Nederlands
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s talented duo of Rick Elzinga and Karlis Reisulis have placed sixth and eighth respectively at a fast and frantic MXGP of Czech Republic. Both riders enjoyed plenty of time at the sharp end of the field in Loket, with Elzinga returning to form and Reisulis delivering a career-best finish at the 13th round of the MX2 World Championship.
The Loket race track in the Czech Republic was prepared to perfection and offered plenty of lines for riders to make passes. With warm weather and multiple support classes at MXGP round 13, a much rougher than usual racing surface developed. However, Elzinga and Reisulis impressed in both races around the demanding circuit.
Eager to bounce back to form following the Indonesian trip for rounds 11 and 12 of the 2024 campaign, Elzinga set the tone for a strong weekend in Loket with fifth in the MX2 Qualifying Race. Then in Race One, the Dutchman started up front in third, and after a race-long battle for a place in the top five, crossed the line in sixth.
In Race Two, Elzinga couldn’t quite replicate his jump off the line from Race One and completed the opening lap in ninth. By lap two, the 44 was into eighth after Oriol Oliver fell and he then set his sights on the top five. As the race neared its conclusion, the 21-year-old worked his way past his teammate Reisulis for sixth, but the gap to fifth was too much to overcome. In finishing sixth again, Elzinga placed sixth overall to maintain seventh in the MX2 World Championship standings.
Improving with every passing round since moving up to MX2, Reisulis continued his upward trajectory in the Czech Republic to secure a highly impressive eighth overall. After scoring a point for 10th in the MX2 Qualifying Race, the Latvian carried that speed into Race One to place 10th again despite a small crash.
Confident to improve upon his Race One result in the second race of the day, the 47 held second for a couple of laps before dropping to third. As the race progressed, Reisulis continued to battle inside the top five before he slipped to seventh when he was passed by Elzinga with four laps to go. Nevertheless, the talented youngster’s seventh-place finish marked his career-best race result in MX2 in what was undoubtedly a stunning and confidence-boosting ride.
Next weekend, the MX2 World Championship heads to the deep sand track of Lommel in Belgium for round 14, with both Elzinga and Reisulis firmly focused on building upon their results in the Czech Republic.
Rick Elzinga: I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made since Indonesia, and it’s been a good weekend overall. In the first race, I was lucky because it was restarted, and I started third with Karlis fourth before I moved into second pretty quickly. But I pushed a little too hard and lost my flow near the end and slipped back to sixth. My start in Race Two wasn’t as good but my riding was much better. I had good speed, found my flow, and I was able to push all moto. We’ve made some good improvements this weekend and thanks to the team for their support.
Karlis Reisulis: It’s been a really good weekend for me here in Loket, and things are going in the right direction. In Race One I felt really good although I crashed with another rider, but I was happy to finish in 10th. I had a great start in Race Two, and I was running in second for a while, which was really good, but I got a little tired towards the end. Overall, my progress in the class has been positive, and I’m looking forward to Lommel next weekend.
Photocredits – Fullspectrum Media