HOLESHOT AND THIRD PLACE FINISH FOR JASIKONIS IN LATVIA

Courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office

Team Suzuki Press Office – May 7.

Arminas Jasikonis – 34-3 for 10th 

Suzuki World MXGP rider Arminas Jasikonis ripped off a holeshot onboard his RM-Z450WS, which propelled the Lithuanian rider to a career best moto finish of third place at the MXGP of Latvia. Held at the sandy track in Kegums, Jasikonis led for around 10 minutes of the second moto, in front of some of the best motocross riders on the planet. Cheered on by a large contingent of fans who had made the short journey across the border, the Lithuanian rode flawlessly on a track that caught out many other riders, even posting the fastest lap of the race to go along with his Fox Holeshot award for rounding the first corner in first place. 

He was also running in a solid seventh place in the first moto before an unfortunate bike problem ended his race, but overall it was an extremely positive day for a rider that continues to improve under the tutelage of General Manager Stefan Everts. 
Breaking Jasikonis away from the swarm of celebrating fans, he had this to say about the day: “Today was a wonderful feeling. In the first moto I had a good start but someone pushed me from behind in the first corner so I went a bit wide and lost some places. I came from around 10th to seventh and I felt I could have gone higher, but then the bike had some issues so I had to pull out, which was obviously disappointing. 

“Then in the second moto, I just had this feeling I could pull a holeshot on my RM-Z450WS and although some people say it’s down to luck, I really felt I could do it in this moto. So after the holeshot I led for about 10 minutes and that was amazing with all the Lithuanians in the crowd. It was just so nice to be upfront and leading a race. I got a bit tired but still ended up top three. It was crazy. I have to give a big thanks to Stefan, and just the whole Suzuki World team. It’s been a tough winter but we’ve made huge steps and this top three is reward for everyone who’s worked so hard for it. Thank you again to everyone that helped and all my fans for supporting me.”

Everts backed up those sentiments for what was a really nice moment for everyone that’s worked so hard on the new RM-Z450WS. “Overall it was a really good weekend, AJ had a good feeling on that track and that showed with the results. He managed to pull off an awesome holeshot, the first of the year and for the new bike. He then led for a number of laps, which is tough as it was it was his first time leading a GP, so it would have been too much to expect a victory but it was still a great result. A holeshot, a fastest lap and a third place is a sign of continued improvement and it was nice he could do that in front of so many of his fans. For the whole team it was a nice feeling and this is definitely one of the highlights of the season so far.” 

With Kevin Strijbos absent with an elbow injury, Jasikonis was the sole representative from the Suzuki World MXGP team, but he certainly didn’t let that phase him and he put in the best moto of his career. There is a now a weekend off before he’ll hope to go even better at the German MXGP in Teutschenthal on May 21st. 

MXGP Moto 1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:09.136; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:13.921; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:16.063; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:16.389; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:35.413; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:40.139; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:44.288; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.039; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:51.342; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:54.345; 34. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki World MXGP), -3 lap(s);

MXGP Moto 2: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:23.826; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:17.846; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki World MXGP), +0:23.847; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:35.475; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:43.502; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:47.908; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:49.886; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:53.082; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:55.160; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:59.601; 

MXGP Overall: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 38 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 38 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 28 p.; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 27 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki World MXGP), 20 p.; 

MXGP Points Standings: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 258 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 241 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 220 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 214 p.; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 210 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 204 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 174 p.; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 147 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 139 p.; 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 133 p.; 11. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 124 p.; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 123 p.; 13. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki World MXGP), 106 p.; 14. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 96 p.; 15. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki World MXGP), 90 p.; 

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