Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Karlis Reisulis has maintained his late-season form with eighth overall at round 17 of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship. Despite being unable to race at his full potential, the Latvian posted a consistent 9-7 result to secure his top-10 result. Brother and teammate Janis was also in action and, after a mixed weekend, placed 14th overall.
Following a weekend off in the racing calendar, the team travelled to the hardpack circuit of Afyonkarahisar for the 17th round of the campaign. The teammates adapted quickly to the fast and jump-filled circuit, with K. Reisulis qualifying eighth and J. Reisulis two places better in sixth.
In the opening Grand Prix race, K. Reisulis started inside the top-10 and reached as high as seventh before a series of mistakes dropped him downfield to ninth at the finish. Race Two was much more encouraging as he started in seventh and held his position to the end. As a result, the Yamaha YZ250FM rider claimed eighth overall on the day and remains seventh in the MX2 World Championship standings.
At the same time, J. Reisulis enjoyed a strong start to the Grand Prix. From outside the top 10 in Race One, he rode with a solid pace to work his way forwards and he reached sixth at the finish. Frustratingly, a fall in the second race broke his clutch lever and he was unable to restart his machine without assistance. On the day, J. Reisulis placed 14th overall and he leaves Türkiye sixth in the championship with two rounds remaining.
With a mixed Grand Prix complete, the team now heads to Shanghai for the penultimate round of the series. The MXGP of China takes place next weekend on September 12-13.
Click here for all the results from the MXGP of Türkiye.
Karlis Reisulis
8th MXGP of Türkiye, 26-points
7th MX2 Championship Standings, 502-points
“I was struggling this weekend and just didn’t feel like myself at all. There was something bothering me and I couldn’t really find my usual feeling. The first moto was really difficult. From the start, I struggled to focus on what was happening in the race and made mistake after mistake. The second moto started off better, but I stayed in pretty much the same position for the whole race. At times I was close enough to make a pass, but I just couldn’t make it happen. It wasn’t a weekend to be proud of, but it was definitely a weekend to learn from.”
Janis Reisulis
14th MXGP of Türkiye, 15-points
6th MX2 Championship Standings, 607-points
“It was quite a good first moto after I crashed on the first lap. I managed to come back from last to sixth, almost fifth, and my speed and intensity were really, really good. In the second moto, I was feeling really good again and got another decent start, but I crashed on the first lap and broke my clutch lever. This meant that I couldn’t start the bike without outside assistance and that meant a disqualification. It is what it is. Obviously, it’s not easy to end the weekend like this, but I know I have the speed and everything is there. Now we’ll look ahead to China.”
Photocredits – Full Spectrum Media
