Having won the first moto on Saturday on her return to racing from injury the New Zealander got the perfect start to race two as she rode an immaculate line through turn one to take the holeshot. With a clear track and pacing herself admirably in her first race since March she rode immaculately to defend the lead until a local girl, fired on by the enthusiastic crowd, charged on to her rear wheel. Fully aware that second in moto was sufficient to secure the overall victory Courtney rode a tactical race, responding admirably when the championship leader tried to close her down to ensure success by a clear margin. Having missed two rounds of the five-event series she has no chance of a fourth consecutive title but the victory in Spain was the eighteenth overall success of her career.
 
Courtney Duncan: “I think I can be proud of my performance this weekend. It was great to grab the holeshot today and the first few laps were quite intense. It’s my first race for something like three months so I’m still a little rusty but I knew second today was enough to win the GP. I enjoyed the track both days. There were plenty of lines so I had a lot of fun and what a place to do it; thirty-three degrees and the Spanish crowd was unreal! We can take a lot of info from here for the future too; you come to the races to know that. I did what I had to do to take the win and I’m just so stoked to listen to the national anthem and raise that Kiwi flag on the podium today. The final round in Turkey is still a couple of months away so I’ll fly home to New Zealand this week to prepare for that. “
 
9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Amandine Verstappen, who had been second-fastest during practice on Saturday morning, again had a lot of work to do from a chaotic fifteenth-placed start but was already tenth at the completion of the opening lap and advanced one position per lap until she reached seventh. She spent the remainder of the race in a thrilling duel for sixth but was not quite able to make the pass. Ninth overall over the weekend the Belgian girl has advanced one position in the championship standings to fifth heading to the final round in Turkey in September.
 
Amandine Verstappen: “The weekend started really well with the second-fastest lap-time during the timed-practice period; that has been a really positive factor at each of the last two rounds. In the first race yesterday I hit the rear wheel of Papenmeier bike in the waves section when I jumped a double and she didn’t. I was a long way back and came back to twelfth; I had the speed but I was frustrated with the result. My start today was not so good but I came back through to seventh. “