Monster Energy Triumph Factory Racing’s Camden McLellan continues to learn his craft in Europe and the South African sits in seventh place in the MX2 World championship points.

As we all know, coming from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia or America and racing in Europe is a tough learning process and while the Triumph factory rider is very much showing brilliance at times, the school of Grand Prix racing isn’t easy.

Having finished 13th and 9th in 2023 and 2024, the likeable Triumph rider is always on the improve and his current place in the championship points tells us, he can continue that upward journey.

A little over a week ago, McLellan placed sixth overall at the MXGP of Latvia. As the series enters its second half, McLellan continues to deliver strong performances. The trip to Latvia proved no different, and after a challenging qualifying race, they lined up for race one of the Grand Prix motivated to impress.

With rain falling overnight, conditions were certainly tough for the opening moto. From starting just outside the top 10, McLellan was on the charge throughout race one and made a last lap pass on Karlis Reisulis to secure fifth.

The South African, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday, took advantage of a much better start in the second moto, but with the rain making the circuit difficult to pass on, he could only reach seventh at the finish. The points secured placed Camden sixth overall, and he remains seventh in the series standings.

“The MXGP of Latvia wasn’t too bad for me. I had the pace on Saturday, but in the qualifying race I fell and damaged my front brake. Then for today, after the rain, it made the track tough. The track crew did a good job but starts were so important. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best of starts in either race, but I climbed my way up to fifth in the first moto then seventh in race two. Not the best day but not the worst, and now it’s on to England in two weeks.”

A week earlier Camden McLellan also delivered a strong result, finishing seventh at the MXGP of Germany, held at the hardpack circuit of Teutschenthal. In Saturday’s qualifying race, McLellan finished 10th, which gave him a solid gate picks for Sunday’s Grand Prix races.

The 10th round of the season was largely positive for McLellan. With the points from his eighth-place finish in race one and sixth in moto two combined, he secured seventh overall. Heading into the second half of the campaign, the South African remains seventh in the series standings.

“Some positives but also negatives this weekend. I need to be better on Saturday so that I qualify better for the GP races, and then I can get better starts. We’re back on the sand next weekend, so I’m excited for that. With a good week of training, the goal is to be running up front again, where I should be.”

Now onto Matterley Basin in the UK, a track that should suit the South African, with his hard-pack experience in his homeland. With a rather big points gap between himself and 8th place man in the points, Valerio Lata and more than 50 points to sixth placed rider, Thibault Benistant, the pressure of gaining or losing points in the title race isn’t a problem, so hopefully, McLellan can enjoy the experience a little more and show us a little more of his polished potential.

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