The first world champion win is still the most special for motocross rider Courtney Duncan, an enthusiastic Ōamaru crowd heard on Wednesday (November 15).

The four-time world champion, who grew up in Palmerston, was welcomed to Ōamaru's Smith's Grainstore by the Waitaki District Council, to honour her achievements and also provide an opportunity for fans young and old to meet with her.

Courtney won her first World Women’s Motocross championship in 2019 and successfully defended her title in 2020 and 2021. She was ruled out with injury in 2022, before taking it out again in 2023.

During a question and answer session with Real 104FM’s Dan Lewis, Courtney said while all of her world titles were “very special”, it was the first one that got the “monkey off the back”.

“In my first season, in 2016, it took me like four years to break through and actually get the title, and I had the potential to do that in my first year, but it just took so long . . . just winning that first one, it's just like, this is the best feeling ever, you know?

“You know, you never know how many you're going to get, you never know what's in front of you, and just so much goes into it from the team, from everyone involved, and so much personal vision goes into it. 

“So when you achieve it, it's just like the best feeling in the world,” she said.

“Because there's a point where you go through multiple injuries and you do question yourself, like, maybe I just, maybe I just won't get this done. You kind of lose faith in yourself, so I think it'll be hard to beat that first one.” 

Courtney went from living at home with her parents in Palmerston, to heading straight overseas at 19 onto the world championship circuit. She admitted it was tough making the adjustment and having to “figure it out”.

Now, aged 27, she has managed to find a “happy balance” to maintain her top form both physically and mentally.

“I guess just, you learn as you get older what you need to do and what you don't need to do, and just finding a happy balance, whether that's off the bike or on the bike. 

“Same with the races, it's like, ‘okay, I need to win this one’, ‘no, I don't need to win this one’; finding things off the bike that kind of keep me active and not like I'm feeling so far away from home,” she said.

When she’s back in New Zealand she bases herself between Cambridge and Dunedin, although she admitted she was spending more and more time up north. 

While she didn’t speak of any plans to put the brakes on her world championship racing any time soon, Courtney is keen to help encourage the next generation of riders, and said it was something she might look at doing “here and there” over the summer and into the future.

Courtney Duncan answers questions from Real 104FM's Dan Lewis, and the crowd, during her visit to Ōamaru on Wednesday. PHOTO: Ashley Smyth