Rick Elzinga popped up on the radar as a stylish young rider with massive potential after finishing inside the top five at the FIM Junior 85cc Motocross World Championship in 2015.
At 15, the Dutch prodigy was picked up by Yamaha and placed on the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 Team for the 2017 and ’18 EMX125 seasons. Unfortunately, both seasons were spoiled by untimely injuries. Still, nevertheless, the young star continued to fight, and by the end of 2018, he had bounced back, racing his GYTR-kitted YZ125 to four top-three race finishes and two overall podium finishes at the final two rounds of the EMX125 series.
In the year that followed, 2019, Elzinga stepped up to the EMX250 class and impressively raced his GYTR-kitted YZ250F to 10th overall in his rookie season.
After two years with another manufacturer, Elzinga made a welcomed return “home” to Yamaha in 2022.
Riding for the Dutch-based Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 team, the young Dutchman instantly gelled with the GYTR-kitted YZ250FM and celebrated four round wins, five race wins, and six podium finishes on his way to the EMX250 crown.
As a result, Elzinga earned a place on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team in 2023 for his first entire season as a Grand Prix rider. The recently crowned EMX250 Champion will campaign a Factory YZ250FM in the FIM MX2 World Championship with the goal of banking experience.