New Zealand rider Courtney Duncan has been the fastest Motocross rider in the world championship since bursting onto the scene in 2016.  After absolutely dominating and winning all but 1 of the 9 races in 2019, she finally fulfilled her childhood dream of being crowned WMX World Champion.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing though, with Duncan enduring 3 years of misfortune and injury that prevented her from claiming a championship. After leading the series during her debut season in 2016, she was forced to the sideline with injury when she crashed into a photographer who was standing on the race track. Even as the new kid on the block, Duncan won 5 of the 14 races in 2016, more than any other individual that year, and this was even after her run-in with the photographer.

In the following year, a controversial jury decision denied her the 2017 title when the race was stopped at the final round while she was leading. In 2018 with just 2 races left, an injury to a bone in her right foot and further damage to the ligaments that surround it forced her to again withdraw from the title chase.

This made her 2019 WMX World Championship title all the sweeter. We follow her journey of unwavering dedication and commitment as we absorb all that she has achieved in Girl on Fire.

How did you figure out that MX was a passion of yours? Tell us about your upbringing.
I grew up in a small town. It’s a pretty rural community. Everyone had bikes, my best mates had bikes. It was just one of those things we did on weekends. We all got together and went racing. We just set up a few pegs and markers on the side of a hill and went and had some fun. It kind of escalated from there.

What was the moment when you decided to risk it all and head to Europe?
I happened to catch the world championships on TV when I was about 12 or 13. That was kind of the turning point for me. As soon as I saw that it inspired me to want to go over there and be a world champion. Ever since that day I wanted to win a world title.

 You finally fulfilled your childhood dream of being crowned world champion. It hasn’t been an easy road, talk us through the journey and the emotions attached to it.
That feeling of winning the world championship is indescribable. The first 10 seconds after I was just numb, it’s surreal. I’d worked for countless years just to fulfill that dream. I’ve gone through some tough times so for it to finally happen was amazing. There were nights that I didn’t think it was going to be possible.

There’s something that keeps you going. Where does your motivation come from? Where does that fire come from?
I’m super competitive. I always have been. I’ve always wanted to be the best. That wasn’t just at racing, it was everything I did right down to playing cards with my friends or kicking a soccer ball around. Whatever it was I wanted to be the best. That’s where the fire comes from. I hate to lose. I don’t think there’s a word that describes how much I hate losing.

What’s your biggest fear and how do you push through and overcome them?

Probably losing! At times I was so afraid to lose it just about made me win cause I hated it so much. I don’t fear too much on the racing side of things. I thrive on pressure, I thrive on knowing it’s not going to be easy so I kind of look at things more as a challenge than as a fear.

 What’s been some of the best advice you’ve received that’s impacted your career?
Over the last year, the most important thing that helped me was to enjoy it. As an athlete, you get stuck in your bubble. All you see is racing, you don’t have too much outside of that. I think this year I was able to add in a bit more downtime and fun outside of racing.

What advice do you have for your fans and other people who look up to you?
It’s important to enjoy it, no matter what level you’re at. Have fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself and it will come. Put in the hard yards and trust what you’re doing will get you to where you want to be.