Yamaha has announced a new movement under its factory structures. After moving Andrea Bonacorsi up to the MXGP class, they have now made a similar move with Karlis Reisulis, who will move from the European 250 to the MX2 World Championship for the rest of the season.
season. From the original MXGP line-up only Calvin Vlaanderen remains, while Andrea Bonacorsi was quickly promoted to the premier class as a replacement for Maxime Renaux. Meanwhile, Jago Geerts is expected to join the team at the GP of Lommel. In MX2 only Rick Elzinga has been left after Thibault Benistant’s injury at the GP of Galicia, so Yamaha has decided to place Karlis Reisulis as the new asset in MX2, parking his rookie season in the 250 European.
Reisulis, alongside Rick Elzinga, will race a YZ250FM in MX2 following his impressive performance at the EMX250 round in Latvia, where he led several laps and finished second overall.
“It’s an honour to have been given this opportunity to step up to MX2 on a factory Yamaha. I have dreamed of achieving this my entire life, so it really is like a dream come true. For me, it’s unreal to know I will finally be racing in the World Championship. I really want to thank Yamaha and everyone involved for this opportunity. I like the factory YZ250FM a lot. I felt good right from the first moment, and I think this will give me confidence as I take on the next chapter.”
Reisulis will make his debut as a factory rider at the MXGP round in West Nusa Tenggara, Lombok, Indonesia, on June 29-30.
