Todd Waters is eager to get things started after the news of his return to the world stage: the 27-year-old has had some days to get to grips with the factory-spec version of Honda‰Ûªs 450cc motocross machine, and will be looking forward to getting in the mix with some of the rivals he has raced against in the past.
"I‰Ûªve been away from MXGP for a couple of years now, so I don‰Ûªt know where I fit in." Waters commented. "The guys have obviously been on the gas as they are six GPs in and they‰Ûªre well into the routine, so I‰Ûªm going to Latvia pretty open minded ‰ÛÒ not result-based ‰ÛÒ and just focus on myself to get what Todd Waters can get out of the race.
"I just want to be consistent and then build from there. I‰Ûªve got everything I need: a great team behind me and a great bike, so it‰Ûªs all about keeping our head down and see where we‰Ûªre at!"
Calvin Vlaanderen is setting his sights on the podium at a track that saw him third overall last year. The young South African rider had a strong performance on race day last time out, as he came less than a second short of third place at the MXGP of Russia.
"I‰Ûªm looking forward to a good weekend in Latvia." Vlaanderen said. "They have changed the track around this weekend so it‰Ûªs going to be a new layout for everybody; I‰Ûªm sure it‰Ûªll be great, so I can‰Ûªt wait to get out there and see it for myself.
"I‰Ûªve been on the podium there last year, so the goal will be to repeat that type of result; it won‰Ûªt be easy given how competitive this class is, but I will do my absolute best! We‰Ûªre doing a test tomorrow in Latvia ‰ÛÒ on a track that is similar to the one in Kegums - and I‰Ûªm sure this will help us in setting up the bike ahead of the weekend.
The Kegums motocross track is located 50km southeast of Latvia‰Ûªs capital city Riga and on the eastern bank of the Daugava river. For the 2018 edition of the MXGP of Latvia, the track layout has been subject to modification, which means that all riders will have a new challenge to get ready for.
