Nederlands
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Thibault Benistant has placed seventh overall at the penultimate round of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship in China. Karlis Reisulis finished eighth, tied on points with Benistant, while Rick Elzinga placed 14th after securing eighth in Race One.
With extreme weather forecast for the scheduled race day of Monday, September 16, at the MXGP of China, the racing format was revised to be a one-day event to ensure the final overseas GP of the season could take place successfully. Fortunately, the races took place in dry and warm conditions, however gusty winds ensured every rider had to remain focused, especially over the larger jumps that littered the Shanghai circuit.
A mid-pack start in Race One left Benistant outside the top 10, and with a lot of work to do in order to work his way forward. Within a handful of laps, the Frenchman moved into 10th, but with the leading riders running a similar pace, he couldn’t make any further progress and maintained his position to the chequered flag.
Benistant’s start in Race Two wasn’t much improved over Race One, however, by focusing on his roll speed through the corners, he began picking riders off one-by-one. By mid-race, he was up to sixth until Andrea Adamo pushed him back to seventh a few laps later. With three laps to go, Benistant passed Reisulis and reeled in Adamo but was unable to find a way around him and crossed the line less than half a second behind. With a solid points haul in China, Benistant moves up two spots in the Championship Standings to 11th with one round remaining.
Arriving in China with a fever made for a tough day of racing for Reisulis, especially with the hot weather. Strong starts, including a holeshot in Race Two and leading well into the second half of the race made things easier, but fatigue set in, causing him to slip down the field. Ending Race One ninth and Race Two seventh resulted in eighth overall for the likeable Latvian, who maintains 15th in the Championship Standings.
The team’s third rider, Elzinga, raced to a strong eighth in Race One before crashing out of Race Two. Fortunate to escape injury in the fall, the crash ended the Dutchman’s race early, but with Sacha Coenen a non-starter in China, Elzinga cannot be caught and has secured seventh in the Championship Standings.
In two weeks’ time, the final round of the season will take place in Spain over the weekend of September 28-29. The MXGP of Castilla la Mancha will conclude the 2024 campaign and provide opportunities for Benistant and Reisulis to further climb the Championship Standings.
Thibault Benistant: “Today was OK, but I had bad starts and felt a little tight. I didn’t ride very well in Race One, and then in Race Two, I tried not to be so aggressive when braking and that seemed to help a lot. With the short time between races today, it wasn’t too bad as I’m in pretty good shape. It was hard for sure, but it was OK.”
Karlis Reisulis: “The last couple of weeks I’ve had a fever and I’ve not been sleeping very well, so I got tired at the end of each race, which is to be expected. I had a good first race going as I started fourth and then moved into third, but then my fever caught up with me and I’ve never been so tired in my life. Race Two started better with a holeshot, and then I led for around 20 minutes until I crashed. I lost a lot of places and ended up seventh in that one. Considering that I’m not 100%, I’m happy with how today went.”
Rick Elzinga: “The riding went OK but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get the job done. In the second moto I was hit from the back and this resulted in a crash. I received a hard blow to my head and neck and had to leave the race. One more race to go in Spain in two weeks.”
Photocredits – Fullspectrum Media