The Latvian team will participate in the Nations Cup in motocross, but without Jonas

Karl Sabulis | Photo: Seven One Pictures

The Latvian team will be represented in the Motocross Nations Cup held in the USA in September, but will start without potential leader Paula Jonas, Latvian Motorsport Federation (LAMSF) president Mārtiņš Lazdovskis told LETA on Tuesday.

“Yes, we have decided to start, and Kārlis Sabulis, Toms Macuks and Kārlis Alberts Reišulis will be in the team,” Lazdovskis told the LETA agency. “We are currently negotiating with several US teams about renting equipment,” says the LAMSF president. “It’s too expensive to send your equipment there.”

As Lazdovskis admits, sending motorcycles and other necessary things to the USA would cost several tens of thousands of US dollars, which “is too expensive” for the federation’s budget. “The minimum of the program is to enter the finals,” said the president of LAMSF about the goals set for the team. “Maximum – the fight for the top ten.” It is planned that the Latvian team will go to the USA a week before the start of the Nations Cup.

It has already been reported that last week the head of the LAMSF Motocross Commission, Kristers Sergis, told the LETA agency that Jonas had already made a decision not to compete in the Nations Cup as the difficult season was coming to an end. Motocross’s most prestigious team competition in solo classes will take place this year on September 24 and 25 in Buchanan, Michigan, USA. The competition was also held on this track four years ago, and then Latvia did not participate in the Nations Cup for the first time in 19 years.

Last year, the Latvian national team with Sabuli, Mairi Pumpura and Macuka won the 15th place in the Nations Cup held in Italy. The representative of Latvia became the champion of the Nations Cup for the only time in 1968, when Arnis Angers was able to do it as part of the USSR national team. In the years of independence, Latvia achieved its best result in 2019, when it won eighth place. Since 1990, the Latvian national team has competed in the Motocross Nations Cup 27 times.