Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team’s Rick Elzinga has placed a hard-fought eighth overall at the seventh round of the MX2 World Championship in Agueda, Portugal. Close behind in ninth was teammate Thibault Benistant, with Karlis Reisulis placing 17th.
Torrential rain affected the MXGP of Portugal with the MX2 and MXGP races delayed to allow the track crew to carry out essential work on the circuit. Once that was completed, the MX2 class took to the line for its opening race of the day.
Elzinga gated well in Race One, inside the top 10 and ready to challenge the leaders. However, in the second turn, he couldn’t avoid a fallen rider and fell from his machine. After starting right at the back of the field, the Dutchman then put together an impressive charge. Reaching sixth by the penultimate lap, Elzinga then made the pass for fifth to secure his best result of the season so far.
Track conditions had improved slightly for Race Two. Elzinga couldn’t quite replicate his Race One start however, and he found himself in 17th early on. Despite his best efforts, and a fall on lap five, the 22-year-old could only climb back up the leaderboard to 13th by the end of the race. The points secured placed Elzinga eighth overall on the day, and he remains 11th in the series standings.
Benistant had the speed but not the luck in Race One in Portugal. After starting 14th, he reached eighth within a few laps, before falling and losing several positions. Once he’d worked his way back into eighth, he frustratingly crashed again, dropping him to 13th at the finish. In Race Two, Benistant maintained ninth for much of the race before making two passes in the closing stages to secure seventh for ninth overall. After seven rounds, Benistant remains fifth in the championship.
For Reisulis, the MXGP of Portugal was bittersweet. The Latvian bounced back from a DNF in Race One to place 11th in Race Two for 17th on the day. He now lies 13th in the series standings.
With another tough and muddy Grand Prix complete, the team now travels to the MXGP of Spain next weekend for the eighth round of the 2025 campaign.
Rick Elzinga
8th MXGP of Portugal, 24-points
11th MX2 Championship Standings, 141-points
“In Race One, I went a little wide in the first turn and then as I went to pull a tear off in the next corner, someone had crashed in front of me. Then someone crashed into me. So, I was dead last but I rode really good, all the way up to fifth. In the second race, I stalled the bike and had some goggle issues, which is pretty normal for a mud race, but it was frustrating after how well I rode in Race One.”
Thibault Benistant
9th MXGP of Portugal, 22-points
5th MX2 Championship Standings, 225-points
“A really tough weekend in these conditions. Bad starts made it even more difficult for me and I wasn’t able to ride freely in either race. Hopefully, the weather will be better next weekend and I can ride like I know I can.”
Karlis Reisulis
17th MXGP of Portugal, 10-points
13th MX2 Championship Standings, 126-points
“Today was interesting, to say the least. My speed was good, but crashes let me down. Now it’s on to Spain, where hopefully, it won’t be raining.
