It has been a sensational few years for Lotte van Drunen contesting the WMX World Championship. After making history in 2024 by becoming the youngest ever WMX World Champion, the talented Dutch rider proved it was no fluke by backing it up with another world title in 2025.
Despite winning just one overall GP this season, van Drunen’s trademark consistency once again shone through, allowing her to secure back-to-back world crowns at just eighteen years old.
Her 2025 campaign isn’t quite finished yet either, as she’s set to head stateside to contest the prestigious Mini O’s event in America – a fitting way to round off another remarkable year.
We can exclusively reveal that van Drunen will remain with the De Baets Yamaha squad for the 2026 season. The partnership has been a hugely successful one so far, delivering two consecutive world titles, and both sides are eager to continue building on that success.
Looking ahead to 2026, van Drunen and De Baets Yamaha will set their sights on an ambitious third consecutive world title. It won’t be an easy challenge, but with her current form and confidence, the young Dutch star will once again start the new season as the favourite for WMX glory.
“After two years of working together and two world titles, you get to know each other better what the riders expect from the team. We didn’t really have to think about continuing with Lotte, we just had to wait a long time for Yamaha. We are going to do everything we can to win a third consecutive world title. It is a pleasure to work with Lotte because she knows very well what she wants and is very professional herself and does everything she can to be the best in the world. Beyond that, we will continue with two riders in the EMX125 that we will tell you more about very soon”, Danny de Baets told GateDrop.com.
