Rick Elzinga Shines as Lotte van Drunen Makes History in Lommel
Known for its brutal sand track, Lommel remains one of the toughest races on the MXGP calendar. This weekend, the illustrious track in Belgium hosted the 14th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, living up to its reputation by once again proving to be the ultimate test of man and machine.
Entertaining a large turnout of enthusiastic Belgian and Dutch fans, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2’s Rick Elzinga came within touching distance of his first-ever Grand Prix win, keeping the locals on the edge of their seats. Adding to the vibrant and exciting atmosphere was the presence of 16-year-old Lotte van Drunen in MX2, making history with her mind-blowing performance in brutal conditions.
From Elzinga’s podium finish to van Drunen scoring a championship point, Karlis Reisulis securing a career-best top-five, and Jago Geerts making a brief comeback, the MXGP of Flanders had it all! Here is what Yamaha Motor Europe’s Off-Road Racing Manager Alexandre Kowalski had to say:
Elzinga, Reisulis & van Drunen Sensational in Lommel
“Lommel is one of the toughest races on the calendar, known for its brutal sand track that tests a rider’s physical condition and the strength of the bike. It’s always important to shine here. All in all, it was a really positive weekend in MX2, with Rick Elzinga taking his second podium of the season. We were very close to the overall win, with Rick leading the second race after finishing second in Race One. I was really happy for Rick to be back up front fighting for wins. It hasn’t always been easy for him, but he has worked hard and never given up, and this is the result. He is back on the box at one of the toughest tracks on the calendar. He can be proud of what he has achieved. We are proud of him.
Karlis Reisulis did well also. He continues to improve race by race, and this is exciting to see. His starts were on point this weekend too. Despite a crash in Race One affecting his result, he bounced back with a career-best and very impressive top-five finish in Race Two. Karlis is one of the youngest riders in the class and is very new to it too, so to finish that high up on this type of track proves a lot.
Lotte van Drunen rode incredibly. At just 16 years old, she is the only girl to race the boys in MX2 in Lommel, and it was an enormous challenge. For her to score a point in these conditions, which a lot of boys struggle to ride, was incredible. I tip my hat to her—congratulations, Lotte!”
Sometimes You’re The Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail
“In MXGP, we got off to a great start with Calvin Vlaanderen putting himself in contention for a podium finish with a strong third-place finish in the first race. Unfortunately, he made too many mistakes in the second race after getting pushed out at turn one. He found himself mid-pack, which makes life much harder. The risk when trying to fight forward from the back is much higher, with other riders making the task more challenging in addition to the stress of making up ground. We are happy that Calvin came away healthy after quite a big fall after the finish line. It could have been much worse, so for his health, we are grateful. He still took good points for the championship.
For Andrea Bonacorsi, it was another decent weekend with another top-ten finish. He missed the start in the first race and had to fight back. In the second race, he suffered some cramp in his arm, making it tough, but he did well to finish inside the top ten, which remains the goal for him in his rookie season.
As for Jago Geerts, he had the green light from his doctor and wanted to come back at this one, so we supported his decision. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we now see that perhaps he should have waited, particularly as Lommel is his home GP, bringing a lot of additional pressure. After a challenging Saturday, we supported his decision not to race this weekend. He will now ramp up his training program, and in the coming weeks, we should know more about a potential comeback.”
“Overall, Lommel is always a nice Grand Prix. The Belgian organizers always run a nice event where everything is well organized. There were a lot of fans this weekend; it was packed, and this was nice to see. It made for a crazy atmosphere and was nice to be a part of. There are still six rounds to go this season, and moving forward, I would like to see a bit more consistency. We all know this championship is long, and of course, performance is important, but to be in the fight for the crown, you need to be consistent. After a weekend off, we are looking forward to another three in a row with Sweden, The Netherlands and Switzerland on the schedule in August.”
