Nederlands
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Thibault Benistant has wrapped up the 2024 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship on the podium, finishing third overall at the MXGP of Castilla la Mancha. A holeshot in Race One led to a fourth-place finish, which the Frenchman improved upon in Race Two to secure third. At the same time, Karlis Reisulis delivered two consistent results for 10th overall.
The 20th and final round of the 2024 season took the team to Spain for the third time this year. The hardpack, stony, and hillside circuit on the outskirts of Cozar was a new addition to the MXGP calendar and clearly suited Benistant, who delivered his best overall result since returning from injury.
In Race One, Benistant picked up his third holeshot of the season before going on to lead several laps. The 22-year-old then held second until well into the second half of the race, when he lost positions to Andrea Adamo and Simon Langenfelder. Securing fourth, Benistant set himself up to claim his third overall podium result of the year.
A strong start in the second race saw Benistant maintain third place from the first turn to the finish. Despite his best, race-long efforts to find a way around Kay de Wolf, he was unable to make a pass and crossed the line in third, just over a second shy of securing a runner-up result. After missing half the season through injury, Benistant placed 11th in the final Championship Standings.
Reisulis also missed the first nine rounds of the year while he competed in EMX250. Since moving up to MX2, he has impressed at every GP, including his 10th overall in Spain to move up to 14th in the Championship Standings. The talented young racer will now turn his attention to next weekend’s Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, which takes place at Matterley Basin in Great Britain, where he’ll represent his home country of Latvia at the 77th edition of the prestigious event.
Rick Elzinga was a non-starter in Spain as he continues to recover from his crash two weeks ago in China. Having already secured seventh in the Championship Standings, Elzinga sat out the MXGP of Castilla la Mancha with his focus already on 2025.
Thibault Benistant “Not a bad day today. My feeling and enjoyment of riding the track were much better than previous rounds, so this is really positive. I was missing a little bit of speed, but overall, it’s been a good day. Being on the podium is a nice way to end the season, and it gives me a lot of confidence heading into the off-season.”
Karlis Reisulis “My day started good with a fast time in warm-up, but in Race One I had a little bit of arm pump after a really good start. I had a much better race going in the second moto, but then I stalled my bike while running in sixth. That was frustrating as I lost a lot of places, but my riding was much better, so I’m happy about that. Now, it’s onto the Motocross of Nations next weekend to end the season.”
Photocredits – Fullspectrum Media