KÖNIGSSEE, Germany — Janis Minins has produced a respectable result in the four-man bobsled, piloting Latvia 1 to a fourth place victory in the latest round of the FIBT World Cup.

After experiencing yet another forgettable day in the two-man bob on Saturday, Minins was looking to come up trumps in the four-man version on Sunday to assure the weekend had not been a completely wasted exercise.

Again, Minins in Latvia 1 with Daumants Dreiškens and Edgars Maskalāns in Latvia 2 with Raivis Broks failed to fire in the two-man event. Latvia 1 was lucky to qualify for a second run after posting just the 18th quickest time on their first run. Latvia 2 did not have the same luck, qualifying for the first time outside the top 20, which subsequently saw them heading for an early shower.

Latvia 1 was able to produce a marginally better result on their second to move up one place in the standings but regardless it was a disappointing day. Word out of the Latvian camp is that their only focus is on next month’s Winter Olympics and these lead up events are basically been used for experimentation, with the two pilots being paired up with a number of different pushers.

Into Sunday’s action and Minins and Dreiškens were joined by Intars Dambis and Oskars Melbardis in Latvia 1. In Latvia 2 Maskalāns and Broks were joint by Pavels Tulubjevs and Mihails Arhipovs. Both pilots had promising first runs with Latvia 1 sitting in fourth, while Latvia 2 was sitting in a more than respectable tenth.

Minins pushed hard in his second run to record a slightly quicker time, however it was not enough to push for a podium finish. In the mean time, Maskalāns was also able to improve on his first run but unfortunately, so too did a number of teams sitting below him as Latvia 2 could only watch as they slipped back to their final position of 17th.

Minins remains in second place in the pilots standing with 1130 points, 133 behind World Cup leader Steven Holcomb of the United States. Maskalāns sits a little further back in tenth position.