Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Karlis Reisulis has narrowly missed the overall podium at round eight of the MX2 World Championship – his home Grand Prix in Latvia – by just two points, ending the weekend in fifth. Plus, with teammate Janis Reisulis placing seventh overall, it underlined a solid day for the talented brothers as the series nears the halfway point.
Spurred on by their native fans all weekend long, the Latvian teammates were focused on putting on a show and leaving the sandy Kegums circuit with solid results. With the sun shining throughout the Grand Prix, the atmosphere was electric as the MX2 class headed to the start line for the opening race of the day.
In race one, K. Reisulis didn’t enjoy the best of starts, and he was forced to work hard in order to move up the leaderboard. By the halfway stage of the race he was comfortably running in sixth and as he crossed the finish line, he trailed Simon Längenfelder by just under two seconds.
Encouraged by his excellent ride in the opening race of the day, K. Reisulis delivered his best performance of the season so far in Race Two. Starting second, the Yamaha YZ250FM rider kept the leader in sight for the duration, until he made a minor mistake on the final lap that allowed Camden McLellan through. This ultimately cost K. Reisulis a place on the overall podium, but it was nevertheless an exceptional performance to secure his season-best race result of third for fifth overall on the day. A result that moves him up to eighth in the series standings.
Following a series of impressive overall results in recent Grands Prix, including fourth last weekend in Germany, J. Reisulis was understandably focused on impressing at his first home Grand Prix. After being pushed wide in the tight first turn, the reigning EMX250 Champion was soon into 10th, and by mid-race he was up to seventh. J. Reisulis then lost one position as the laps wound down to finish eighth.
Race Two started with J. Reisulis running inside the top 10 until a mistake on lap six dropped him to 14th. From there, the 18-year-old worked his way through the field to secure 10th for seventh overall. After eight rounds, the MX2 rookie remains seventh in the championship.
With three consecutive Grands Prix now complete, the teammates will now enjoy a weekend off before returning to action in Montevarchi, Italy, for round nine of the MX2 World Championship on June 20-21.
