Camden McLellan claims third consecutive podium with second in Latvia
Triumph Factory Racing’s Camden McLellan has claimed a third consecutive overall podium result with a fine runner-up finish at round eight of the MX2 World Championship in Latvia. Racing at the sandy Kegums circuit, the TF 250-X rider made exciting last-lap passes in each Grand Prix moto to secure his 3-2 race results. Teammate Guillem Farres was also on form, placing fourth.
As the season continues, McLellan continues to impress. Racing on his 22nd birthday in Latvia, second overall may not have been the result he was hoping for, but the valuable points haul has moved him up to fourth in the championship standings.
In the opening moto, the South African took full advantage of his strong start and within a few laps he was up to fifth. As he began reeling in the race leader, however, he crashed heavily and was fortunate to escape unscathed. In the incident he fell to fourth but, showing his determination and fitness, he made the pass for third on the final lap.
Camden’s start in race two wasn’t quite as strong as the first moto, but by mid-race, he was up to fifth. His charge continued, moving up to fourth a few laps later, then third, as the race neared its conclusion. On the final lap of the race, McLellan had reeled in Karlis Reisulis in second and when his rival made a small mistake, the Triumph racer capitalised to secure second in the moto. On the day, Camden placed second overall for his fifth podium appearance of the season so far and moves up to fourth in the series standings, behind Farres in third.
In Latvia, Guillem had the pace but not the luck. Forced to fight through the field in both races due to racing incidents, the Spaniard demonstrated his impressive speed and fitness around a circuit that proved tough to make passes on. Placing fourth in both motos secured fourth overall, and Farres remains third in the championship. More importantly, his strong showing has moved him to within three points of second in the standings.
Camden McLellan
“It was a good Sunday here in Latvia. My riding, pace, and fitness were all strong throughout both motos, so there are plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. Unfortunately, the starts weren’t where they needed to be, which made life a lot more difficult. In the first moto, I worked my way through to second and was riding comfortably in that position before a big crash dropped me back to fourth or fifth. It took me a few laps to regroup, but I got going again and fought back to finish third. In the second moto, I was buried in the pack after the start once again, but I kept pushing every lap and managed to make the pass for second on the final lap. A 3-2 scorecard is a solid result, but there’s still room for improvement. The focus now is on working on the starts, making a few gains during the weekend off, and coming back ready to fight again in Italy.”
Camden McLellan
“It was a good Sunday here in Latvia. My riding, pace, and fitness were all strong throughout both motos, so there are plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. Unfortunately, the starts weren’t where they needed to be, which made life a lot more difficult. In the first moto, I worked my way through to second and was riding comfortably in that position before a big crash dropped me back to fourth or fifth. It took me a few laps to regroup, but I got going again and fought back to finish third. In the second moto, I was buried in the pack after the start once again, but I kept pushing every lap and managed to make the pass for second on the final lap. A 3-2 scorecard is a solid result, but there’s still room for improvement. The focus now is on working on the starts, making a few gains during the weekend off, and coming back ready to fight again in Italy.”
Guillem Farres
“It was an OK day here in Latvia, although I definitely feel like there was more on the table. In the first moto, I didn’t get the best start and was around 13th on the opening lap. I managed to work my way through the field and recover to fourth, which was a solid ride considering where I started. The second moto was even more difficult. I actually got a pretty good start, but I got pushed off the track in the opening laps and dropped all the way back to around 17th. From there, I had to pass almost the entire field to get back to fourth again. It was frustrating because I felt like the start was finally there, but circumstances put me on the back foot straight away. Still, there are positives to take from the weekend. My pace was good, I was able to come through the field in both races, and I never gave up fighting. It’s disappointing to miss out on a stronger result, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll take what we learned, keep working, and come back ready for the next round.”
Vincent Bereni – Triumph Factory Racing Team Manager
“It was a positive weekend overall for the team here in Latvia. Saturday was quite challenging as the track developed differently to what we expected, and we initially went in the wrong direction with the bike setup, particularly for Guillem. We worked hard to understand the track conditions, found a better setup on Saturday, and then made further improvements ahead of Sunday. The riders did a great job all weekend and to come away with fourth overall for Guillem and second overall for Camden is a strong result. Camden in particular showed great determination after a big crash in race one while running second. He fought back well and continued to push. I’m really proud of both riders and the effort from the entire team. We also made progress in the championship standings and closed the gap to the riders ahead, which is important. Now the focus is on continuing to work hard, building on this momentum, and making sure we keep ourselves in the fight for podiums at the upcoming rounds.”
Results – MXGP of Latvia
MX2 Race 1
1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:04.768
2. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 35:28.092
3. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:30.089
4. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 35:31.905
5. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 35:34.610
6. Karlis Reisulis (Yamaha) 35:36.376
MX2 Race 2
1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:10.618
2. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:17.102
3. Karlis Reisulis (Yamaha) 35:19.605
4. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 35:25.910
5. Valerio Lata (Honda) 35:26.379
6. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 35:27.089
MX2 Overall
1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 50pts
2. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 42pts
3. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 37pts
4. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 36pts
5. Karlis Reisulis (Yamaha) 35pts
6. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 28pts
MX2 World Championship Standings
1. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 380pts
2. Simon Längenfelder (KTM) 343pts
3. Guillem Farres (Triumph) 340pts
4. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 326pts
5. Liam Everts (Husqvarna) 314pts
6. Mathis Valin (Kawasaki) 308pts
