Camden McLellan had a good 22nd birthday at the Latvian Grand Prix, securing his third consecutive MX2 podium with an impressive second overall finish at Kegums.
The South African continues to build momentum in the 2026 MX2 World Championship, showing race-winning speed throughout the weekend despite once being hindered by his starts. A 3-2 scorecard was enough to earn him second overall on the day, and there were several moments where he looked capable of matching race winner Sacha Coenen for outright pace.
While McLellan left Latvia pleased with another strong haul of points, he was also left reflecting on what could have been had he been able to position himself further up the order in the opening laps.
“All in all, it’s been a pretty good from my seat this weekend. There was a lot of sand flying in my face from my seat this weekend, but for the rest, it was pretty good. I think if I could get out the gate, I could run with Sacha, but there’s ifs, buts, and maybes every weekend. I really need to polish that, and figure out why I’m not getting starts, but overall, I’m happy. The team has done a great job. The track was tricky this weekend but the bike was awesome and I was riding well. I feel really good on the bike, so if we can continue this momentum going forward, I think we’ll be good”.
“I think it doesn’t need to be a holeshot every time, but if I can get out in top five every moto, I think it’ll make my life a lot easier. The issue is Sacha is really good at sprinting on the first two, three laps, and can build up a 10 seconds once you blink. I need to improve my starts, and not necessarily, like I said, holeshots every weekend, but just if I can around the corner in top five, something like that, and then along with good starts, have two first laps that are really good, which is something Guillem is really good at, those are the main issues at the moment, and the things that I need to work on”.
Despite the frustration of repeatedly having to fight through the pack, McLellan’s speed over the course of a race remains one of his biggest strengths. His ability to charge forward and consistently challenge for podium positions has become a hallmark of his recent form, but he knows that taking the next step towards regular race wins will require improvements in the opening stages of a moto.
The Factory Triumph rider believes part of the issue is mental rather than technical, admitting that his calculated approach can sometimes hold him back during the chaotic first laps.
“I think it’s mental. That’s also the struggle for me lately in the qualifying sessions, the timed practise. I am very calculated in terms of risk and reward, and I’m really not willing to push over the limit when there is no real reward. The first two laps, you can really lose a lot, you know? If you make a stupid crash or something, you’re all the way at the back of the pack, so from time to time, I think that’s what’s going on in my head. It’s like, okay, let me survive these first two laps, and I know as the laps go on, that later in the race I’m going to come strong. There’s two ways to it, you know? I don’t want to go kamikaze in the first few laps and kill someone else as well as myself and front flip all over the place. I need to gradually get better at it and in the same way calculate it, which is my approach. I think just building on confidence, I think that’s going to help a lot, so we’ll see”.
With three consecutive podium finishes now to his name, McLellan’s confidence is clearly growing and so is his standing as one of the leading contenders in the MX2 class. If he can unlock the secret to consistently starting inside the top five, the pace he has shown in recent weeks suggests it may only be a matter of time before he finds himself standing on the top step of the podium once again.
