Image: Supplied.

MXGP rookie Mitch Evans managed to return to the top 10 at Kegums on Sunday as he continues to rebuild following mid-season shoulder surgery.

The highly-rated Team HRC signing had finished fifth on debut in Great Britain prior to his injury, which he was able to recover from during the COVID-19 stoppage.

Latvia has hosted three rounds within the space of a week to restart the MXGP World Championship and, for Evans, it’s been a case of improving race-by-race aboard the factory CRF450RW. The weekend was his best performance yet on his way to 12-9 results for 10th overall.

“I had the goal to be better each moto this week, so I’m happy to finish off with a top 10 finish in race two, which gave me 10th overall for the day,” Evans said. “I felt a lot better today and, like I’ve said previously, the more bike time I get, the better I’ll do.

“Really happy with how it all went today, I felt a lot better on the CRF450RW and, although I didn’t get the greatest of starts, my riding was spot-on, so I’m looking forward to getting in a bit more bike time in this break and then coming out swinging for the next rounds of the championship where I’ll be aiming for some top fives.”

Five rounds into the season and despite being injured in the Netherlands’ second round, Evans currently sits 12th in the standings. There’s due to be a three-week break prior to the next scheduled round in Turkey on 6 September.