huge thanks to everyone who’s helped me get here, all the people back home, my medical team, the specialists and surgeons who got my health back on track, and to Monster Energy, Fox for making this season possible.”
There were also four other Brits behind the gate. Lauren May Collingwood was running in front half of the pack in moto 1 before a rock smashed her shoulder and she dropped to 25th. Her shoulder injury meant she couldn’t race on Sunday. Amber McGregor had a 29th and a 27th, Kelly Phillips went 31-28, and Hannah Jones went 30-29.
As the championship heads to the Netherlands, Barker will take confidence from a strong home performance, while Fontanesi leaves Foxhill with the championship lead after a faultless weekend in Wiltshire.
Overall Results
WMX World Championship – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 141 points; 2. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 139 p.; 3. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 100 p.; 4. Shana Van Der Vlist (NED, YAM), 89 p.; 5. Malou Jakobsen (DEN, KTM), 88 p.; 6. Lucy Barker (GBR, KTM), 87 p.; 7. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, YAM), 85 p.; 8. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, YAM), 84 p.; 9. April Franzoni (FRA, HON), 73 p.; 10. Lynn Valk (NED, TM), 57 p.
