The talented Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 duo of Rick Elzinga and Karlis Reisulis finished sixth and eighth respectively in a fast and frenetic MXGP of the Czech Republic. Both riders enjoyed plenty of time at the sharp end of the field in Loket, with Elzinga returning to form and Reisulis taking a career-best finish in the 13th round of the MX2 World Championship.

The Loket circuit in the Czech Republic was prepared to perfection and offered plenty of lines for riders to overtake. With warm weather and multiple support classes at MXGP round 13, the racing surface was much rougher than usual. However, Elzinga and Reisulis impressed in both races at the demanding circuit.

Keen to get back into form for rounds 11 and 12 of the 2024 season after his Indonesian trip, Elzinga set the tone for a strong weekend in Loket with a fifth place in the MX2 qualifying race. In race one, the Dutchman started at the front in third place and after a race-long battle for a top-five spot, he crossed the finish line in sixth.

In Race Two, Elzinga couldn’t quite repeat his jump from Race One and completed the opening lap in ninth place. By lap two, the 44 was up to eighth after Oriol Oliver fell and he was then aiming for the top five. As the race neared its end, the 21-year-old worked his way past team-mate Reisulis for sixth place, but the gap to fifth was too big to overcome. By finishing sixth again, Elzinga moved up to sixth overall and retained seventh place in the MX2 World Championship.

Reisulis has improved with every round since moving up to MX2 and continued his upward trajectory in the Czech Republic to take a very impressive eighth place overall. After scoring a point for tenth place in the MX2 qualifying race, the Latvian continued that pace in Race One to take tenth again, despite a minor crash.

Confident of improving on his Race One result in the second race of the day, the 47 held on to second place for a couple of laps before dropping back to third. As the race progressed, Reisulis continued to fight in the top five before dropping back to seventh when he was overtaken by Elzinga with four laps to go. Nevertheless, the talented youngster’s seventh place finish marked his career-best race result in MX2 in what was undoubtedly a stunning and confidence-boosting ride.

Next weekend the 14th round of the MX2 World Championship will take place on the deep sandy circuit of Lommel in Belgium. Both Elzinga and Reisulis are focused on building on their results in the Czech Republic.

Click here for all results of the MXGP of Czech Republic.

Rick Elzinga

6th MXGP of Czech Republic, 30 points

7th MX2 Championship Standings, 382 points

“I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made since Indonesia, and it was a good weekend overall. In the first race I was lucky because it was a restart, and I started third with Karlis fourth before moving up to second quite quickly. But I pushed a bit too hard and lost my flow towards the end and dropped back to sixth. My start in Race Two wasn’t as good, but my riding was much better. I had good speed, found my flow and I was able to push the whole moto. We made some good improvements this weekend and thanks to the team for their support.”

Karlis Reisulis

8th MXGP of Czech Republic, 25 points

21st MX2 Championship Standings, 69 points

“It was a really good weekend for me here in Loket, and things are going in the right direction. In Race One I felt really good, even though I crashed with another rider, but I was happy to finish 10th. I had a great start in Race Two and was running in second place for a while, which was really good, but I got a bit tired towards the end. Overall my progress in the class has been positive and I’m looking forward to Lommel next weekend.”