Arminas Jasikonis will commence his 2017 MXGP World Championship season this weekend in Indonesia after visa issues denied the Lithuanian the chance to contest Qatar’s season-opener last weekend.

Joining the Suzuki World MXGP squad full-time in 2017 after filling in for the injured Ben Townley in 2016, Jasikonis is now set to hit the Pangkal Pinang circuit following a disappointing start to the season.

“It’s been a big disappointment for me,” said Jasikonis. “It’s been really tough these past few days and to watch the guys racing without me, but I still watched to support the guys.”

Gearing up for his first grand prix event on the all-new 2018-spec Suzuki RM-Z450WS, the Lithuanian rider will carry added motivation into this weekend’s round two.

“The whole situation has given me a lot of motivation and to make me work harder for it,” he added. “So while there are bad times, there are good times after it and I’m really excited for the weekend to show what I can do.”

Jasikonis will ride alongside teammate and Suzuki World MXGP regular Kevin Strijbos this weekend in Indonesia on 5 March.