Kowalski’s Comments: MXGP of Czech Republic Ft. Maxime Renaux Injury Update

After a short break, MXGP returned to Europe and action over the weekend, with the 13th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship taking place in Loket, Czech Republic.

The Loketske Serpentiny circuit is a tight, hard-packed “old-school” track that winds across a steep hillside in the medieval village of Loket. This charming spot gained fame as a filming location for the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” in 2006. The venue has hosted the Czech Grand Prix every year for the past 22 years, with the exception of 2020, when it was scratched from the calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for riders like Karlis Reisulis and Andrea Bonacorsi, who have just entered the FIM Motocross World Championship from the European Championships, it was a new experience.

While Bonacorsi and Reisulis had contrasting experiences at the venue, the weekend as a whole was decent for Yamaha. Here is what Alexandre Kowalski, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Off-Road Racing Manager had to say:

“In MXGP, it was another strong weekend for Calvin Vlaanderen, especially as he wasn’t 100% after getting sick on the way back from Indonesia. Leading into the weekend, Calvin was on antibiotics for his illness and couldn’t train as usual. Despite these issues and some lingering effects from the bug, he managed two solid races and results, finishing strong in the final race with a third-place finish, putting him fourth overall. This also meant he earned valuable points for the championship, which is incredibly important now. It’s great for him to arrive in Lommel with good momentum after the two podiums in Indonesia and another strong ride in Loket, and hopefully, he will be back to 100% health-wise.

In contrast, it was a tough weekend for Andrea Bonacorsi. It was his first time in Loket, a track most riders know well, highlighting how new Bona is to the MXGP Championship. Let’s not forget, he was an EMX250 rider last year. He didn’t feel comfortable at the venue, couldn’t get comfortable on the bike or the track, and couldn’t push to his full potential. Andrea needs to work on pushing harder if he misses the start because when he starts up front, he can maintain the pace, but if he has to come from behind, he tends to lose his rhythm. He did improve over the weekend, and this is a positive to take away.

“In MX2, the results on paper were decent with Rick Elzinga finishing sixth and Karlis Reisulis eighth. There were many positives, especially with our young rookie Karlis. He is truly evolving as a rider, showing great energy and potential for the future. This weekend, we saw him fiercely battle against the top riders in MX2, which was fantastic to watch. Despite a big crash with another rider in the first heat, he fought back strongly. This only affected the results on paper, as his performance was excellent. In the second race, he had an incredible start and battled with the best MX2 riders in the world for the first 25 minutes. We are happy with his performance, especially since he is new to MX2, coming straight from EMX250. It’s natural that he had to dig deep in the last ten minutes. We are happy to have him on board and making impressive progress.

As for Rick, his result was decent, but we expected more given his strong starts. We know he has the skill and ability to compete with the front runners, and usually, with a good start, which he had, he should be fighting with them. However, he might have lacked a bit of physical strength due to a small stomach problem, which could explain why he let the leaders go. For Rick, we look forward to the next round in Lommel, Belgium, this weekend, a track he knows very well as a Dutchman, and in the sand, he is one of the best.”

“Heading into Lommel, Belgium, home of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team, and a short trip for the MX2 team, too, we’re looking forward to a great weekend with good results. All four of our riders are very strong sand riders. The track is close to where they all live, so it should be a good one for us.”