Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Rick Elzinga and Karlis Reisulis have placed eighth and ninth respectively at the MXGP of Sweden. For both riders, mid-pack starts, together with an Uddevalla race track that proved difficult to make passes on, prevented them from challenging the top five at the 15th round of the series. Leaving Sweden, Elzinga remains seventh in the MX2 World Championship standings, while Reisulis moves up to 17th with just five GPs remaining.
Two weeks on from a very positive MXGP of Belgium, where Elzinga stood on the overall podium in second and Reisulis claimed a career-best fifth in Race Two, the talented teammates were eager to maintain that form in Sweden. But with starts crucial to a successful day of racing and with little to separate the field around the hardpack and relatively one-lined Uddevalla circuit, the duo completed the GP with solid points and their focus already on the next event in the Netherlands.
The trip to Sweden was a challenging one for Elzinga. Despite feeling comfortable on the challenging race track, a mid-pack start in Race One gave him a lot of work to do. Able to make steady progress aboard his Yamaha YZ250FM after completing lap one in 14th, the Dutchman moved up through the field to cross the finish line in eighth.
A slightly better start in Race Two saw Elzinga 10th early on before he made the pass for ninth on lap four. From there, despite trying everything he could to advance further up the field, he was unable to find a way around Camden McLellan in eighth and ultimately placed ninth.
For Reisulis, his performance mirrored that of Elzinga, with the Latvian also suffering from poor starts. In both races, he finished just behind his teammate, placing eighth in Race One and 10th in Race Two. With his points earned in Sweden, Reisulis moves up two spots in the Championship Standings to 17th.
Next weekend, the team heads south from Sweden to the MXGP of The Netherlands for Elzinga’s home round, which takes place over the weekend of August 17-18 at the sand track circuit of Arnhem.
Click here for all the results from the MXGP of Sweden.
Rick Elzinga
8th MXGP of Sweden, 25-points
7th MX2 Championship Standings, 457-points
“My starts really let me down this weekend and my riding in Race One was mediocre really. But for Race Two, I felt great on the bike, I just didn’t have the start I needed to run up front like I did in Lommel. I got arm pump trying to make a pass near the end of Race Two, which made things even more difficult. But up next, we have my home GP, and of course, I’m really excited for that one.”
Karlis Reisulis
9th MXGP of Sweden, 23-points
17th MX2 Championship Standings, 126-points
“It was an OK weekend for me. I had a little bit of arm pump in Race One, but besides that, my riding was good. It’s just so hard to make passes around here. I’m a little frustrated that my results weren’t quite as good as previous rounds, but now it’s back to the sand in The Netherlands next weekend.”
Photocredits Full Spectrum
