Underlining the power and torque of Yamaha's YZ250F, Van de Ven and Papenmeier fronted the field in both races this weekend.
Van de Ven led the charge on both occasions before being passed by Papenmeier who looked comfortable out on the rough and rugged Enzo e Dino Ferrari Motocross track in Imola.
In the opening race, van de Ven had the initial advantage over Papenmeier before being demoted to second position by the championship leader Courtney Duncan. The '85' reclaimed the lead after Duncan fell, but eventually dropped back to third after suffering a minor technical issue.
Duncan remounted and bounced back to take the win as Papenmeier latched onto the back of her and finished second. Heading into the fourth round of the series this weekend, van de Ven had a 3-point profit over Papenmeier.
After finishing third in the opening race, Papenmeier was able to claw back 2-points, which meant only 1-point separated the duo heading into the final race of the Italian Grand Prix With the battle for the silver medal burning hotter than ever, the duel between van de Ven and Papenmeier for the lead provided the fans with a lot of entertainment.
The duo went bar to bar until Papenmeier made a pass stick on lap-3.
Both riders put their all into the final race, which was costly in the final laps. Van de Ven faded to fourth while Papenmeier did not have enough energy left in the tank to fight Duncan for the lead. She held on for second and as a result finished second overall in the Grand Prix and has moved up to second position in the WMX Championship Standings.
Van de Ven rounded out the podium and now trails Papenmeier by 3-points in the championship chase. The fifth and final round of the 2019 Women's Motocross World Championship will take place in two-week's time in Afyon, Turkey.